Bar Harbor in Hancock County, Maine — The American Northeast (New England)
Gateway to Acadia
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 8, 2014
1. Gateway to Acadia Marker
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Captions: (photo on left) Grosvenor Atterbury; (bottom, left) Atterbury also designed the Brown Mountain Gate Lodge in Northeast Harbor and Rockefeller Hall (left), which is now open to the public as a welcome center at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) on the Schoodic Peninsula.
Captions: (photo on left) Grosvenor Atterbury; (bottom, left) Atterbury also designed the Brown Mountain Gate Lodge in Northeast Harbor and Rockefeller Hall (left), which is now open to the public as a welcome center at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) on the Schoodic Peninsula.
This gated lodge was built in 1932 to keep motor vehicles off of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s carriage roads and out of Acadia’s interior. Rockefeller hired New York architect Grosvenor Atterbury to design the building in harmony with the natural surroundings. Atterbury chose the Rustic Norman style typical of European hunting lodges to emphasize Acadia’s early French influence. Look carefully for features like the high-pitched roof and half-timber detail and for Atterbury’s signature “A” carved into the shutters. Local granite, coupled with shades of red, brown, and black, blend the building into the forest settings. Originally serving as a residence for Rockefeller’s road engineer, the lodge has since become housing for park employees. Please respect their privacy.
The group of buildings… is much more imposing and important than I dreamed it would be, and of course… exceedingly charming and decorative. -John D. Rockefeller Jr. in a letter to Grosvenor Atterbury, 1932
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Parks & Recreational Areas • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1932.
Location.
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Carriage Roads - The Gate Lodges (within shouting distance of this marker); Drink in the View (approx. 0.3 miles away); Granite Foundations (approx. 0.4 miles away); Glacial Freight (approx. 1.3 miles away); Carriage Roads - Building the Roads (approx. 1.7 miles away); Joseph T. Musetti Jr. Veterans Memorial Park (approx. 2.4 miles away); To the Top! (approx. 2.4 miles away); Cobbling the Cove (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bar Harbor.
More about this marker. This marker is located in Acadia National Park near Jordan Pond.
Also see . . . The Gate Lodges Of Acadia National Park: Rockefeller's Little Castles. The story of Acadia’s gate lodges begins with the advent of automobiles on Mount Desert Island. The question of whether to allow motorcars had raged in the early 1900s. When first the west side, then Bar Harbor, and finally Mt. Desert (in 1915) were opened to cars, Rockefeller -- who took great pleasure in horse-drawn carriage rides
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 8, 2014
2. Gateway to Acadia Marker
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 8, 2014
3. Jordan Pond Gate Lodge
Credits. This page was last revised on December 2, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 543 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 16, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
