What to See in Bangor - Top Sights and Attractions

Top attraction, Museum, Specialty museum

Museum in Bangor, Maine. The Maine Discovery Museum, located in Bangor, Maine, is Maine's largest children's museum and the largest located north of Boston, Massachusetts.

It opened in 2001 in the converted Freese's Building department store following several years of planning and fundraising. Maine Discovery Museum is a member of the Association of Children's Museums.^[2]

Catholic church in Bangor, Maine. St. John's Catholic Church is a historic church at 217 York Street in Bangor, Maine. Built in 1855 at the height of the anti-immigrant Know Nothing movement, it stands as a major symbol of the city's Irish-American heritage, and a high quality local example of Gothic Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.^[3]

United church of christ in Bangor, Maine. All Souls Congregational Church is an historic church at 10 Broadway in Bangor, Maine. Built in 1911, it is a landmark in the city, designed by the noted proponent of the Gothic Revival, Ralph Adams Cram. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The church is affiliated with the United Church of Christ; the current pastor is Rev. Chad L. Poland.^[4]

Performing arts theater in Bangor, Maine. Penobscot Theatre Company, is located in Bangor, Maine. It operates year-round in the historic Bangor Opera House, producing theatre works both classic and new. Open for more than 40 years PTC has grown and now typically produces, producing 5 Mainstage shows, two add-On musicals, limited engagement concerts and performances, and several productions produced by their education program: The Dramatic Academy.

The Dramatic Academy is an arts education program^[5]

The Isaac Farrar Mansion, known for much of the 20th Century as Symphony House, is a historic house at 166 Union Street in Bangor, Maine. Built in 1833, it was the first major commission of the noted 19th-century architect Richard Upjohn. Although it was built as a private residence, it was from 1929 to 1972 owned by the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and was home to its music conservatory. It is now part of the Bangor YMCA. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.^[6]

Building in Bangor, Maine. The Hammond Street Congregational Church is a historic church on Hammond and High Streets in Bangor, Maine. The church building was built in 1833, and extensively restyled in 1853, resulting in the present handsome Italianate structure. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The congregation, established in 1833, is affiliated with the United Church of Christ; its senior pastor is Rev. Mark Allen Doty.^[7]

Monument in Bangor, Maine. The Battleship Maine Monument is a memorial marker in Davenport Park, Bangor, Maine. It commemorates veterans of the Spanish–American War, and the loss of the USS Maine due to an explosion of unknown cause, which sparked the start of the war. Placed in 1922, it includes the shield and scrolls of the Maine, which were recovered from its wreckage in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. The memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Of several memorials to that war and the loss of the Maine, it is the most elaborate in the state.^[8]

Water utility company in Bangor, Maine. Thomas Hill Standpipe, which holds 1,750,000 US gallons of water, is a riveted wrought iron tank with a wood frame jacket located on Thomas Hill in Bangor, Maine, United States. The metal tank is 50 feet high and 75 feet in diameter. Built in 1897, it is an architecturally distinctive city landmark, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.^[9]

Cemetery in Bangor, Maine. Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine, is the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States. It was designed by architect Charles G. Bryant in 1834 and built by the Bangor Horticultural Society soon after, the same year that Bangor was incorporated as a city. The cemetery was modeled after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. Bangor was at that time a frontier boom-town, and much of its architecture and landscaping was modeled after that of Boston. The site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[10]

Museum in Bangor, Maine. The Thomas A. Hill House, also formerly known as the Grand Army Memorial Home, is a historic house at 159 Union Street in Bangor, Maine. Now housing the collections of the Bangor Historical Society and an American Civil War collection, the house was built in 1836 to a design by Richard Upjohn. The house has been home to two of Bangor's mayors, and became a museum in 1944. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.^[11]

Bangor House is a historic former hotel at 174 Main Street in downtown Bangor, Maine. Built in 1833-34 and repeatedly enlarged, the hotel was a major fixture in the city, and one of the nation's early high-class hotels. Now converted into apartments.^[13]

The West Market Square Historic District encompasses one of Bangor, Maine's central urban business districts. Located at the junction of Main and Broad Streets, it has been a focal point of Bangor's economy and business since the city's incorporation in 1834. The district includes seven buildings reflective of its appearance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.^[14]