Camden Harbor Park & Amphitheatre
Camden Harbor Park & Amphitheatre - Offering quintessential New England village sights with breathtaking coastal views
In 1931, the Town of Camden received the immensely generous gift of Camden Harbor Park and Amphitheatre by local philanthropist, Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist. These two parks were intended to compliment the newly renovated Camden Library. On the date of graduation for the Camden High School class of 1931, the park opened.
Zimbalist played a critical role in the design of the parks and chose renowned architects, the Olmstead Brothers, and Fletcher Steele, to oversee this project. One Olmsted Historian reflected on the parks by saying it was “spaces planned by two of the most important American landscape architects of the twentieth century,” claiming that no other town in Maine “has a legacy of public landscape design that equals that of Camden.”
The parks thrived until the 1990’s in which the wear and tear was starting to become more visible. The trees were dying, benches were broken, lawns were shabby, and the parks needed a facelift. After seven years of planning the park received the rejuvenation it was looking for, and had a complete restoration in 2004 thanks to Camden taxpayers, and other generous friends of Camden. After the investment of this $700,000 project, full trees were set, new benches were constructed, soil was replaced for better drainage, wild strawberries and wildflowers were planted, paths were repaved, and a new wheelchair-accessible entrance was added.
When you are here, it is easy to feel like you are living inside of a painting. Harbor Park has stunning views of the harbor, visible intricacies of a quintessential New England village, and the coastal sights of sailboats intermingled with white steeples. Both parks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and are home to locals and tourists alike that enjoy picnics, craft fairs, weddings, concerts, family strolls, festivals, theater productions, and graduations on these grounds.
The Camden Library, Camden Harbor Park and Amphitheatre are just a short drive away from Rockland, located just off Route 1, on Atlantic Avenue, in downtown Camden.
