Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

July 12, 2012

'The Dwellings' coffee table book shows variety of Hallowell homes

By Susan McMillan smcmillan@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

HALLOWELL -- The homes in the coffee table book "The Dwellings" are downtown and out in the country. They include houses, condos, a nursing home and a bed and breakfast.

"Any place a person sleeps, we figured that was a dwelling," said Jane Paxton, who spearheaded the creation of the book as a fundraiser for the historic preservation group Row House.

The books arrived Wednesday, and residents who paid to have their homes featured can pick up their copies at an event Sunday evening at Slates Restaurant.

Row House will sell copies at Old Hallowell Day next weekend and through several stores in the city to raise money for historic preservation projects at the fire station and elsewhere in the city.

Paxton said "The Dwellings" was inspired by a book created for Hallowell's 200th anniversary celebration in 1962.

"That one was black-and-white, and it only had a few of the historic houses in it," Paxton said. "We really wanted to show more of the breadth of Hallowell. We have some of those gorgeous old houses, but we have newer houses, apartments, condos, a nursing home. Every neighborhood in Hallowell, from out in the country to right downtown. It really gives a cross-section of the houses and residential architecture of Hallowell."

The book features 66 homes in more than 175 pictures taken by Bill Haley. It was designed by Hallowell artist Christopher Cart.

Some of the more well-known homes in the book include the Bodwell House and the Vaughan Homestead. Haley said he enjoyed visiting all the homes and couldn't pick a favorite.

"It became special each time I went into someone's house," Haley said. "I live downtown, I have lived downtown most of the years that I've lived here, and I learned that there's so much more to Hallowell than downtown. There's so much history up in the hills, and with the families that live in these houses."

Paxton is a board member of Row House, which undertaken preservation projects at City Hall and the row houses on Second Street. Right now, the organization is largely focused on the fire station, where members recently removed historic artifacts for safe storage while city officials decide the fate of the building.

"We hope we will have a museum eventually, a place where we can put those artifacts and make sure everyone can enjoy them," Paxton said.

Businesses that have agreed to sell copies of "The Dwellings" include Berry & Berry Floral, Boynton's Market, Harlow Gallery, Josiah Smith Antiques and Whippersnappers Fine Fabrics.

Susan McMillan -- 621-5645

smcmillan@mainetoday.com

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