From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
Dancing Pavillion, Penobscot Park, Searsport, Maine
The band and staff pose inside of the Dancing Pavillion at Penobscot Park in Searsport, Maine. Penobscot Park was located at Kidder's Point near Sears Island. It was developed as a recreation area by the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad in 1906 as an alternative to Bar Harbor. Advertisements promoted boating, swimming, concerts, dancing, dining and cool bay breezes. B.C. Yerxa, the B&A Railroad's yard master became the proprietor of Penobscot Park. Unfortunately the harbor was too small for some boats and more importantly, the arrival of the automobile allowed people to go elsewhere along Rt. 1. The pavillion existed into the 1920s, eventually becoming a dance hall. Some of the small cottages were relocated as houses around Searsport.
