Primrose Hill Historic District

The Primrose Hill Historic District encompasses a group of high-quality 19th century residences in Belfast, Maine. Set on Church and High Streets between Primrose and Anderson, this area is where the elite of early 19th-century Belfast built their homes. Four of the five most prominent houses are Federal, while one is Gothic Revival in style. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[1]

Primrose Hill Historic District
LocationHigh and Anderson Sts., Belfast, Maine
Coordinates44°25′16″N 69°0′44″W
Area13 acres (5.3 ha)
Built1809 (1809)
Architectural styleFederal
Part ofBelfast Historic District (ID86002733)
NRHP reference No.73000150[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 3, 1973
Designated CPAugust 21, 1986

Description and history

The Primrose Hill area of Belfast was developed after High Street was laid out in 1805. The part of High Street north of the city's central business district is elevated, with commanding views over the downtown and harbor beyond. As such, it became a desirable location for the city's elite to live. The historic district, when described in 1973 for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, described only five properties, extending along High Street from Primrose Street south to a triangular junction with High and Church Streets, and then south on Church Street to Anderson.[2] Its bounds, however, are actually larger, as a portion of Anderson Street (between Church and Waldo Streets) was included in a 1993 amendment to the Belfast Historic District due to its earlier inclusion in this district. (The Belfast Historic District was intended to completely include this district).[3]

On the east side of High Street stand two of the district's finer houses. The Benjamin Field House is a Federal style two-story wood frame house, with a hip roof, while directly to its south is the 1824 Benjamin Haseltine House, also Federal style. On the west side of High Street, opposite the Field House, stands the Johnson-Pratt House, built in 1812 for the son of one of Bowdoin College's founders. It has an elaborate Ionic portico, which was added about 1830. To its south stands the 1859 Gothic Revival House of Charles Haseltine, and the Anderson House, one of Belfast's finest brick Federal-style houses, stands further south; it was the residence of Hugh J. Anderson, a Governor of Maine.[2] Houses on Anderson Street include a fine Gothic Revival cottage built by a ship's captain about 1853.[3]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "NRHP nomination for Primrose Hill Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-12-19.
  3. "NRHP nomination for Belfast Historic District (1993 increase)". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-12-19.
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