Bangor Lumbering & The Fire of 1911

MPBN Producer Barbara Noyes Pulling talks about the challenge of telling the story of Bangor's illustrious past as the "Lumber Capital of the World" in a way that it hadn't been widely told before. In combing through the archival images from this era of the mid-to-late 1800's, she saw photos depicting Bangor buildings of that day that look little like those we see there now. Then the answer becomes obvious -- the 1911 fire that charred 55 acres and destroyed 300 buildings in, the worst disaster in Bangor's history, brought home the necessity of finding more durable and less fire-prone materials, giving rise to the granite and brick structures that dominate today's architecture in Bangor.

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• experience
• bangor
• lumbering
• fire