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Vintage postcard of stately Calais Avenue with the Greystone - first house on the left, followed by its sister house.

Ye Ole Rim Lock

December 10, 2013

Often when we drive up the hill on Calais Avenue, I think of early 1900s era picture postcards I've come across in antique shops. Depicted were this scenic pair of streets, divided by a wide green park-like boulevard, lined with an arched canopy of majestic elms.

Eastport and Passamaquoddy Bay - circa 1840, by the French painter, Victor DeGrailly (1804-1889)

Water Street (Part 3)

July 13, 2013

As there was no reference in this deed to a prior owner, we had to take a different approach. We knew from an 1888 history, Eastport and Passamaquoddy, compiled by William Henry Kilby, that the property had once been part of a much larger track of land, 100 acres, owned by John Shackford - sea captain, ship owner and pioneer settler.

Eastport, 1879 Panorama (detail); Our project house in the center - on the corner of Water and Shackford Streets with a horse and wagon in front.

Water Street (Part 2)

July 12, 2013

Our first clue to the home's earlier residents came from a map of Eastport Village published in 1881 that included the footprint of every building along with the owner's name. Printed next to the cape on the corner of Water and Shackford Streets was M.D. Bibber.

Eastport sardine fishing fleet in the harbor.

Water Street (Part 1)

July 9, 2013

We were recently called in to do a bathroom renovation in an historic, Federal style, Eastport cape on Water Street. Its proud new stewards were relocating to the area; part of a fresh influx of creative entrepreneurs that are breathing new life into the city.

The period bath in the Haas-Lilienthal House with its centerpiece - the earthenware tub. Photo by Jody Stuart

The Case of the Dubious Earthenware Tub

May 19, 2013

I recently received a lovely compliment when one of our clients, a Calais, Maine native son and local town historian, exclaimed, "you're the Sherlock Holmes of restoration!" While it’s true I once lived on Baker Street, not in London but the “City by the Bay” - I’m not sure that that illustrious title quite fits.

Interior of Chase Barker & Company with P.M. Pirington (the Mayor) seated in middle.

A Maine Italianate

March 18, 2013

A careful restoration will be invaluably aided if you let the building be your guide. Paying attention to those sometimes subtle tells - allows the structure to voice its opinion - lets an old building speak its mind. Sometimes that conversation can take you beyond the nut and bolts to real events and history.

Dr. Holmes Cottage Museum (part 2)

June 9, 2012

As the story goes, Captain James Holmes, fresh from the battlefields of the Revolutionary War, walked 175 miles with everything he owned in a knapsack on his back, from his birth town of Plymouth, Mass, to "Bog Brook Plantation," later known as Hebron, a promising new settlement in western Maine.