Gross Confection Bar occupies a building at 172 Middle Street that was designed in 1883 by John Calvin Stevens and built as a bank. The restaurant's arched brick rooms and tall wooden beam ceilings are the original structure, not a design theme, and they explain a lot about how the space feels.
Who was John Calvin Stevens?
John Calvin Stevens (1855–1940) was Portland's most prolific architect. He is best known nationally for helping to define the Shingle Style in seaside houses along the Maine coast, but over a career of more than fifty years his office designed hundreds of buildings in and around the city — commercial blocks, churches, libraries, and civic buildings as well as homes. A great deal of the Old Port and the West End still carries his fingerprints.
Why banks were built the way they were
A 19th-century bank had to do two things: keep money safe and look like it kept money safe. That produced a recognizable set of features:
- Masonry arches. Brick and stone arches carry heavy loads without steel, so bank interiors were often divided into a series of vaulted or arched bays. They also read as solid and permanent — exactly the impression a bank wanted to give.
- Tall ceilings and exposed timber. Banking halls were built high to impress customers and to let in light before electric lighting was common. The heavy beams that span them were structural first and decorative second.
- Thick walls and a vault. Security meant mass. Many converted banks keep the vault as a private dining room or a wine cellar.
Why that works for a restaurant
The same qualities that made a bank feel trustworthy make a dining room feel intimate. Arched bays break a large hall into smaller rooms without walls, so tables feel private while the space stays open. Brick and timber absorb sound better than plaster and glass. High ceilings keep a full room from feeling crowded. And there is a pleasure in eating something elaborate and slightly ridiculous — a dessert built from six components — in a room that was designed to be serious.
Visiting
The building is open as Gross Confection Bar Thursday through Sunday from 5 pm. Look up when you walk in: the beams are the giveaway, and the arches follow.