Israel Parker's Yacht

Israel Parker's Yacht

Israel Wood Parker's Yacht HISTORY Israel Wood Parker was born Jan. 4, 1832 and died May 16, 1922. He married Sarah J. Stephenson (1842-1879) on Jan. 25, 1863 and had 3 children. He was a prominent contractor and builder in Belfast. Listed below are the major buildings he built. BELFAST NATIONAL BANK The Belfast National Bank Building which stands at the five-way intersection of Main, Beaver, and Church Streets at the historic commercial center of the city. It is set on a triangular lot defined on the north by Main Street and the east by Beaver Street. It is 2-1/2 story brick structure, with mansard roofing along the long sides that meet at a gable-topped single-bay side that faces the intersection. The building was designed by Portland based architect George M. Harding and built in 1878-79 by Israel Wood Parker of Belfast, when the city was at its height as a shipping and shipbuilding center. This pair also notably collaborated on Belfast's Masonic Hall, which also faces the same intersection. The building was built for the Belfast National Bank, which had previously occupied leased quarters in another building since 1857 MEMORIAL HALL / CITY HALL The Angier property having been purchased for $2450, the Washington Hall lot for $1500; and the Church Street store lot for $150, work was immediately commenced by Israel Wood Parker, contractor, according to plans made by Brigham & Spofford, of Boston, architects. The building was completed the following year. It is irregular in shape, two stories and a basement, with projections and a cupola. It has an unbroken front of fifty feet on High Street, and the same, irregularly, on Church Street. From one projection to the other it is sixty-nine feet and two inches. The building is of brick, with granite belting and terra-cotta finish. The interior is finished in ash and in the most substantial manner throughout. The basement is used for the fire department of the city. The first floor, with the entrance from Church Street, is occupied by the Belfast City Government, Police Court, and Treasurer's offices. THE CROSBY INN In October, 1887, Colonel Richard Chenery, Calvin Hervey, Israel Wood Parker, Alden Darwin Chase, Albion H. Bradbury, Nathan Foster Houston, James Thomas Pottle, A. Cutter Sibley, and Seth Llewellyn Milliken were incorporated under the name of "The Belfast Hotel Company." The sum of $21,650 having been subscribed by thirty-two stockholders, all of Belfast; the Crosby lot, in the rear of the Custom-House, was purchased for $6500 as a site, and the erection of a house, to be called " The Crosby Inn," immediately commenced. The house was opened June 1, 1889. Its situation combined glimpses of the bay from the upper stories, trees and shrubbery, spacious grounds, and complete retirement, with close proximity to the business center of the City. It is thus described in the "Republican Journal" of May 30, 1889. MASONIC TEMPLE The partial destruction of Masonic Hall, by an accidental fire on the evening of May 24, 1875, induced a movement for more spacious accommodations, which resulted in the incorporation, by the Legislature of 1876, of the Masonic Temple Association of Belfast, for the purpose of procuring a lot and erecting a Masonic building thereon. Early the next year, sufficient subscriptions warranted the purchase of the lot at the corner of Main and High streets, for $7500, and in June, ground for the foundation of the present Masonic Temple was broken. The building was completed in 1878. It is 83½ feet long on High Street, and 54 feet wide on Main Street. It is three stories high, surmounted by a mansard roof, and has a tower at the northwest corner. The material is brick, with freestone trimmings. The whole structure is supplied with water, steam, and gas. There are three stores on High Street, first occupied by Charles Henry Mitchell, confectioner; Cyrus R. Davis, groceries, and Carle & Mansfield, dry goods dealers. The adjoining corner store, having entrances on both streets, was taken by Horace Eugene McDonald, jeweler; and that below on Main Street by Ferguson & Rackliff, milliners. The second story was devoted to offices, and the third and fourth to the Masonic Fraternity, whose hall proper, at the south end, is 46½ by 40½ feet, and 21½ feet high. George M. Harding was the architect of the building, and Israel Wood Parker the builder. Charles Henry Bray was master of the brickwork. The cost of the structure, including the land, was about $35,000. On the 4th of July, 1879, the building was dedicated by the Grand Lodge of Maine, on which occasion ten thousand visitors were in the city