John J. Brown House, Portland, 1971
Contributed by Greater Portland Landmarks
The John J. Brown house is located at 387 Spring Street, Portland. Originally located one mile east on Spring Street, it was moved in 1971.
The 1845 design of architect Henry Rowe is a local example of Gothic Revival style popular from 1840 - 1860 during the Victorian Era. Rowe was trained in England and advertised his training experience and the John J. Brown House as an example of his skills.
The board and batten siding is wood made to sit flush and give a slender stone resemblance. Pointed archways and the steeply pitched hipped roof elongate the structure vertically. The decorative corner buttresses, entry porch and fish scale slate shingles are common of Gothic Revival.
Other common elements of Gothic Revival Style include drip moldings around windows, bargeboards under eaves and pinnacles on roof lines, pointed arches, finials, stained glass windows and lacework.
Signature motifs include: quatrefoils, cinquefoils, statues of religious icons, nobility, dwarfs, goblins, devils, monkeys, donkeys, griffins, lions and/or other creatures.
The overall Gothic Revival Style is asymmetrical, eclectic and romantic with porches, towers, bay windows and flamboyant ornamentation.
- Title: John J. Brown House, Portland, 1971
- Creator: Dean, Nicholas
- Creation Date: 1971
- Subject Date: 1971
- Town: Portland
- County: Cumberland
- State: ME
- Media: Photograph
- Dimensions (cm): 18 x 21
- Object Type: Image
For more information about this item, contact:
Greater Portland Landmarks
93 High Street, Portland, ME 04101-3797
Cross Reference Searches
LC Subject Headings
Brown, John J.--Homes and haunts--Maine--Portland
Gothic revival (Architecture)
Rowe, Henry, 1810-1870
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