Flooded Washington and Centre Streets, Bath, ca. 1941
Contributed by Patten Free LibraryDescription
This black and white photograph by Herbert Douglas from the 1940s shows a flood at a major intersection on Washington Street. Bath's central business district was constructed on Shaw's Point, a peninsula surrounded by tidal flats and creeks. This required the construction of several bridges to lace the downtown to surrounding areas. Filling low areas and also the edge of the river reworked the topography, but periodic flooding and the persistence of tidal water into the basements of stores reminds even current city residents of the original configuration. The photograph also shows a brick structure on the left or west side of Washington Street of 3 1/2 stories that was the Commercial House. This hotel was built in 1816 by Hezekiah Wyman, according to Henry Owen's "History Of Bath, Maine" and demolished in the mid 1950s.
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