Built 1880 (1880) Opened 1880 Added to NRHP 4 February 1982 | NRHP Reference # 82000744 Area 1,200 m² | |
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Location 128 Main St., Bar Harbor, Maine Architectural style Second Empire architecture in Europe Similar Otter Cliffs Radio Station, Bay of Fundy, Wild Gardens of Acadia, Hulls Cove Visitor Center, Cadillac Mountain | ||
The Sproul's Cafe building is a historic commercial building at 128 Main Street in Bar Harbor, Maine. The 2-1/2 story Second Empire building was built in 1880, and was home until 1903 of a nationally-recognized gathering place for Bar Harbor's summer residents. The building is a rare local commercial survivor of Bar Harbor's heyday as a summer resort community. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Its present retail tenant is a tourist-oriented shop.
Description and history
Sproul's Cafe is set on the east side of Main Street in Bar Harbor's busy downtown area. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure with a Mansard roof (the steep part now clapboarded), clapboard siding, and a granite foundation. The west-facing ground floor has a recessed center entrance, flanked by plate glass windows, which also line the recess. The second floor has a pair of projecting bay windows, between which a screened porch with balustrade has been added. The half-story under the Mansard roof has three gable-roofed dormers with sash windows.
Sproul's Cafe opened for business at a different location in Bar Harbor in 1870, operated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sproul. The success of the operation prompted the construction of this larger facility in 1880. The Sprouls acquired a national reputation for the quality of the dining and catering they provided to the wealthy upper crust that summered at Bar Harbor, and for serving wine in contravention to Maine's strict alcohol laws. The Sprouls sold the property in 1903, and it was converted into a department store.