Off Washington – The Architectural Gems on the Less-Travelled Streets of Bath, Maine

On a morning walk last week, with the recent summer weather, the gardens in my neighborhood were in rare good form, causing me to stop and admire a number of properties.  It occurred to me that visitors to Bath may see the Maine Maritime Museum, the shops and restaurants in the downtown, Library Park and maybe drive up Washington Street to see the “Sea Captains’ Homes.”  But do most visitors realize what a treasure trove of historic homes we have “Off Washington” here in Bath?  These are regular homes that we all live in that sit on the side streets of lesser note and lesser travel.  Mostly built in the 1800’s, they have been loved and cared for over time (for the most part), or brought back from derelict status, by one family or numerous owners, updated and modernized, but holy cow, we’ve done a good job of preserving stuff!

Here, in pictures of no particular order, I’m sharing my walk-about and hope that, whether you live here in Bath or are “from away,” that you enjoy viewing these architectural details as much as I enjoy sharing.The Greek Revival is a dominant architectural style in Bath, but you will also find Victorians and Federals and the ubiquitous New Englander, giving the City a good mix of ornate and fancy, but also clean and crisp decoration. 

In Bath, it’s a lucky home owner who has a lot large enough to create a shady garden spot such as this.  When our historic homes were built, there was no such thing as a building code to dictate lot line set-backs.  You will find homes sitting on (or sometimes over!) the lot line.  Garages are also conspicuously absent as cars had not yet been invented when many Bath homes were originally built.

But, have I mentioned the porches?  Bath homes have some of the most beautiful and charming porches!  Porches with columns . . .

Porches with diamond designs . . .

Porches with all manner of decoration . . .

Shipbuilding figures prominently in the history of Bath.  There was a time when shipyards lined the Kennebec River and nautical inspired decoration can be found in many of the homes.  Today, Bath still has a shipyard at its center (Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics Company), the Kennebec River runs along to the Atlantic, and a rail line runs through it (Maine Eastern Railroad) from Brunswick to Rockland.

The neighborhoods of Maine’s “Cool Little City,” as Bath has been labeled, may also contain fanciful surprises that will make you smile . . .

From lawn serpents to garden pigs, and street signs embedded in the pavement that I hadn’t noticed for 13 years!  This City has some sense of style!

I’ll leave you with a few more images, but that ends my neighborhood tour of architectural details and delights.   Did I mention all of these photos (except one) were taken on a 30 minute walk in the area surrounding my north end home?  And true to this posts title, none of these homes are on Washington Street.

If you want to make one of Bath’s historic homes your own, there are some wonderful properties on the market right now at price points for everyone.  I’d be happy to help you become a resident of Maine’s Cool Little City so you can be amazed by this stuff every single day, just like I am.