Grant Park

Grant Park. . , Grant Park is named after Harry Allen Grant, who built the second summer cottage in Bar Harbor in 1869. (The first cottage was built in 1868 for Alpheus Hardy of Boston.) Grant, an attorney from Tarrytown, New York, paid $400 for the lot. Along with his cottage, a tennis court was also constructed on the property just below what is now the public parking lot. This particular lot was unique, not only because of its location, but because the "Boulder" - a large glacial erratic now referred to as Balance Rock - sat directly in front of the property along the shore. Grant died in 1898. His widow, Julia Schoonmaker Grant, sold the property in 1912 for $20,000 to a syndicate of local men headed by William Sherman, who subsequently sold it to the Town of Bar Harbor. In 1929 the Village Improvement Association made it known that it wished to improve the property for the benefit of the whole community, and it was at this time that Grant Park truly came to life. The first order of business was to make room for the park, which the Town did by selling the house for $150 with the agreement it would be relocated to another site. Today, thanks to the foresight of our town fathers and early advocates of public open space, visitors and residents alike enjoy the spectacular views of Frenchman Bay and surrounding islands from the peace and serenity of this unique oceanside park.