Our Downtown’s Estimable Past
The founders of Downtown Farmington – over 230-years ago – were among the more farsighted of any town in New England!
That’s due to the set back of its buildings from the main streets of the community, enabling comfortable two way traffic in an historic district. It’s a feat not frequently achieved in most New England towns the size of Farmington and something that contributes to both the historic as well as practical ambience of this unique neighborhood.
Classic designs of its historic architecture abound. One example: The former Holman Office building – now State Farm Insurance, modeled in l923 after the Philadelphia office of Benjamin Franklin, for whom the county was named.
In the 1980’s famed Camden architect Chris Glass, supervised the restoration of many other building facades in the downtown neighborhood. His accomplished designs are expressed in such structures as Tranten’s, Dug Out Bar and Grill/Cullenberg building, and the Broadway portion of the Liquid Sunshine/Mills Office block.
(Contributed by Paul Mills, of Mills and Mills). For more information on Farmington’s History visit Farmington’s section on the Maine Memory Network.
