Maine Central Railroad General Office Building

The former Maine Central Railroad General Office Building is an historic office building at 222-242 Saint John Street in the Saint John Valley neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Built in stages between 1889 and 1916, it was home to the Maine Central Railroad Company, the state's largest railroad operator. It is also one of the city's largest office buildings, and a fine example of Romanesque Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.[1]

Maine Central Railroad General Office Building
c. 1920 postcard view
Location222-242 Saint John Street, Portland, Maine
Coordinates43°39′03″N 70°16′48″W
Area5.2 acres (2.1 ha)
Built1889, 1898, 1902, 1916
ArchitectBradlee, Winslow & Wetherill
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP reference No.87002192[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 7, 1988

Description and history

The former Maine Central Railroad General Office Building is located on the west side of the Portland peninsula, below the Western Promenade between Saint John Street to the east and the railroad tracks to the west. It was located adjacent to Portland's Union Station, which was demolished in 1961.[2] The office building is a large E-shaped three story masonry building, presenting the legs of the E toward Saint John Street and its spine to the railroad tracks. Due to the sloping lot, the track side of the building presents four stories. The street-facing front ends of the building are essentially the same, each with round-arched entrances at the center, flanked by projecting round bays that are two stories in height. A modillioned granite belt course separates the second and third floors, with the third floor having eight sash windows grouped 3-2-3. The building is capped by a hip roof, with dormers at the ends of the E legs as well as along the street-facing sides of the connecting sections, which are seven bays in width.[3]

Southern end of the building, 2018

The Maine Central Railroad Company was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862, combining the operations of several smaller railroads, Over the next half-century the company grew significantly, through expansion and acquisition. This building was its second headquarters. The oldest portion, the lower two stories of one of the E's legs, was built in 1889 to a design by the Boston architectural firm Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherill. The same firm had also recently designed Union Station, and was retained for each of the building's enlargements. In 1892 it was extended to the rear, and in 1898 the third floor was added. In 1906 a connector and second leg were built, giving the building a U shape, and it achieved its present form in 1916 with the addition of the third leg.[3]

gollark: `string.dump(string.dump)`
gollark: This is ***evil*** code.
gollark: Not my code.
gollark: This literally says "pay attention to what you run", *but actually warns you twice*.
gollark: ```lua --Error screen term.clear() term.setCursorPos(1,1) print("ERROR!!!") sleep(0.1) print("ERROR CODE: ERR_OS_CORRUPT") sleep(0.1) print("Detailed information for diagnostics follow:") sleep(0.1) print("0x00000001 0x00000002 0x00000010") sleep(0.1) print("0x00000101 0x00120000 0x01000300") sleep(0.1) print("0x00000000 0x00001040 0x0000000F") sleep(0.1) print("0x00010506 0x01200040 0x00000003") sleep(0.1) term.setCursorPos(1,10) sleep(0.3) print("If you installed any new hardware or software,") sleep(0.1) print("try removing them before restarting.") sleep(0.1) print("If the problem still persists, bring your computer") sleep(0.1) print("to a technician.") sleep(0.2) print("Error program left a message: Pay attention to what you run next time ;)") sleep(0.1) term.setCursorPos(1,17) sleep(0.3) print("You will lose all unsaved work.") sleep(2) print("This computer has been terminated.")```

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Holland, Kevin (2004). Passenger Trains of Northern New England in the Streamline Era. Lynchburg, VA: TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-69-7.
  3. "NRHP nomination for Maine Central Railroad General Office Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
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