Abbott Graves House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Abbott Graves House
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Abbott Graves House
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | Ocean Ave., Kennebunkport, Maine |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | Graves, Abbott |
| Architectural style | Prairie School |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000261 |
| Added to NRHP | April 23, 1980 |
The Abbott Graves House is a special old house in Kennebunkport, Maine. It was built in 1905 by an artist named Abbott Fuller Graves. He designed it himself! This house is very important because it's one of only two homes in Maine built in a unique style called "Prairie School" architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. This means it's recognized as a historic place worth protecting.
What Makes the Abbott Graves House Special?
The Graves House is located on Ocean Avenue. It faces west toward the Kennebunk River. This house has two stories and is made of wood. It has a wide, flat roof that is slightly sloped. The outside is covered in white stucco.
A Unique Design
The house has a main section in the middle. On each side, there are parts that stick out. A porch with a flat roof stretches across the front. It connects these sticking-out sections. There are also single-story parts that extend to the north and south.
The house looks balanced, but it's not perfectly the same on both sides. For example, the windows are arranged differently. One side has three windows above two. The other side has two windows above three. This makes the house interesting to look at.
Who Was Abbott Graves?
The artist Abbott Fuller Graves designed and built this house in 1905. He had been spending his summers in Kennebunkport since 1891. He built this house to be his permanent home all year round.
Graves was clearly inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright was a very famous architect. He built his first "Prairie-style" house just five years earlier. That house was in Kankakee, Illinois.
The Abbott Graves House was Graves' home until he passed away in 1936. It is one of only two "Prairie-style" houses in Maine. The other one is the Ward Hinckley House. That house is in Blue Hill and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
