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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

What's BIG & Scary in Bangor Maine

Can you see the face in the tree???
We have arrived in Bangor Maine and staying at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort (Click here for complete review) in Hermon which is right outside of Bangor.  There are several really great things to see and do while in this area and  Stephen King's House is one of them.  In Bangor he is just another great citizen, an ordinary man living in the community but to most people Stephen King is an American author best known for his popular horror novels, many of which have become bestsellers.  As an avid reader I had to go search out his home and stalk it for a few minutes ~ lol. It looks like just another house on the street but on second look you see the things you might expect to see... Like a web on the front gate including bats and gargoyles... A tree with a face on it really got my attention and then a huge leaping frog... It really was an exciting experience for me to visit his house.  If you like scary books you should read Stephen King's books.


Broadway Historic District - Includes Garland, Essex, State, Park and Center Streets
This historic district is protected under local ordinances and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A favorable neighborhood to the lumber barons in the early to late 19th century, this district features Greek Revival, Italianate, Colonial Revival and Second Empire architectural details covering 500 acres and 19 buildings.
The Broadway Historic District is modeled after Boston's Beacon Hill, featuring a green space where the first residences were built, with double rows of elm trees lining the street for the first couple of blocks of the roadway. Broadway Park is the center of the district and is a great place to stop and have a picnic with the family.  The Fire of 1911 destroyed part of the Broadway Historic District, which was mostly rebuilt but as more elite neighborhoods were created, Broadway lost popularity as a residential spot.

Thomas Hill Standpipe, which holds l,750,000 gallons of water, is a riveted wrought iron tank with a wood frame jacket located on Thomas Hill. The tank is 50 feet high and 75 feet in diameter. Built in l897, it is the District's oldest standpipe and has been in use since its construction. Its purpose is the same today: to help regulate Bangor's water pressure in the downtown area and to provide water storage for emergencies. The standpipe is really two structures in one. The standpipe itself consists of steel plates riveted one outside the other. The building which enclosed it is 85 feet in diameter and 110 feet high. The 24 main posts which extend up past the observation deck begin at the base of the structure. Of hard pine, they measure 12x12 inches and are 48 feet long.

The entire structure has a stone foundation 9 feet high and 3 1/2 feet thick at the base. The sill atop the foundation is made of bent pine planks and is 14 inches thick. Along the interior wall of the facade is a winding staircase which leads to the promenade deck encircling the top of the building. The deck is 12 feet wide and 280 feet in circumference. To erect the wooden part of the structure took 42,000 feet of hard pine and 22,000 cedar shingles. When constructed in 1898, the contractor employed 22 men and erected a portable saw mill and blacksmith shop on the site. The entire project took about six months to complete.
We went to the Casino for dinner and to play for a little while when we noticed the statue of Paul Bunyan across the street... It is a symbol of the lumber era where a lot of people made a fortune.

We had a ton of fun exploring Bangor and will be seeing what else we can get into here~

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

8 comments:

Elaine said...

Lol great blog on Maine wow your a bit behind as you are truly now on Prince Edward Island!! We miss you guys ---see you again in August after the wedding xoxo

Sue and Doug said...

I was just going to say..did I miss the PEI posts?...but you are behind as per Elaine's comment!..Bangor Maine looks very interesting!..nice tour!

Donna K said...

Great pix of Stephen King's house. I couldn't quite make out the face on the tree but it also looks like the spider web motif is repeated in the window in the background, just to the right of the tree. Great post, interesting tour.

Ellie and Jim said...

I was in a time warp! Thought for a minute you were actually here at Pumpkin Patch right now, alas, we really did miss you! Thanks for the great blog, I guess we're following your footsteps, going the opposite direction. Keep having fun!

Janna and Mike said...

I was just about to say, "hey Jim and Ellie are in that same RV park" when I saw Ellie's comment. Sounds like you all are having such a great time!

Karen and Al said...

Interesting house for sure. It looks like you're having such a good time..

The Muse said...

As always I adore following you around...a virtual traveling stalker LOL....Seriously your ability to share the beauty of this great land in photos and in words has kept me a fan forever...

Great exploration of the NorthEast ~!!

Kevin Read said...

I know that I am behind on reading your blog and I thought maybe I had missed the visit with Elaine and Rick and New Brunswick and PEI, but I guess I haven't missed too much. Glad to see that you are enjoying your trip. Your pictures are great and happy to hear that you loved Acadia Park. We never made it to Boston or Salem so it was nice to see and hear all about it. Looking forward to reading more of your summer travels.

Kevin and Ruth
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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