Main St. Stonington Me. 31

Main St. Stonington Me. 31

"Main St. Stonington Me. 31" Image looking west along Main Street with Green Head visible in the background. The commercial buildings on the left (south) side of the unpaved street back up to the harbor. Taken at the height of Stonington's boom years as a granite quarrying center, the photo captures the way the center of town contours to the natural terrain, constricted by the bay on one side and the granite ledges on the other. The scene also evokes a town hastily thrown up around 1860 as money was made from the area's newly discovered granite deposits. Despite the arrival of tourists beginning in the 1890s - shortly before this picture was taken- little has been done to improve the town's main thoroughfare for the pedestrian. The buildings are simple, frame structures, limited in height but bulked out with bays and Mansard roofs to create as much interior space as possible. Here and there is a section of wooden sidewalk; the changing grade and varying type of stoops and building setbacks makes for a raw appearance. A few signs identify a few of the businesses: from the left W.E. Cousin's Lunchroom with a screen door left open, J.F. West's grocery a few doors down. Opposite is a boarding house, likely one of many in town which housed immigrant stoneworkers from Italy, Scotland, and Scandinavia. Scattered around the adjacent yard are piles of wood, wagon frames, and assorted discarded materials. A woman perches on a wooden railing on the rooftop beyond.