Opulence to Ashes: Bar Harbor's Gilded Century, 1850-1950

Maine’s premier tourist destination, Bar Harbor is home to historic buildings, charming inns, a lovely green, intriguing shops, restaurants galore, and of course, a gorgeous harbor. Those who visit Bar Harbor today may not know the area was once a humble shipbuilding and farming hamlet that became a Gilded Age resort of the highest order. Then, with the devastating 1947 fire, many of the mansions were lost. This new pictorial history takes Bar Harbor from its origins to the 1947 fire. Along the way, it offers many intriguing curiosities, including insights on the "upstairs-downstairs" aspects of resort life. The book is meticulously researched and its historically accurate captions are packed with fascinating information gleaned from interviews, old newspapers, letters, diaries, and town records.