The Gay-Munroe House is an historic house located at 64 Highland Avenue in
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
. Built in 1878 for Charles Gay, a local shoe manufacturer, it features an architecturally eclectic mix of Late Victorian decorations. It is also notable as the home for many years of Willard Noble Munroe, another leading shoe manufacturer. The house 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 2001.
Description and history
The Gay-Munroe House stands on the west side of Highland Avenue, in a residential area northwest of Auburn's central business district. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a roughly T-shaped plan that has a hip roof and cross gable projecting section, with a hip-roof ell extending to the rear. A square cupola with pyramidal roof stands atop the roof between brick chimneys. The building is clad predominantly in vinyl siding, but most of its 19th-century decorative trim elements have been preserved. The front facade consists of a single projecting bay, two stories in height, with a narrow gable-roof dormer projecting from the roof. The dormer is decorated with Stick style woodwork, a detail repeated in the larger projecting side gable section. A single-story porch stands in the corner made by that section, supported by turned posts and balustrade. String courses of trim band the building at the lintel and sill levels of the windows on both levels.
The house was designed by the
Lewiston firm of
Stevens &
Coombs
Coombs is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Anthony Coombs (politician) (born 1952), British politician
* Anthony Coombs (Canadian football) (born 1992), Canadian football player
* Bobby Coombs (1908–1991), America ...
, and was built in 1878 for Charles Gay, who was involved in Auburn's shoe industry, its major economic force. In 1894 the house was purchased by Willard Noble Munroe, founder and first president of the Auburn Shoe Manufacturer's Association. He also served as treasurer of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
's Brompton Pulp and Paper Company, one of Canada's largest paper companies at the time.
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See also
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Houses completed in 1878
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Houses in Auburn, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Androscoggin County, Maine