Eastport Architecture Book

There’s no denying that change hit Eastport hard over the course of the
twentieth century. Significant losses of jobs and opportunity scourged
this city, which boasted over five thousand citizens in 1900. Each
subsequent decade saw a decline of around five hundred people until the
population leveled off in the 1970s. Cities aren’t designed to function if their
population dwindles by two thirds, but Eastport had a solid foundation that
allowed it to press on. Though they certainly didn’t anticipate such downswings,
Eastport’s nineteenth-century builders and patrons handed this island
community a collection of civic monuments, emblematic of shared sensibilities,
that have given it the means to sustain fundamental transformation in the
twenty-first century.
One of Eastport’s great advantages is its commercial core along Water
Street, a five-block stretch of surviving commercial buildings, listed since 1982
on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed with a stoic elegance that
wouldn’t be out of place in an Edward Hopper painting, these two- and threestory
brick and wood buildings would be the envy of any Main Street in America.
While lack of post-war development and urban renewal may have left
Eastporters feeling out of the loop, the absence in this city of the demolition
that elsewhere accompanied modernization and ‘progress’ turned out to be a
godsend. I think of this every time I pass the venerable local library, still very
much in use, its decorated brick entry arch welcoming you like a much-loved
family member.
This is not to say that Eastport has been without losses. While its many
churches are gems of period architecture, one can’t help but grieve when
looking at photographs of the gorgeous Unitarian Church, for instance, that
succumbed to flames in 1946. The sardine and pearl-essence plants that were
unceremoniously demolished or destroyed in recent times would be the envy of
any New England waterfront today. These losses make it that much more crucial
to protect the built heritage of Eastport that remains.
A downtown facade-improvement program has been led by the Tides
Institute, resulting in the return of many of the late nineteenth-century brick
buildings to their original forms. Historic structures like the North Baptist Church
and Norwood House are being carefully restored, and efforts to repurpose
others are either successfully completed or gaining traction. Take, for example,
the Eastport Arts Center, the Congregational Church, the Old Eastport Savings
Bank, the Eastport Nursing Home, and the Barracks Museum. In an era when the
massive textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, are becoming valuable office and
residential developments, and the obsolete elevated-rail system in Manhattan
can transform into the hugely successful High Line, one has high hopes for the
abandoned can factory downtown on Eastport’s Sea Street, one of the last and
most visible reminders of the region’s sardine industry. A refurbishment of its
tenacious brick shell, concrete deck, and post-and-beam structure could drive a
broader waterfront architectural project that would make any port city proud.
It may seem small at first, but the spark effect of a new business infusion or an
owner restoring a property is enormous. The current rejuvenation of Eastport’s
downtown has been more than successful, with new restaurants, a pet store, a
bakery, storefront artist studios, and even a candy store cropping up alongside
Eastport stalwarts like the Waco Diner, which has stood on Water Street since
1924, and S.L. Wadsworth & Son, the ‘nation’s oldest ship chandlery’, which
has been there since 1818. On a larger, industrial scale, there’s optimism for the
shipping industry and cargo port on the west side of the island. The 1930s vision
of tidal power has also been newly revisited. The lobstering industry and salmon
aquaculture are thriving, and there’s been a noticeable upsurge in tourism and
arts-related attractions. Just ask the many thousands who make the pilgrimage
to Eastport every year for the July Fourth celebration or the September Pirate
Festival. These success stories deserve place alongside that of the nationallyrenowned,
heavy-timbered Raye’s Mustard mill, whose original millstones have
ground mustard seeds for over a century now.
The average age in Eastport is older than in many places in America, yet
young families are coming and staying. Though their numbers are a fraction
of those of a century ago, many locals still work in the port, in fisheries, and in
boat repair. As well, numerous artists and craftspeople of the early 1970s who
‘discovered’ Eastport as a safe, creative haven set apart from big-city America
have stayed put. The citizens who’ve left have done so out of perceived necessity
more often than not, but those who’ve remained, like the newcomers who’ve
lingered, have made it clear that this is where they belong. – J.L.
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