Building of Arts was built for the summer population of Bar Harbor. It was meant to be a place where music lovers and professional musicians from all over the country would come to entertain the summer colony.
Members of the building committee included George Dorr, Mr. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Robert Abbe. Guy Lowell of Boston, Massachusetts, was chosen as architect for the building.
It was finished in 1907 with a final cost of approximately $100,000.
The opening concert was held on Saturday, July 13, 1907. Mme. Emma Eames and Mr. Emilio De Gogorza were soloists.
Over the next 35 years the Building of Arts held concerts and shows by Ernest Schelling, Paderewski, Walter Damrosch, dancer Ted Shawn, Josef Hofmann, and many others, including celebrated stars from Hollywood and Broadway.
By the end of this time period the building had fallen into disrepair and was sold in January 1943 to Earl D. and Charles A. Holt for $305.24. Just four years later in April 1947 the Holts sold the building to Consuello Sides of Boston and New York. The plan was to use it as a summer theater.
In October 1947 the Building of Arts was destroyed by fire.
See also:
"Lost Bar Harbor," p. 110.
"Bygone Bar Harbor - A Postcard Tour of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park," p. 16.
"Maine Cottages: Fred L. Savage and the Architecture of Mount Desert," p. 232.
Harding, R. Brewster, “Building of Arts, Eden,” Southwest Harbor Public Library, accessed September 29, 2023, https://swhpl.digitalarchive.us/items/show/9001.Item 13017
