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| Current Exhibitions |
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Pennies to Ride: The Kennebunks' Turn-of-the-Century Trolleys Take yourself back to the heyday of trolley travel on the seacoast, when passengers could ride the electric railway the 21 miles from Sanford to Cape Porpoise in 90 minutes for just 35 cents. This exhibition explores the progression of the area’s trolley system from 1899 until the 1930s. A series of historical vignettes introduces you to students who took the trolley to school, a tourist on a trolley excursion, a conductor who saw the trolley’s evolution over his 46 years of service, and even a romance on the rails. Through archival photographs and postcard images, learn about the various routes and their construction, the sights promoted by the trolley companies, and, ultimately, why the system did not last. Pennies to Ride is a companion to the History in Motion exhibition at Kennebunkport’s Seashore Trolley Museum and is part of that institution’s larger initiative involving the recent restoration of the Atlantic Shore Line locomotive #100 and collaboration among area organizations in telling various aspects of Maine’s trolley history. Exhibition made possible by Historic Transportation Enhancement Funds through the Federal Highway Administration and the Maine Department of Transportation; and Members of the New England Electric Railway Historical Society. |
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Mailed from Maine: Vintage Postcards of the Kennebunks Greetings of “wish you were here” await each visitor to the Brick Store Museum’s new exhibition, Mailed from Maine: Vintage Postcards of the Kennebunks. Open through early 2010, the show invites visitors to step back in time and visit the Kennebunks as seen through more than one hundred postcards selected from the museum’s permanent collections. Postcards can commemorate a holiday or event, memorialize a location, or capture a moment in history and always deliver the message of “wish you were here.” Postcards in the exhibition celebrate the towns of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, representing all aspects of these communities, from their landmark hotels, to scenic views of the beach, to sights that have since disappeared. To emulate the energy of the era, guests are surrounded by several large-format prints of vibrant postcards and the sounds of swing music. A colorful timeline illustrating the development of postcards welcomes guests to the exhibition, offering tips on dating postcards by the details. An interactive game challenges visitors to test their knowledge of postcard history. With the message on the back of a postcard often just as interesting as the picture on the front, guests are invited to look at dozens of hand-written postcard messages from the early 1900s and compare this historical form of “quick” communication with today’s Twitter community. Visitors even get an up-close look at several fascinating early twentieth-century cameras that produced the kinds of postcards on display. Finally, exhibition-goers learn about postcard collecting as a hobby and appreciate how the tradition of sending a postcard while on vacation has lasted throughout the century, linking generations to this simple custom. As visitors depart the exhibition, they are encouraged to create and mail their own postcards to best describe the present community, thus carrying on the tradition of reflecting this area’s history through its postcards.Exhibition made possible by our proud business partner, Ocean Bank.
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Quilts from the Collections of the Brick Store Museum From inspirational Civil War quilts made by local Ladies Aid Societies in 1864 to a brightly-colored 1880s crazy quilt with a secret pouch, there are more than 40 quilts of varying sizes and patterns in the Museum's permanent collections. Admire a selection of these practical and beautiful masterpieces from the 18th to 20th centuries and learn the stories they have to tell. Exhibition made possible by our proud business partner, Ocean Bank.
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History Showcase |
With former President George H. W. Bush’s 85th birthday on June 12, 2009, comes an opportunity to reflect upon what he has meant to the Kennebunks, as well as what the Kennebunks— so often referred to as his “anchor to windward”—have meant to him. The |
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Renovations Revealed! This exhibit presents the nearly 200-year history of the museum’s buildings and invites you to explore their recent structural renovations through artifacts, more than 40 construction photos, materials…and the very buildings themselves! Out of the basements, through the walls and into the attics, you’ll discover what powderpost beetles can do, how nails are made, and why there are now three steel beams in the buildings. Finally, in a section on "Basement Archaeology," see a number of items—from an early light bulb to an unique patent medicine bottle—uncovered by the construction crews. This exhibition is made possible by the Museum's proud business partners: Jeffrey A. Bonney, CFP®, Captain Lord Mansion, Cole Harrison Insurance, and Ocean Bank.
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Salon Style: Fine Art from the 1830s to the 1920s The Brick Store Museum has temporarily packed away some of its collections for safekeeping during structural restoration work on its historical buildings. Rather than crate up the museum's works of fine art that are in ornate and delicate gilded frames, we have opted instead to exhibit as many as possible in our upstairs gallery. This installation entitled, Salon Style, is so named for the stacked display format made popular by private collectors of the 18th and 19th centuries to showcase their holdings. Thirty-two paintings—with many that have not been on public view in years—create an impressive cavalcade of primarily American art from the 1830s to the 1920s. Stunning still lifes, idyllic landscapes, and heroic seascapes are interspersed among genre paintings and portraiture of early Kennebunk notables. Featured artists include Josef Arentz (1903-1969), Thomas Badger (1792-1868), Abbott Fuller Graves (1859-1936), E. L. Ipsen (1869-1951), W. L. Metcalf (1858-1925), Hannah Brown Skeele (1829-1901), and D. A. Teupken (1828-1859). This exhibition is made possible by the Museum's proud business partners: Jeffrey A. Bonney, CFP®, Captain Lord Mansion and Ocean Bank.
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 History Showcase | The Nation's Guest: Lafayette's 1825 Visit to Kennebunk In 1824 and 1825, the aging American Revolutionary War hero General Lafayette made a farewell tour of the United States as “the nation’s guest.” His epic journey included an afternoon stopover in Kennebunk, Maine, in 1825. See the artifacts and archival materials that tell what transpired that June day and learn about the long-term impact Lafayette’s visit would have on the community. This latest installment of The History Showcase is made possible by the Museum's 2009-2010 proud business partners: Ocean Bank, and Captain Jefferds Inn, and Captain Lord Mansion. |
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Treasures of the Community Treasures of the Community is a broad, cross section sampler of the history of the Kennebunks, from its earliest settlements to the present. Also featured are representational items from the Museum's collection of early American fine and decorative arts. There are numerous pieces of furniture—including sideboards, clocks, and chairs dating from 1700 - 1900—and portraits by John Brewster Jr., Thomas Badger, Walter Ingalls and others.
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