What to See in Camden - Top Sights and Attractions

Lighthouse in Camden, Maine. Curtis Island Light, originally Negro Island Light, is a lighthouse marking the approach to the harbor of Camden, Maine. It is located on Curtis Island, which shelters the harbor from ocean storms. It was first established in 1835, and the present structure was built in 1896. The light was automated in 1972, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.^[1]

Vessel. Lewis R. French is a gaff-rigged topsail schooner sailing out of Camden, Maine as a "Maine windjammer" offering weeklong cruises to tourists. Built in 1871, she is the oldest known two-masted schooner in the United States, and one of a small number of this once-common form of vessel in active service. The ship was designated a US National Historic Landmark in 1992.^[2]

Surprise is a two-masted former racing schooner berthed in Camden, Maine. Built in 1917-18 in Rockport, Massachusetts, she is one of a small number of surviving schooners designed by noted naval architect Thomas F. McManus. She currently serves as a "windjammer", providing daily cruises in Penobscot Bay. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.^[3]

The Camden Great Fire Historic District encompasses a significant portion of the central business district of the town of Camden, Maine, United States. Extending from the Camden Opera House north nearly to Atlantic Avenue, the area's buildings were almost all built in 1893, following a large fire in November 1892 that swept through the area. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.^[4]

Movie theater in Camden, Maine. The Camden Opera House Block is a historic multifunction building at 29 Elm Street in the center of Camden, Maine, United States. Built in 1893 after the town's great 1892 fire, it is one of its most prominent buildings. It houses town offices, a social meeting hall, and a 500-seat theater. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.^[5]

Public library in Camden, Maine. The Camden Public Library is the public library serving Camden, Maine, United States. It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[6]

Vessel. Grace Bailey, also known for many years as Mattie, is a two-masted schooner whose home port is Camden Harbor, Camden, Maine. Built in 1882 in Patchogue, New York, she is one of four surviving two-masted wooden-hulled schooners, once the most common vessel in the American coasting trade. She was one of the first ships in the fleet of historic vessels known as "Maine windjammers", which offer cruises in Penobscot Bay and the Maine coast, entering that service in 1939. She last underwent major restoration in 1989-90. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992.^[7]

Historical place in Camden, Maine. The High Street Historic District encompasses a well-preserved 19th-century residential area of Camden, Maine. Extending along High Street, the district has maintained its character since the 1920s, despite encroaching commercialization of nearby areas, and retains a cross-section of architecture of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, and enlarged in 1999 to include the Olmsted Brothers-designed Harbor Park at Main and Atlantic.^[8]

Historical place in Camden, Maine. The Chestnut Street Historic District encompasses a predominantly residential part of Camden, Maine, United States, which represents a cross-section of the town's architectural history, and of its transition from a shipping center to a summer resort community. The district extends south from the town common, along Chestnut Street, and then east to Dillingham Point. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.^[9]

Vessel. Mercantile is a two-masted schooner berthed in Camden Harbor, Camden, Maine. Built in the 1914-16 on Little Deer Isle, Maine, she is one of a small number of such vessels still afloat from a time when they were one of the most common cargo vessels of the coasting trade. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991, she now serves as a "Maine windjammer", offering multi-day sailing cruises to tourists.^[10]

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