Henry Boody House, Gothic Revival residence in Brunswick, Maine
The Henry Boody House is a Gothic Revival residence in Brunswick with board-and-batten siding, a granite foundation, and two projecting gabled sections connected by a central element featuring a perpendicular roof ridge. The structure displays an H-shaped layout with matching Gothic trim on street-facing gables and single-story bay windows.
The house was built in 1849 and designed by architect Gervase Wheeler for Henry Hill Boody, who taught Rhetoric and Oratory at Bowdoin College from 1845 to 1854. Its construction arrived at a time when Gothic Revival style was gaining rapid popularity across New England.
The residence gained recognition after appearing in Andrew Jackson Downing's influential 1850 publication, which helped shape how Americans thought about residential design. The book showed builders and homeowners new ways to express style through architecture beyond conventional building traditions.
The property sits along Maine Street in Brunswick and can be viewed from the outside since it appears on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is owned and maintained by Bowdoin College, so visitors can observe the facade from the street.
The bay window projections display 19th-century building methods, with details that reveal how carpenters of that era worked with wood and proportions. These crafted features offer insight into the practical construction techniques of the period.
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