Landscape Information
Located in the center of town, this 1.5-acre site was originally home to the Grand Central Hotel, torn down in 1899. That same year, the town of Bar Harbor purchased the land, set it aside as public open space, and leased it to the Village Improvement Association (VIA). The VIA’s first civic improvement was the bandstand, built in 1899, followed by a bench and stone wall in 1904 to honor local veterans who served in the armed forces. The town’s cast iron clock was moved to the green in 1905 and remains a landmark today. John Callendar Livingston donated the antique, tiered Italian fountain that resides in the center of the park in memory of his wife, Julia, in 1909.
Around 1920 landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, who served on the VIA’s Board of Managers, was asked to suggest improvements for the heavily-used park. At her suggestion, some of the original plantings were altered and the bandstand was relocated to the park’s north side. The bandstand has been rebuilt numerous times in her suggested location, and has a semicircular path that connects it to the park’s center. Diagonal pathways bisect the park, meeting at the fountain’s cobblestone pavement, with beds of colorful perennials at its intersections. A new granite seat wall and public transportation plaza were built in the 1990s, and in 2010 the green underwent improvements to the footpaths, lighting, planting, and the fountain area.
