Dwelling in the Past
Herewith, a Field Guide to Maine Architecture
By Edgar Allen Beem, illustrations by Judith A. Mitchell
Here in Maine we all live in the nineteenth century. That is to say, the predominant architecture of Maine has its roots in the 1800s. All the things that visitors find so charming -- whitewashed fishing villages, weathered summer cottages, rambling farmsteads, tidy little downtowns, the venerable red brick of our cities and mills -- are hand-me-downs from a bygone era.Those of us who live in mongrel capes and ranches, suburban garrisons and split-levels, manufactured housing and mobile homes nonetheless inhabit towns and cities defined by the architectural styles of the past.
