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<\/a>\nFig. #46. My neighbor Harry\u2019s house from the sea: c.1861 lovely with few \u201damendments\u201d but classic lines and a garage across the street. I don\u2019t have a picture of Ginny\u2019s house, at c.1831 Harry\u2019s slightly older next-door neighbor house, but it has an ell and attached barns.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Jamie Wyeth\u2019s painting, a treasure in itself, is of a classic Maine house with two fireplace chimneys, dog-house dormers (\u201cThey\u2019re gable dormers,\u201d my son says, but my neighbor Harry always thought they looked like doghouses.), big brass portholes (homage to the sea?), parts that could be finished later if money is tight or need is light, like enduring Maine houses, and maybe my favorite part, a grounded cupola without a widow\u2019s walk, but with a copper roof and windows all around, a reminder that libraries are windows on the greater world, just like the returning seafarers.<\/p>\n
Thomas Hubka\u2019s Big House, Little House, Back House Barn<\/strong><\/em> is the only book I know which addresses the homegrown architecture of Maine, but I don’t know if any local houses are included. The very good news is that a Tenants Harbor neighbor\u2019s daughter is an architectural historian interested in local (vernacular) architectures of many places, including Maine, so I\u2019m looking forward to her possibly forthcoming book.<\/p>\n Fig. #49. Harry\u2019s house from the road: The attached \u201cboathouse\u201d makes an ell and a patio. The garage across the street is long moved, thanks to great new neighbors.<\/strong><\/p>\n How sensible, then, to cloak a Maine harbor library in a classic Maine house with seafaring amendments and happy memories. This is a great idea. I hope it happens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I love libraries. For a professional lifetime, I\u2019ve been plotting ways to make them ever better. I didn\u2019t think much about how they looked as I passed by; they were mostly non-wood monuments with pillars, steps, and\/or lions (and more … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n