Village Green is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor () is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laboratory. ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, United States. Located centrally in the town, compared to the coastal

Agamont Park Agamont Park (originally Bar Harbor Park) is an urban park in Bar Harbor, Maine, United States. It is located at the northern end of the town's Main Street, at its intersection with West Street. The park, set upon a hill, affords 180-degree view ...

about to the north, Firefly Lane bounds it to the north, Main Street to the east, Mount Desert Street (

Maine State Route 3 State Route 3 (SR 3) is a state highway located in southern Maine. It is a major interregional highway, connecting the Interstate 95 corridor to the Atlantic coast. The western terminus is at SR 8, SR 11 and SR 27 in Augusta and the easte ...

) to the south and Kennebec Street to the west. (Main Street is also Route 3 up until it reaches the park from the south. It then turns onto Mount Desert Street.) The park has a free public

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

network. The town's fire and police departments are located on Firefly Lane, across from the Green. Although the park is not fenced, its six paved entrances are at Main Street and Mount Desert Street, Mount Desert Street and Kennebec Street, Kennebec Street, two on Firefly Lane, and one at Main Street and Firefly Lane. The bisecting paths encourage pedestrians to pass through the park, instead of walk around it. A granite bench, in memory of John Whittington Roberts (1870–1904), is in the middle of the Main Street side, beside the original 1896

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

street clock A street clock or post clock is a clock mounted on top of a post typically installed in a streetscape or other urban or park setting. History A less common kind of street clock can be found on Maiden Lane in Manhattan, New York. In the late 19t ...

(moved to this location in 1905),Bar Harbor Village Green
– The Cultural Landscape Foundation while a dog

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

is beside the Main and Mount Desert entrance. A memorial also stands on its Mount Desert side, just beyond the fountain. A

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

stands near the park's northern (Firefly Lane) side. A 17th-century tiered Italian fountain with 21

spigot A tap (also spigot or faucet: see usage variations) is a valve controlling the release of a fluid. Nomenclature United Kingdom * Tap is used in the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth for any everyday type of valve, particularly t ...

s, donated by John Callendar Livingston in 1909, is in the park's southwestern corner. It was restored in 1992 by sculptor Clark Fitz-Gerald after not being functional for thirty years. Bar Harbor's

Island Explorer The Island Explorer is a seasonal bus system which provides fare-free transportation on and near Mount Desert Island in Maine, United States. It is operated by Downeast Transportation and is largely intended to serve visitors to Acadia National Pa ...

buses leave and drop off passengers on the park's western edge, at Kennebec Street.

History

The short-lived Grand Central Hotel occupied the corner of Main and Mount Desert Streets from 1873 to 1899, when it was demolished and the space given to the town's Village Improvement Association."Village Green: Bar Harbor, Maine"
–

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

The bandstand was originally the park's only amenity, albeit in a different location than it is today. After a visit from sitting

United States president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

in 1910, however, a desire for additional development was kickstarted. In the 1920s,

Beatrix Farrand Beatrix Cadwalader Farrand (née Jones; June 19, 1872 – February 28, 1959) was an American landscape gardener and landscape architect. Her career included commissions to design about 110 gardens for private residences, estates and country hom ...

designed the pathways and had the bandstand rebuilt, as well as the arranging the landscaping present today. A six-year renovation of the park began in 1999. In 2010, the park underwent further improvements — to the footpaths, lighting, planting, and the fountain area. In 2012, the

named the park one of their top ten Great Places in America for Public Spaces.

Gallery

File:Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME.jpg, A postcard illustrating a view north along Main Street beside the park (c. 1908) File:Bar Harbor village green 2025.jpg, Viewed from Main Street, looking west (2025) File:Street clock, Bar Harbor.jpg, The park's street clock stands on Main Street (2011)

References

{{reflist

External links

Public Parks
- Town of Bar Harbor, Maine Buildings and structures in Bar Harbor, Maine Parks in Bar Harbor, Maine Urban public parks