Adams-Pickering Block

The Adams-Pickering Block (1873) is a Second Empire-style commercial block on Main St. in Bangor, Maine. Designed by architect George W. Orff, it is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, based on architectural significance. It is unusual in having an entirely granite facade with cast-iron trim. Its mansard roof is faced with Maine slate.

The block was constructed on the site of "The Main Street Fire" of 1872, which killed one and injured 8. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C03E6D61F38EF34BC4B52DFB6678389669FDE&oref=slogin The Bangor Fire] "New York Times", Oct. 13, 1872. Retrieved June 15, 2008]

George W. Pickering (1799-1876) was a prominent local merchant and President of the Kenduskeag Bank (incorporated 1847). His maternal grandfather Jacob Dennett was one of the original settlers of Bangor, part of a group which arrived in 1771. Pickering was also the 12th Mayor of Bangor (1853-54), and Vice President of the Bangor Theological Seminary. "Pickering Square" in Downtown Bangor is named for him. According to historian James Vickery he "was called the best businessman in Bangor by his contemporaries" [James Vickery, ed., "The Journals of John Edwards Godfrey", fnt. p. 279]

The building was one of the largest local commissions for Bangor architect Orff, who subsequently migrated to Minnesota.

Links

* [http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/Adams-Pickering_Block Adams-Pickering Block] Archiplanet, Accessed June 15, 2008

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