Kresge Building (Augusta, Maine)

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Kresge Building
241 Water Street, Augusta ME.jpg
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Location 241-249 Water St., Augusta, Maine
Coordinates 44°18′57″N69°46′28″W / 44.31583°N 69.77444°W / 44.31583; -69.77444 Coordinates: 44°18′57″N69°46′28″W / 44.31583°N 69.77444°W / 44.31583; -69.77444
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1932 (1932)
Architectural style Moderne
MPS Augusta Central Business District MRA
NRHP reference # 86001693 [1]
Added to NRHP May 2, 1986

The Kresge Block is a historic commercial building at 241-249 Water Street in downtown Augusta, Maine. Built in 1932 to house a department store, it is a distinctive and rare local example of commercial Moderne architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. [1]

Augusta, Maine Capital of Maine, United States

Augusta is the state capital of the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Kennebec County.

Moderne architecture

Moderne architecture, also sometimes referred to as "Style Moderne" or simply "Moderne", describes certain styles of architecture popular from 1925 through the 1940s.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

Description and history

The Kresge Block is located on the east side of Water Street, Augusta's principal commercial thoroughfare, a bit south of the center of the block between Bridge and Front Streets. It is a two-story masonry structure, built out of brick and granite. The ground floor has two storefronts with a building entrance at the far left, sheltered by a decorative bronze hood. The lower half of the ground floor has polished granite below the glass display windows, and rising partway up the outer edge of the facade. The windows are framed by bronze trim, which also surrounds the store label above an awning sheltering the storefronts. The sign reads "Stacy's" using Art Deco styling. The second floor has paired sash windows, each with individual awnings, but shared stone sills and brick headers topped by a stone sill. The window pairs are separated by stylized pilasters. A parapet with a multicolor crosshatch brick pattern extends across the building above the second floor. [2]

Art Deco Influential visual arts design style which first appeared in France during the 1920s

Art Deco, sometimes referred to as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes held in Paris in 1925. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.

The block was built in 1932, replacing an Italianate building that was a virtual replica of its neighbors. It originally housed S.S. Kresge's, a department store, on the ground floor, with professional offices on the second floor. Since its construction, it has been one of downtown Augusta's most architecturally unusual buildings. [2]

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Kennebec County, Maine Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Kennebec County, Maine.

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Kresge Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-05-30.