City of Bath

Captions: (top) Davenport Memorial City Hall, designed by Boston architect Charles G. Loring, was begun in 1928 and dedicated on May 29, 1929. Described by a dedication-day article in the Bath Independence as “New England Colonial style,” the building’s from facade resembled the 1832 Merchant’s Exchange in Philadelphia, which itself looked to an ancient Greek monument for inspiration. Many American architects were still pulling concepts and details from the past to create enduring symbols of power and stability for civic architecture.; (bottom group of photographs, clockwise from the upper left) Charles Davenport (1809-1901) learned to be careful with money at thirteen when his father Benjamin died. While concerned with caring for his family, Charles seemed just as concerned about the families of others, His career revolved around insurance, but his passion centered on assisting others. When he and his wife Catharine died, they left a fortune, but not a will. Their surviving son, George Patten Davenport, inherited the money in 1907, having already internalized the family tradition of charitable responsibility.; Seated in the buggy, George P. Davenport posed for his ca. 1896 photograph, in front of his office, where he handled a variety of business interests. The office also served his father Charles Davenport, but the property be can as office, store, and home for Charles’ father, Benjamin, a hatter, in the early nineteenth century. So the property remained in the Davenport family hands for over a hundred years, before George P. Davenport left it to the City as the site for a new City Hall.; Bath’s first city hall, seen in this 1908 postcard, started as the town hall in 1838, since Bath was not yet a city. Designed as a multi-purpose building on Centre Street, the brick structure held civic offices and a public hall on the upper floor, with two retail stores and a small schoolroom on the lower floor. The belfry was added in 1861 to house the 1802 Paul Revere & Son bell, initially installed in the North Meeting House and now residing atop the Davenport Memorial City Hall. By 1920, the old building could not house all the city’s departmental offices and had structural problems.; In 1928, photographer Herbert Douglas captured both the construction of the city hall and its close observation by pedestrians at the busy intersection of Front and Centre Streets. The scaffolding almost hide the assembling of granite foundation and steps, limestone front facade and columns, and other walls of brick, atop a concrete foundation.

Captions: (top to bottom) The ten structures, noted here with a “M” on Front Street, were all associated with the Moses family and their stewardship of the downtown. Still other Moses buildings could be found on side streets. From the brothers’ “Arch” that provided access to the Water Street foundry to the decorative brickwork of several business blocks, created under the guidance of Galen Moses, these buildings contributed to the downtown’s development. For the careful observer, they continue to add atmosphere to the historic downtown of the City of Ships.; Oliver Moses (1803-1882) came to Bath in 1826 as a trained tinsmith, followed by his brother William Vaughn (1801-1878) in 1827. Although successful at that business, the brothers expanded into the more complex shipbuilding industry. The brothers built ships in mid-century, while also expanding their real-estate holding. And both were active in community affairs, elected to city offices, served in the fire department, and undertook many charitable efforts. The concern with the welfare of their city continued into coming generations. Without the gifts of Galen C. Moses, son of Oliver, their would be no Patten Free- Library, no Y.M.C.A. In addition, Galen made generous, often unpublicized, contributions to the Old Ladies’ Home, Winter Street Congregational Church, varied missionary activities, the education of Bath children, and still other charities. Elizabeth R. Moses, granddaughter of William V., also made a tradition of educational gifts, and continued the family involvement the Old Ladies’ Home.; Oliver Moses photograph fro the 1899 Illustrated Historical Souvenir of the City of Bath, and William V. Mose photograph from the 1936 Edward Clarence Plummer History of Bath by Henry Owen, courtesy of the Sagadahoe History & Genealogy Room, Patten Free Library. The 1928 Von Hausen portrait of Galen C. Moses, courtesy of the Patten Free Library.