Maine Memory Network

Contributed by Patten Free Library

Description

This April 1967 color photograph of the Central Congregational Church shows it in a grey hue, unfamiliar to Bath residents since the late 1970s when the church was painted a dark brown color and given the name of the "Chocolate Church." The church was constructed in 1847 for the Congregationalists, to the design of Boston architect Arthur Gilman, who stipulated that the original paint be brown to suggest the color of brownstone. The church was sold in 1974 by its congregation to Sagadahoc Preservation Inc., an organization concerned with the preservation of promotion of historic architecture in the Bath region. In 1981 the interior was reconfigured as a performing arts center. The image also captures the location of the first traffic light in the city of Bath, at the busy intersection of Washington and Centre Streets in 1938.

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About This Item

• Title: Central Congregational Church, Bath, 1967
• Creator: unknown
• Creation Date: 1967
• Subject Date: 1967
• Locations:
  • Bath, Sagadahoc County, ME
• Media: Photographic print
• Dimensions: 5.5 cm x 8.2 cm
• Local Code: PFl PC-14,41
• Collection: Elisabeth Houghton Trott
• Object Type: Image

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Cross Reference Searches

Standardized Subject Headings

• Congregational churches--Maine--Bath
• Centre Street (Bath, Me.)
• Washington Street (Bath, Me.)
• Streets--Maine--Bath

People

• Gilman, Arthur

Other Keywords

• Adaptive Reuse
• Historic Preservation
• Religious Buildings

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For more information about this item, contact:

Patten Free Library
33 Summer Street, Bath, ME 04530
(207) 443-5141
Website

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