Past Exhibition

Erased: Kennebunk's Lost Buildings featured vintage photographs from the Museum's collections of Kennebunk's lost architectural heritage. The earliest photographs in the Museum's Archives date from the 1860s, and the exhibition included photographs of structures that have ceased to exist as recently as 1999.

One section of the exhibition documented the changes to the structures in the Main Street block from the Kennebunk Toy Company to Chadwicks. Only one structure of the original six in the block survives today. The six gable front clapboard buildings frequented by townspeople in the 1870s have been altered over the years, by the removal of structures and their placement on other streets, disastrous fires or extensive remodeling. The block has evolved into the buildings familiar to residents today, incorporating a reproduction of one of the buildings on the corner of Main and Storer Streets which is now Chadwicks, to the 1925 brick structure that replaced Barrett's jewelry store when it burned in 1923.

Also included were structures lost in the more distant past, such as the factory buildings on Water Street, the original Ocean National Bank Building, and the original winter tomb at Hope Cemetery. Structures lost in the recent past, such as Bartlett's farm, the Warren Block on Green Street, the houses on Main Street demolished to construct gas stations, the Bowdoin Block, and the Fletcher Street fire station were featured.

The preservation of Kennebunk's architectural heritage is important as a record of the past, not only for the present but for future generations. Once a structure has been lost by fire, demolition or unsympathetic alterations it cannot be replaced. As time passes the social history of the building becomes more vulnerable to loss, as the building ceases to be remembered as a contributing part of the community.

The Museum's archives has limited photographs of buildings lost during the recent past. The second half of the twentieth century is important to document while people are able to remember particular buildings and their histories. The Museum hopes that residents will donate photographs of buildings lost during the last fifty years for use by future generations.


	Erased: Kennebunk's Lost Buildings 2002
	Erased: Kennebunk's Lost Buildings featured vintage photographs from the Museum's collections of Kennebunk's lost architectural heritage. The earliest photographs in the Museum's Archives date from the 1860s, and the exhibition included photographs of structures that have ceased to exist as recently as 1999. One section of the exhibition documented the changes to the structures in the Main Street block from the Kennebunk Toy Company to Chadwicks. Only one structure of the original six in the block survives today. The six gable front clapboard buildings frequented by townspeople in the 1870s have been altered over the years, by the removal of structures and their placement on other streets, disastrous fires or extensive remodeling. The block has evolved into the buildings familiar to residents today, incorporating a reproduction of one of the buildings on the corner of Main and Storer Streets which is now Chadwicks, to the 1925 brick structure that replaced Barrett's jewelry store when it burned in 1923. Also included were structures lost in the more distant past, such as the factory buildings on Water Street, the original Ocean National Bank Building, and the original winter tomb at Hope Cemetery. Structures lost in the recent past, such as Bartlett's farm, the Warren Block on Green Street, the houses on Main Street demolished to construct gas stations, the Bowdoin Block, and the Fletcher Street fire station were featured. The preservation of Kennebunk's architectural heritage is important as a record of the past, not only for the present but for future generations. Once a structure has been lost by fire, demolition or unsympathetic alterations it cannot be replaced. As time passes the social history of the building becomes more vulnerable to loss, as the building ceases to be remembered as a contributing part of the community. The Museum's archives has limited photographs of buildings lost during the recent past. The second half of the twentieth century is important to document while people are able to remember particular buildings and their histories. The Museum hopes that residents will donate photographs of buildings lost during the last fifty years for use by future generations.
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