Maine cottages : Fred L. Savage and the architecture of Mount Desert

Robert R. Pyle Our sense of place and community is made up of memories—personal memories of first-hand experience; oral memories that recount our ancestors’ experiences; and f- mal, codified civic memories set down in laws, ceremonies, and rituals. Together they are vital building blocks of citizenship. In a vivid and meaningful way this book p- serves memories relevant to understanding the roots of communities on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The surnames of many of Mount Desert’s earliest settlers are still found in today’s telephone directories. In these families many oral traditions are passed down from generation to generation, building outward from a historical core like the rings of a tree. “Dad used to farm this field,” Fred L. Savage’s great-nephew Don Phillips told me once, gesturing toward an alder growth. “His father grew vegetables for the hotel, and my great-grandfather grew grains. This road used to go right on up over the hill, and they used it to move the cemetery up there from where the hotel is now. ” Describing the field, Don ignores the alders and the towering evergreens beyond them, for in his mind’s eye he sees yellow, waving wheat and rye, bare ground, and a narrow cart track leading up the hill into the distance, on which his ancestors tra- ported the remains of their own forebears to a new resting place. Oral traditions, living memory, set the stage for him, and he accepts the reality of things he has never seen. Mount Desert has been one of America's favorite tourist destinations for over 150 years. As early as the 1840s, the lush landscape of this island on the Maine coast attracted artists and writers, who soon made Mount Desert's beauty famous with their paintings and publications. The stream of tourists that began traveling to the island after the Civil War prompted a building boom of cottages, hotels, and various buildings in Bar Harbor and other towns in the vicinity. Fred Savage (18611924) was the most influential architect in the development of Mount Desert and northeastern Maine, designing over three hundred buildings. Richly illustrated with archival drawings, photographs, and newly commissioned color photography, Maine Cottages presents all of Savage's most important works while placing the life and career of this architect in the larger context of Mount Desert. 1. Foundations Savage's ancestor's and Mount Desert Artists and tourism on Mount Desert Recreation, education, and moral development Rusticators come to Northeast Harbor Savage's architectural training The earliest drawings by Savage 2. Northeast Harbor, Islesboro, and the shingle style Savage and Stratton, architects The shingle style Savage's early work in Northeast Harbor Stylistic diversity The Islesboro cottages 3. Bar Harbor and the end of the cottage era (1900-1924) Savage's later work in the historical revival styles The preservation movement on Mount Desert Savage's public buildings The city beautiful movement in Bar Harbor Fred L. Savage, automobile dealer The twilight of Savage's architectural career Savage's estate Introduction....Pages 16-17 Front Matter....Pages 18-18 Foundations....Pages 19-59 Front Matter....Pages 60-60 Northeast Harbor, Islesboro, and the Shingle Style (circa 1887–1900)....Pages 61-151 Front Matter....Pages 152-152 Bar Harbor and the End of the Cottage Era (circa 1900–1924)....Pages 155-261 John M. Bryan ; Photographs By Richard Cheek. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.