The John Calvin Stevens House is an historic house at 52 Bowdoin Street in the West End neighborhood of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. Built in 1884, it was the home of architect

John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...

, and was one of Portland's earliest examples of Shingle style architecture. The house was prominently used by Stevens in promotion of the style, 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 Stevens House is set on the south side of Bowdoin Street, abutting Portland's Western Cemetery to the south, and a short way east of the

Western Promenade The Western Promenade is a historic promenade, an public park and recreation area in the West End neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Developed between 1836 and the early 20th century, it is one Portland's oldest preserved spaces, with landscapin ...

. The house is stories, with a rusticated brick first floor topped by a large gambrel roof, which shelters a full second story and an attic level. The gable ends are finished in wooden shingles. The north-facing main facade originally had the main entrance, sheltered by a slightly projecting porch at the left corner, but this has been enclosed, and the main entrance is now on the west side. The windows at the attic level of the north side are square fixed-pane units, with a decorative panel between. The east and west facades each have a large wall-plane dormer, with smaller gabled dormers projecting from the upper slope of the roof. The current entrance is sheltered by a rectangular porch, and opens into what was originally the dining room. Although some of its spaces have been repurposed and altered over time, the house retains many original finishes. JohnCalvinStevensHouse

John Calvin Stevens Interior LOC087831pv

The house was built in 1884 to a design by John Calvin Stevens, and was his home until 1919. Stevens and his architectural partner at the time, Albert Winslow Cobb, included illustrations of the house in their Shingle style survey, ''Examples of American Domestic Architecture'', first published in 1886. It received international notice after its construction, with reviews by

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

and '' The British Architect''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, John Calvin, House Houses completed in 1884 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Houses in Portland, Maine Shingle Style houses West End (Portland, Maine) National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine Historic district contributing properties in Maine Shingle Style architecture in Maine 1884 establishments in Maine John Calvin Stevens buildings

Description and history

See also

References