Issues → May/June 2009 → Interact → 10 Things to Do → Ten Great Weekends →
Mid-Maine Weekend -- Bath and Brunswick
by Hilary Nangle
Submitted by Ernest Saindon
Midcoast Maine's fraternal twins, Bath and Brunswick, are yin and yang, distinct yet complementary, connected by Route 1, the region's major artery--and by the aptly named Merrymeeting Bay, where two of Maine's major rivers (and four other smaller ones) mingle.
Bath, identified by the flock of cranes pecking away at Bath Iron Works, hugs the lower Kennebec River, a tidal highway that has shaped the city's shipbuilding heritage and salty disposition. Although textile mills powered by the Androscoggin River built Brunswick's fortunes, it's Bowdoin College's downtown campus that has fostered an arts and intellectual legacy.
Ever since colonists at nearby Popham launched the first English ship built in the New World in 1607-08, Bath's veins have run blue. The Maine Maritime Museum, built on the site of the former Percy and Small Shipyard, preserves and continues this seafaring heritage. An embryonic skeletal model of the Wyoming, a colossal six-masted schooner launched here in 1909, helps put the operation's size into context. Just imagine the sheer numbers of workers it took to complete the improbable task of slipping that massive ship into tricky tidal waters.
On the other side of Bath's tracks is the Chocolate Church, an 1846 Gothic Revival landmark turned performing-arts center. Up Washington Street, elegant homes built by captains and shipping magnates reveal the city's seafaring fortunes. Front and Centre downtown (literally, at the intersection of those streets) is City Hall, capped with a Paul Revere bell. Cheek-by-jowl Victorian brick storefronts harbor boutiques, galleries, and shops, anchored by Reny's, a.k.a. Chez Rene, a who-knows-what-you'll-find emporium overflowing with bargains on just about everything.
As shipbuilding is to Bath, Bowdoin College is to Brunswick. It has invested millions in renovating its facilities and adding inviting, street-friendly facades to the Pickard Theater, home of the Maine State Music Theatre; Studzinski Recital Hall, where the Bowdoin International Music Festival stages concerts; and the treasure-filled Museum of Art, now entered through a stunning brass-and-glass pavilion that has preserved the museum's lion-guarded facade, designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White.
Brunswick's literary and leadership legacy also includes Joshua Chamberlain, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, all Bowdoin grads, as were Robert E. Peary and Donald B. MacMillan, whose explorations are chronicled in the college's Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum. At First Parish Church, Harriet Beecher Stowe was inspired to pen Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Below the town green, a.k.a. "the Mall," Brunswick's downtown offers an eclectic collection of antiques shops and thrift stores, bookshops and galleries, restaurants and snack shops. Inside Fort Andross, a renovated mill, is Frontier Cafe, a combination theater, arts center, and eatery, with big windows facing the Androscoggin. It's a fine spot to ponder the flow of water and ideas that has shaped this region's fame and fortunes.
Yankee's picks for Mid-Coast Maine. Click on any destination below for a map and more information.
Maine Maritime Museum
Flying along Route 1 at 50 miles per hour, it’s easy to forget that the sea was the original highway when ships carried freight and passengers. Be reminded in a big way at this engaging museum (set aside at least two hours). From the paintings of regal ships scudding before the winds to river cruises to the workshops where you can see boats being built today, the museum will take you far from land without any risk of seasickness. [DETAILS]
Chocolate Church Arts Center
This architectural gem -- a wooden Gothic Revival church with stately square tower, buttressing, arched windows, and board and batten exterior -- is now home to a vibrant arts center. Take in concerts, theater, and a fine arts gallery in this historically-renown venue. [DETAILS]
Bowdoin College
This McKim, Mead & White jewel box houses a treasure trove of some 14,000 art objects, ranging from Winslow Homer’s watercolor box to fabulous Assyrian bas-reliefs. [DETAILS]
Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College
Bowdoin grads Robert E. Peary (class of 1877) and Donald MacMillan (class of 1898) were pioneering Arctic explorers; their namesake museum is filled with strange and wonderful artifacts, specimens, and other relics of their expeditions. [DETAILS]
Gulf of Maine Books
Small, serene, and nobody bugs you when you browse for hours. Specialties include literature, poetry, and politics. Don’t miss the magazines and cool postcards. [DETAILS]
Frontier cafe+cinema+gallery
Michael Gilroy (Gil) led travel expeditions to exotic places before transforming this vacant factory space into “a cultural crossroads.” The lively café is walled with windows overlooking the Androscoggin River, and is a venue for frequent events, from wine tastings to storytelling to films and lectures in its 75-seat cinema. [DETAILS]
Rosita's Mexican Food
An inexpensive Mexican restaurant near Bowdoin College campus, Rosita’s has all-natural tortillas, refried beans laced with subtle spices, and service as friendly as it gets. [DETAILS]
Galen C. Moses House
Built in 1874 for Galen Clapp Moses, this inn is reminiscent of the 19th-century grand Victorian style. Filled w/antiques, it has a warm, glowing fireplace in the library w/leather seats, a paneled dining room w/original appointments, bright formal parlors, a piano, and a TV. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Houses and is on the historic house tours. Complimentary afternoon tea and turndown service are available. The only accommodations in Bath, Maine with AAA Approval. A 3-diamond rating, the highest given to a Bed and Breakfast. [DETAILS]
The Inn at Bath
In a town known for its architecture, this mid-1800s Greek Revival home turned B&B is a standout. Located in the heart of Bath's historic district, the inn is a short walk to shops and restaurants. Innkeeper Elizabeth Knowlton's meals have been featured on the PBS show "Country Inn Cooking with Gail Greco" and magazines Gourmet and Bon Appetite. [DETAILS]
Reader Comments
Comment from William Newton on October 13, 2009
We just took a visitor from afar on this trip. A Haddock sandwich is a must for such a traveler. Who better to ask than one of the Maine Maritime volunteers, a local seaman, where to go. Maxwell's in Bath was suggested. We were not disappointed. Nor were we in the museum, the fall colors, historic homes...
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