The Belfast National Bank is a historic commercial building at Main and Beaver Streets in downtown

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay (Main ...

. Built in 1879 and enlarged twelve years later, it is one of the city's most elaborately decorated buildings. It was designed by

George M. Harding George Milford Harding (1827–1910) was an American architect who practiced in nineteenth-century Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Life and career Harding was born in 1827 in Chatham, Massachusetts. At the age of 17 he began his st ...

, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973.

Description and history

The Belfast National Bank Building stands at the five-way intersection of Main, Beaver, and Church Streets at the historic commercial center of the city. It is set on a triangular lot defined on the north by Main Street and the east by Beaver Street. It is 2-1/2 story brick structure, with mansard roofing along the long sides that meet at a gable-topped single-bay side that faces the intersection. That gable, along with those of the dormers that pierce the roof, feature decorative cresting. The dormer windows have the shape of Gothic lancet points, a detail repeated in a window on the short facade. The ground floor of the building has modern store windows, while the second floor has sash windows with carved lintels above. The building was designed by

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

based architect

and built in 1878-79 by Israel Wood Parker of Belfast, when the city was at its height as a shipping and shipbuilding center. This pair also notably collaborated on Belfast's Masonic Hall, which also faces the same intersection. The building was built for the Belfast National Bank, which had previously occupied leased quarters in another building since 1857.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Commercial buildings completed in 1879 Buildings and structures in Belfast, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Waldo County, Maine Historic district contributing properties in Maine

Description and history

See also

References