An ever-growing resource documenting Maine’s built and designed environment, this database includes architecture and landscape design commissions from ca. 1850 through the present. Represented works include Maine architects and designers; commissioned projects in Maine or for Maine residents; and to a lesser extent, out-of-state commissions by Maine architects.
While predominantly representing Maine architects and firms in Portland, Lewiston, and Bangor, the database includes a wide selection of drawings for urban, coastal, and rural communities. Landscape design, parks, urban planning, and planned communities represent a smaller, but growing portion of the listed holdings.
Rendering for Irving C. Bailey Esq., Winthrop, 1883
Maine Historical Society
Much of the present holdings are housed at Maine Historical Society, however, database participation is open to any collection, held publicly or privately. Participation only requires the commission have a Maine location or designer. Further, a commission may extend beyond working drawings and presentations to include specifications, photographs, models, and supplemental materials.
For the purposes of this site, the word "commission" is used somewhat interchangeably with the word "project." However, a project may include several commissions, perhaps executed over time, by different architects, or different aspects of a distinct site.
The Maine Architecture & Landscape Design Database is a work in progress. Ultimate objectives include at least one image from each commission; comprehensive representation for all Maine Historical Society's collection; and contributing partner participation. Please check back for regularly added new content.
The Maine Memory Network and Maine Historical Society extend deep gratitude to the Leon Levy Foundation and Maine Olmsted Alliance for supporting the Maine Architectural & Landscape Design Database; and to our corporate sponsors SMRT Architects, Wright-Ryan Construction, as well as Consigli Construction, CWS Architects, East Brown Cow, The Knickerbocker Group, and Simons Architects.