DownEast Magaizine: September 2023
The Residential Rebirth of Historic Bangor Buildings
Preservation efforts — and stylish new apartments — have transformed the lofty blocks of Maine’s Queen City.
BY Virginia M. Wright, PUBLISHED September 2023 | VIEW ARTICLE
Downtown Bangor is surrounded by neighborhoods of fine 19th-century homes, but sophisticated residences in the commercial district are something new. Recently, developers have remodeled neglected historic buildings into apartments with exposed brick, modern kitchens, and rooftop decks, making it possible to have a pint or hit a museum and walk a few blocks home. And they look pretty good from the sidewalk too.
Photo by Bryce Dalhaus
George W. Pickering Block
28 Broad Street Lofts
BUILT 1869; RENOVATED 2014, 2016
Then: West Market Square was the business address for Bangor’s most prominent 19th-century citizens; among them was banker and lumber baron George W. Pickering, who erected this four-story brick Second Empire and installed a grocery there. The architect is undocumented, but the mansard roof and symmetrical facade suggest Calvin Ryder. Dakin’s Sporting Goods, a local legend, was a mainstay here from 1949 to 1985.
Now: When the city launched the redevelopment of West Market Square, in 2014, Roy Hubbard, a 2012 UMaine grad with construction experience, wanted to be part of it. He bought 28 Broad Street, a vacant, pigeon-infested eyesore, and transformed it into one- to three-bedroom apartments in phases: 15 upper-level units in 2014, and three roomier ground-floor ones in 2016.
Photo by Jason Smith
Peirce Block
Peirce Block Apartments
BUILT 1912; RENOVATED 2019
Then: C. Parker Crowell, UMaine’s go-to architect in the early 20th century, designed 29 Franklin Street for Anna Hayford Peirce, heiress to a timber fortune. With six storefronts and two stories of offices, the multi-style brick block was a major contribution to the downtown’s reconstruction after the Great Fire of 1911.
Now: The city offered Roy Hubbard and Abe and Heather Furth a property-tax relief package to help finance their conversion of the offices into 10 one- and two-bedroom apartments. They created airy spaces by prying away drywall and dropped ceilings and removed a stylistically discordant 1980s solarium.
Photo by Connor Griffin
Merrill Trust Company Building
The Hammond
BUILT 1906; RENOVATED 2022
Then: Merrill Trust boosted its image when it replaced its modest wooden headquarters with this columned Neoclassical structure alongside Kenduskeag Stream. Designed by Newman & Harris, a firm out of New York and Philadelphia, and built of brick, granite, limestone, and terra-cotta, the building conveys authority, solidity, and wealth. Initially, the bank shared the ground floor with a tobacconist. Its current occupant is the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.
Now: A lifelong summer resident of Vinalhaven, Dash Davidson developed an affection for Bangor during his mother’s 2021 hospitalization at Eastern Maine Medical Center. With their 2 Hammond Street renovation, he and his New York-based partners launched High Tide Capital, specializing in redeveloping historic buildings in disinvested neighborhoods. All eight one- and two-bedroom upper-story apartments were leased before construction was complete.
Photo by Connor Griffin
First National Bank Building
33 State Street
BUILT 1915; RENOVATED 2022
Then: Bangor’s most influential architect, Wilfred Mansur, designed this three-story Classical Revival, the last major downtown reconstruction project after the 1911 fire. It’s distinguished by its mix of materials — granite on the ground level and tan brick above — and its rounded, column-studded entrance. Today’s Bangorians know it as the longtime home of Bangor Hydro.
Now: High Tide Capital has combined unused upper-level office space in the State Street and adjoining 213 Exchange Street buildings to create 15 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The team wants a restaurant to occupy the former bank lobby, which retains its mosaic tile floor, coffered ceiling, and oak office enclosures with frosted windows.
