Things To Do in Maine's Mid- Coast

Brunswick’s main attraction, Bowdoin College, was founded in 1794, offered its first classes 8 years later, and has since amassed an illustrious roster of prominent alumni, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, President Franklin Pierce, and arctic explorer Robert E. Peary. Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain served as president of the college after the war. The campus green is well worth a short stroll. Sturdy little Massachusetts Hall, my favorite building, originally contained the entire college within its walls. Winthrop Hall, close by, was the first of the line of brick dormitories that march in a prim line away from Hubbard Hall (1934), a drippingly Gothic library. The steepled granite chapel is worth peeking inside if it’s open—designed by Richard Upjohn, it’s unmistakably the visual focal point of the campus.

Exploring Bath

First and foremost, Bath is a shipbuilding town. The first U.S.-built ship was constructed downstream at the Popham Bay colony in the early 17th century. In the years since, shipbuilders have constructed more than 5,000 ships hereabouts. Bath shipbuilding reached its heyday in the late 19th century, but the business of shipbuilding continues to this day; Bath Iron Works is still one of the nation’s preeminent boatyards, constructing and repairing ships for the U.S. Navy. The scaled-down military has left Bath shipbuilders in a somewhat tenuous state, but it’s still common to see the steely gray ships in the dry dock (the best view is from the bridge over the Kennebec) and the towering red-and-white crane moving supplies and parts around the yard.

Architecture buffs will find a detour to Bath more than worthwhile. (Look for the free brochure Architectural Tours: Walking and Driving in the Bath Area, available at information centers listed below.) The Victorian era in particular is well represented. Washington Street, lined with maples and impressive homes, is one of the best-preserved displays in New England of late-19th-century residences.

Front Street is the heart of Bath’s compact downtown, on a small rise overlooking the river, and it’s home to some remarkable Victorian commercial architecture—walk down the street slowly and try to count the brick buildings, but you’ll lose track. There’s also a clutch of shops, groceries, and eateries. Note especially the blond, stone Richardson-style Patten Free Library (at Summer Street)—its park features a gazebo, fountain, and perfect view of the Winter Street Church—and the bell tower on the big City Hall/Davenport Memorial (its correct name) at 55 Front Street, built in 1929 during the Great Depression with money bequeathed by a wealthy local merchant. Its bell, from 1802, was probably cast by Paul Revere. Stop by the Centre Street Arts Gallery (11 Center Street) to see works by regional artists.

Art lovers in particular will enjoy exploring Georgetown Island, southeast of town. During the early 20th century the island, together with the neighboring Popham Peninsula, was known as “Seguinland,” a summer outpost for modernist artists like photographer Paul Strand, sculptor Gaston Lachaise, and painters Marsden Hartley and Marguerite and William Zorach.

For more on the individual attractions in these two towns, please click here.