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Belfast National Bank facts for kids

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Belfast National Bank
U.S. Historic district
Contributing property
Belfast National Bank building, Belfast, Maine.jpg
Belfast National Bank is located in Maine
Belfast National Bank
Location in Maine
Belfast National Bank is located in the United States
Belfast National Bank
Location in the United States
Location Main and Beaver Sts., Belfast, Maine
Area less than one acre
Built 1879 (1879)
Built by Israel Wood Parker
Architect George M. Harding
Part of Belfast Commercial Historic District (ID80000257)
NRHP reference No. 73000148
Quick facts for kids
Significant dates
Added to NRHP April 23, 1973
Designated CP April 4, 1980

The Belfast National Bank building is a really old and important building in downtown Belfast, Maine. You can find it where Main and Beaver Streets meet. It was built in 1879 and made bigger about twelve years later. This building is known for its fancy decorations. A famous architect named George M. Harding designed it. In 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes important historical sites in the United States.

What the Bank Building Looks Like

The Belfast National Bank Building is in a busy part of the city. It stands at a five-way intersection. This is where Main, Beaver, and Church Streets all come together. The building sits on a special triangle-shaped piece of land. Main Street is on its north side, and Beaver Street is on its east side.

The building has 2-1/2 stories and is made of brick. It has a special type of roof called a mansard roof. This roof slopes down on all sides. The roof also has decorative parts called cresting. You can see these on the gables, which are the pointed parts of the roof. The windows on the roof are shaped like Gothic lancet points. This means they are tall and narrow with a pointed top. You can see this same shape on a window on the short front of the building.

The ground floor of the building has modern store windows today. The windows on the second floor are sash windows. These windows have carved designs above them.

History of the Belfast National Bank Building

CityNationalBankBelfastME
Photo from around 1878

The building was designed by an architect from Portland, Maine named George M. Harding. It was built between 1878 and 1879. A builder from Belfast, Israel Wood Parker, constructed it. At this time, Belfast was a very busy city. It was famous for shipping and building ships.

George M. Harding and Israel Wood Parker worked together on other buildings too. They also built the Masonic Hall in Belfast. This building is also located at the same intersection. The Belfast National Bank building was built for the Belfast National Bank. Before this, the bank had rented space in another building since 1857.

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