Griffin House (Portland, Maine) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Griffin House
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Griffin House
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 200 High St., Portland, Maine |
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| Built | 1871 |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| NRHP reference No. | 84001360 |
| Added to NRHP | July 19, 1984 |
The Griffin House is a special old house located at 200 High Street in Portland, Maine. It was built in 1871 and is a great example of a building style called Second Empire architecture. This house was one of the first homes built further away from Portland's busy port area. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 because of its historical importance.
Contents
About the Griffin House
The Griffin House sits in a quiet neighborhood just north of downtown Portland. You can find it at the corner of High Street and Cumberland Avenue. It is a large house, about two and a half stories tall.
What the House Looks Like
The house is made of wood and has a special roof called a mansard roof. This type of roof has four sides, and each side slopes down in two parts. The lower part is steeper than the upper part. This design allows for a full third floor inside the roof.
The outside walls are covered with clapboard siding, which are long, thin boards that overlap. The house sits on a strong brick foundation. The edges of the roof have decorative blocks called modillions. Windows that stick out from the roof, called dormers, have rounded tops and fancy decorations around them.
Main Entrance and Windows
The front of the house faces east and has three main sections. A staircase on the side leads up to the main front door. A small porch covers the entrance, held up by square posts with decorative brackets.
The windows on the first floor have rounded tops with small decorative "ears" and brackets. The windows on the second floor have pointed, ear-shaped decorations above them. The corners of the building have flat, column-like decorations called paneled pilasters.
History of the Griffin House
The Griffin House was built in 1871 for a man named Charles S.D. Griffin. He was an important leader at the Portland Gas Company.
Building After the Great Fire
The house was built after a terrible fire in Portland in 1866. This fire destroyed a huge part of the city's waterfront area. At the time the Griffin House was built, the area north of the city center was mostly empty land. Building this house here showed a new trend: people started building homes further away from the busy port.
Family Home and Restoration
The Griffin family owned the house until 1936. In 1876, it was even divided into two separate apartments for two families. In the 1980s, the house was carefully restored to its original beauty.
