Maine Memory Network

John Calvin Stevens, Charles E.B. King, William Lowell, Portland, ca. 1885

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1885 Location: Portland Media: Tintype

Craftsman holding tools, ca. 1845

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1845 Media: Daguerreotype

Stanbon property, N. Side Seashore Avenue, Peaks Island, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Sadie E. Stanbon Use: Summer Dwelling

John Calvin Stevens house, Portland, 1919

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1905–1942 Location: Portland Client: John Calvin Stevens Architect: John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens Architects

Stevens architectural office, Portland, 1912-1978

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1912–1978 Location: Portland Client: Stevens Architects Architect: John Calvin Stevens

Educating Oneself: Carnegie Libraries

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie gave grants for 20 libraries in Maine between 1897 and 1912, specifying that the town own the land, set aside funds for maintenance, have room to expand -- and offer library services at no charge.

Good Will-Hinckley: Building a Landscape

The landscape at the Good Will-Hinckley campus in Fairfield was designed to help educate and influence the orphans and other needy children at the school and home.

Architecture & Landscape database - Biographies

"… Dictionary of Architects in Maine Several architects listed at left are represented in the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Maine; while…"

Architecture & Landscape database - Study for the LDM Sweat Memorial Art Museum, Portland, ca. 1911

"This item is part of the Stevens Architects drawings and records collection. View additional information about this item on the Maine Memory Network."

John Conroy: proud heir of a 4-generation business
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center

The evolution of a family business providing funeral services

Biddeford City Hall: an in-depth tour of this iconic building
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center Voices of Biddeford project

Visual tour and unique insights of Biddeford’s historical landmark

Longfellow Studies: "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport"

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Longfellow's poem "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport" opens up the issue of the earliest history of the Jews in America, and the significant roles they played as businessmen and later benefactors to the greater community. The history of the building itself is notable in terms of early American architecture, its having been designed, apparently gratis, by the most noted architect of the day. Furthermore, the poem traces the history of Newport as kind of a microcosm of New England commercial cities before the industrialization boom. For almost any age student the poem could be used to open up interest in local cemeteries, which are almost always a wealth of curiousities and history. Longfellow and his friends enjoyed exploring cemeteries, and today our little local cemeteries can be used to teach little local histories and parts of the big picture as well. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the Jewish cemetery in Newport, RI on July 9, 1852. His popular poem about the site, published two years later, was certainly a sympathetic portrayal of the place and its people. In addition to Victorian romantic musings about the "Hebrews in their graves," Longfellow includes in this poem references to the historic persecution of the Jews, as well as very specific references to their religious practices. Since the cemetery and the nearby synagogue were restored and protected with an infusion of funding just a couple years after Longfellow's visit, and later a congregation again assembled, his gloomy predictions about the place proved false (never mind the conclusion of the poem, "And the dead nations never rise again!"). Nevertheless, it is a fascinating poem, and an interesting window into the history of the nation's oldest extant synagogue.