Main Street–Frye Street Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Main Street–Frye Street Historic District
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10 Frye Street
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | Frye, College and Main Sts., Lewiston, Maine |
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| Area | 17.4 acres (7.0 ha) |
| Architectural style | Second Empire, Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 08001355 |
| Added to NRHP | January 23, 2009 |
The Main Street–Frye Street Historic District is a special part of Lewiston, Maine. It includes many old houses on Frye Street and parts of College Street and Main Street. This area was once the most popular place for important people to live in the late 1800s. Many of the homes here were designed by a local architect named George M. Coombs. This historic district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
Contents
Exploring the Historic District
The Main Street–Frye Street Historic District has 37 houses. Most of these homes are on two blocks of Main and Frye Streets. This area is located between downtown Lewiston and the Bates College campus.
The district stretches along the east side of Main Street. It goes from Mountain Avenue to Whipple Street. It also includes three houses on the west side, north of Central Street. All the houses on Frye Street, from Main to College Streets, are part of the district. Three more houses on the west side of College Street, north of Frye, are also included. Today, many of these buildings are owned by Bates College.
A Look Back at Lewiston's History
Lewiston became a big center for making textiles in the 1830s. This growth was started by John and William Frye. The Franklin Company ran the textile mills and owned a lot of the land in the area. They also helped plan the city's streets.
Bates College was started in 1864. It was named after Benjamin E. Bates, who later owned the mills. The land between downtown Lewiston and the Bates campus used to be farmland. People started selling this land for building homes in 1851.
Why This Area Became Popular
One of the first houses on Frye Street was built in 1866. It belonged to Oren Burbank Cheney, who founded Bates College. The Frye Street area became very popular with important business and political leaders. This was because it was just outside the company-owned lands. It was also very close to the new college.
Because of this, many beautiful and well-designed houses were built here. You can see different styles, from simple Greek Revival and Gothic Revival cottages to grand Second Empire style mansions. There are 12 homes in the Queen Anne style and 11 in the Colonial Revival style.
Architectural Gems
Twelve of the 37 houses in the district were designed by George M. Coombs. He was a local architect. His designs show a unique look at his residential work. The area also includes the Sen. William P. Frye House and the James C. Lord House. These two homes were already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, Bates College owns most of the houses on Frye Street.
