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American architect (1861–1924) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frederick Lincoln Savage (November 14, 1861 – February 26, 1924) was an American architect, known as Mount Desert Island's most prolific native architect. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he designed over 300 cottages on the island and across Northeastern Maine,[1] including Reverie Cove and the John Innes Kane Cottage in Bar Harbor,[2][3] and (with Milton W. Stratton) Raventhorp in Southwest Harbor, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[4] He also designed the NRHP-listed West Gouldsboro Village Library in Gouldsboro, Maine.[5]
Frederick Lincoln Savage | |
|---|---|
Frederick Lincoln Savage, c. 1898 | |
| Born | November 14, 1861 Northeast Harbor, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | February 26, 1924 (aged 62) Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S. |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Reverie Cove Raventhorp Asticou Inn John Innes Kane Cottage |
Savage studied under prominent Boston architect Robert Swain Peabody, who had designed a house in Northeast Harbor for his brother-in-law Charles Eliot, and worked at Peabody's firm Peabody & Stearns as an office boy and apprentice from 1884–1886.[6] It is partly due to this tutelage that Mount Desert Island has a wealth of shingle-style architecture.[7]
Upon the conclusion of his apprenticeship, Savage returned to Northeast Harbor in 1887, and was quickly noted as being an accomplished and dependable building contractor, as well as someone with an eye for architecture. In 1890, he was hired by James Gardiner, son-in-law of Bishop Doane, to design six cottages for the Harborside area of Northeast Harbor he had purchased three years earlier. Four of the cottages were named Sweet Briar, Grey Pine, Isis and Aerie. An inn, named Harbourside, was also constructed.[7]
In 1893, he opened an office in Bar Harbor. Three years later, he had merged practices with that of Milton Stratton, another Bar Harbor architect.[7] When that partnership ended, Savage built a small Tudor-style office near the intersection of Cottage and Main Streets. After marrying Alice Preble, he moved permanently from Northeast Harbor to Bar Harbor. It was his year-round presence on Mount Desert Island that led to major firms engaging with Savage to oversee their projects.[7] Savage purchased the Bear Mountain granite quarry, using its material on the first floor of his Atlantean cottage and in the John Innes Kane Cottage.[8]
Savage was the second of the four sons of Augustus Chase ("A.C.") Savage (1832–1911) and Emily Manchester (1834–1914), the founders of the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Fred was the architect of the current, 1901-built inn, the original having burned down in 1899.[7]
Savage's paternal great-grandfather, John, came to America from Glasgow and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, around 1770.[7] He and his wife, Sarah, moved to Mount Desert Island in 1798 and built a cabin near Harbor Brook in Northeast Harbor. Their children rooted themselves in the Asticou section of the village.[7]
When he was 18, his occupation was reported as being a fisherman in the local census. He was also helping his father in building hotels and cottages for the village's expanding community of summer residents, and worked briefly as the village's postmaster.[7]
His first wife was 15-year-old[7] Flora Lee Salisbury (1872–1960). The couple had three children: Frederick Manchester Savage (1891–1892), Floralee Savage (1894–1916) and Francis Chase Savage (1896–1917).[14]
He married a second time, to his secretary Alice Ray Preble (1879–1961), in 1901. It is believed the two had a relationship while Savage was still married to his first wife.[7]
Savage attended school in Northeast Harbor with his siblings, who made up a total of about 40 students.[7]
Around 1887, when he was about 26 years old, Savage owned Hilltop Cottage in Northeast Harbor and lived there with his first wife, Flora.[7]
Another of Savage's personal homes, which also doubled as a model home for prospective business purposes, the Atlantean, on the shore-side stretch of Bar Harbor's Atlantic Avenue, is one of the best examples of Savage's work in the Tudor style. It was built in 1903,[8] and Savage lived there with his second wife, Alice. It was later renamed the Wayside Inn, but as of 2021 it is called the Atlantean again.[7]
Savage died on February 26, 1924, at the age of 62, after suffering from what his doctor called "acute indigestion."[7] His wife, Alice, survived him by 37 years, and they are both interred at Ledgelawn Cemetery in Bar Harbor.[15]
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