The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Turrets, The

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Institution Name: College of the Atlantic
Original/Historic Place Name: Turrets, The
Location on Campus: 105 Eden St.
Date(s) of Construction:

1895	original construction Price, Bruce

Designer: Bruce Price
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Other (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, education
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: granite

Walls: granite

Roof: slate

Function:

1893-1973	private residence (summer cottage, tourist home)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	other (lounge area)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	other (Educational Studies Center)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	administration
ca. 2004-present (2006)	faculty office
ca. 2004-present (2006)	classrooms

Narrative:
The Turrets was designed by Bruce Price in 1893 for John J. Emery of New York and stands as the only remaining Bruce Price building on Mount Desert Island. The Turrets, which took 2 years and $100,000 to complete, was built mainly out of granite quarried from nearby Eagle Lake.

The College bought the building in 1973, and in 1975 the building was put on the National Registry of Historic Places. In 1983, when the main building of the College of the Atlantic burned to the ground, the Turrets served as the center of activity, where students ate, studied and were instructed, until a new center could be built.

Today, the building is still an active and significant component of campus. Faculty offices, staff offices, and classroom space combined with the beautiful view of Frenchman's Bay make it a lively and enjoyable place to work and learn.

References:

"Campus master plan." Online (2000). College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME. www.coa.edu/masterplan .

Shettleworth, Earle G., Jr., and Frank A. Beard. The Turrets [College of the Atlantic]. National Register of Historic Places designation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service, 1974.