CURRENT PROJECTS
The Lawrence House and Studio
The Lawrence Bungalow
The year 1920 brought an expansion to West Main Street that Julia Lawrence undoubtedly treasured. On May 27, builders broke ground for an addition to the Lawrence “residence”. Until this time, the family had been living in quarters at the back of the original studio building. The new structure would be a simple two-story bungalow connected to the west side of that same building.
The bungalow plan rotated a standard bungalow design 90 degrees to fit on the small lot. Though the front entrance faces Main Street, it leads to an enclosed, unheated side porch which runs the length of the west wall. A centrally located front door leads from the porch to the living room.
The lower level of the bungalow contains a guest room off the living room, an Craftsman style wood colonnade with built-in enclosed bookshelves to separate the living room and dining room, and an Arts and Crafts style wooden staircase off the east dining room along the south wall. A kitchen was not included in the floor plan because a still functional earlier kitchen shared the dining room wall.
The bungalow’s upper level consists of four bedrooms and a bathroom with claw foot bathtub. The bedrooms are “dormer” rooms with generous closet space and sloping ceilings. The windows are typical shed style dormer windows.
The bungalow’s exterior concrete block was made by local mason and contractor, Frank H. Johnson. His hallmarks—hard, temperature resistant cast stone block, made of crushed granite, Portland cement and glue, and decorative cast stone trimstone—can be found throughout Ellsworth. Johnson’s crew also built the Lawrence foundation and laid the concrete basement floor.
THe heating system was a combination of coal-fired hot air from a large basement furnace with first floor grates and hot water heat from a basement boiler.