Presque Isle is a beautiful city. In addition to breathtaking nature vistas, our street scenes are pleasant to look at as well. Much of this has to do with the architecture of the homes.
Although the city was founded in 1828, much of the building of our fine homes took place from the 1860s to the early 1900s. Many of the beautiful houses here were erected during the Victorian Era (1837-1901).
Houses that can officially be classified as “Victorians” would have been built during that time frame and have certain architectural features. These features include: being narrow and tall, having lots of stairs (inside and out), being asymmetrical in design, having balconies that go nowhere, having wrap-around porches, and having towers or turrets.
The home at 17 Academy St. is an example of a Queen Anne Victorian, a specific type of Victorian with a turret. And, at 47 Third St., one will observe a balcony that virtually goes nowhere. Presque Isle Historical Society’s 1875 Vera Estey House is a good example of one that is narrow and tall, of asymmetrical design, with a bay window.
In addition to the Queen Anne style, there is a very special type of Victorian known as a “Painted Lady.” In Presque Isle’s early days, it no doubt boasted many a Painted Lady. Today, we are down to two examples: 45 Third St. and 63 Dudley St.
The term “Painted Lady” was first used in the 1978 book by Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen, “Painted Ladies — San Francisco’s Resplendent Victorians,” and has since been used to describe Victorian houses with specific architectural features in other cities as well. The special characteristics of a Painted Lady include: gingerbread trim, stained glass windows, three or more exterior colors to enhance the architectural details, fish-scale shingles, and corbels. A corbel, most often decorative in nature today, is a piece of carved wood or stone used to structurally support another object. Think of a corbel as a fancy shelf bracket.
All of these characteristics can be found on the mauve, teal, and dusty mauve home at 45 Third St. The home at 63 Dudley is done in light blue, dark blue and white. In addition, this house served as one of the private hospitals that once served our community.
Next time you are taking a leisurely stroll around town, see how many of these features you can observe on some of our picturesque older homes.
Kimberly R. Smith is the secretary/treasurer of the Presque Isle Historical Society.
