tarratine yacht club islesboro maine

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Tarratine Yacht Club, Islesboro, ca. 1925

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The Tarratine Yacht Club was organized in 1921 by the Dark Harbor summer community, in conjunction with the Islesboro Inn. Its members enjoyed sailing and yachting, and competed in races of Dark Harbor 12s, 17s and the famous Dark Harbor 20s.

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About This Item

• Title: Tarratine Yacht Club, Islesboro, ca. 1925
• Creation Date: circa 1925
• Subject Date: circa 1925
• Location: Dark Harbor, Islesboro, Waldo County, ME
• Media: Photographic print
• Local Code: Open Photo Collection, Clubs
• Object Type: Image

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• Tarratine Club (Islesboro, Me.)
• Yacht clubs--Maine--Isleboro
• Yachting--Societies, etc.
• Islesboro Inn (Isleboro, Me.)
• Summer resorts--Maine--Islesboro

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The Tarratine Club

A restaurant and event space that was home to bangor’s elite “millionaire’s club” for over 100 years.

The Tarratine Club was a private men’s social club in Bangor. It was founded in 1884 and served Bangor’s wealthy and elite for over a century until it closed in 1991. It was once said that if you were a prominent Bangor businessman, you probably were a member of the Tarratine. After it was sold, it changed hands a few times and is currently a restaurant and wedding venue that retains much of its old charm.

The Founding of the Club

In 1884, 31 of Bangor’s movers and shakers banded together to create the Tarratine Club. One of the co-founders, who immediately became the first President of the club, was Hannibal Hamlin. Hannibal was Vice President under Abraham Lincoln and a was perhaps the most prominent feature of Bangor society and politics for many years. You can read all about Hannibal and his fellow politicians from Paris Hill over here . He’s also mentioned in this piece about the Hamlin Memorial Library .

When the club was founded, the members met in a few rooms they rented in a building in the former Hatch Block. They chose the name “Tarratine” and it is assumed that it was the old Colonial term used by the British to refer to the Mi’kmaq tribe of Native Americans inhabiting northern New England, particularly coastal Maine. Another similarly named but unrelated club, the Tarratine Yacht Club, was formed on Islesboro in 1896.

Death by Pedro

On July 4th, 1891, club members were at the Tarratine celebrating Independence Day. Hannibal Hamlin, who was 82 and quite frail, was playing cards with friends (likely whist or pedro) as he did every afternoon. He suddenly dropped his cards and his head fell to the table, his face purple and his hands clenched. One of the members who was a physician “administered a dose of brandy and ammonia” which temporarily revived him, but then he quickly fell unconscious. He was moved to his house but died later that evening, lying on his favorite couch – which has rather oddly been on display at the Bangor Public Library for some time.

Move to Park Street

Not content with rented space, the members commissioned the design and construction of a new building by the firm Parker and Thomas of Boston. The new building was a 3 story “Harvard brick” building built on a lot at 81 Park Street that afforded lovely views of downtown Bangor. The outside of the building looks much like it did then, with ornate features and wrought iron railings with gold “TC” prominently. The second floor contained the locker room for the club members, the cribbage room, library and the grand ballroom. The third floor featured the game room including the snooker table.

Surviving the Great Fire of 1911

On April 30, 1911, a fire broke out in Bangor and high winds quickly spread it across downtown. It was a devastating fire with a glow that could be seen for miles away. Fire crews were called in by telegram from Lewiston, Portland and even Boston and firemen immediately hopped on trains to lend aid. Luckily, a light rain began that evening that helped suppress the fire or it likely would have been worse. By the time the fire was finally put it out the next day, it had destroyed most of downtown Bangor. Over 100 businesses, 285 homes, and many prominent buildings were destroyed including the Post Office, the Custom House, Bangor High School, the Bangor Public Library and its 70,000 volumes and the Bangor Historical Society. The fire spread so fast that the city dynamited some buildings in an attempt to slow the fire. Somehow, the Tarratine Club was spared even though it was in the middle of the burn zone.

Booze Lockers

In 1846, Maine became the first state to pass temperance laws banning the sale and consumption of alcohol other than for medical purposes. Portland Mayor Neil Dow, the “Father of Prohibition,” helped start the national temperance movement that culminated in the well-known Federal Prohibition that lasted from 1920-1933. Much of Bangor, however, did not exactly agree with Mr. Dow and his fiery friends and openly defied Maine’s laws. Saloons and brothels popped up all over Bangor and actually thrived by paying twice-annual fines known as the “Bangor Plan.” Private clubs like the Tarratine found different ways of getting by. The Tarratine installed and rented wood lockers ($2/year) to its members where they happened to keep their personal supply of alcohol. This likely top shelf booze was liberally shared and consumed on the premises by its upstanding members while they played pool and cards and discussed the news of the day.

You can read all about the Bangor Plan over here .

The USO Takes Over

During World War II, Bangor’s Dow Airfield became the home of a U.S. Army base. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had previously called for the creation of the United Service Organization (USO) in 1941 “to aid in the war and defense program of the United States and its allies by serving the religious, spiritual welfare and educational needs of the men and women in the armed forces and defense industries, and in general to contribute to the maintenance of morale in American communities.” The Bangor branch of the USO determined that their West Broadway location wasn’t big enough so in 1943, they completely took over the Tarratine Club. The new USO was open 24 hours a day and for the duration of the war, entertained soldiers on Park Street. They served food, hosted dances, jitterbug contests, put on musicals, and even had fashion shows featuring WAACs from the base modeling clothes from local merchants. After the war ended, the USO shut down and the club reverted to its members.

Decline and Sale

Like many private clubs, the Tarratine slowly faded away. The lumber barons and Bangor businessmen died out and Bangor’s status declined. Into the 1980s, the club was still active and employed cooks and hosted regular classical music concerts. Eventually, declining membership forced the club to close for good in 1991. The building was bought by Kork Systems, a Bangor-based software company. That company changed hands twice more, and eventually the building was put up for sale in 2003.

It’s a Nice Place for a White Wedding

The building was purchased by Bob and Patricia Quirk (of Quirk Auto Group) who intended to use it as a residence. Instead, they restored many of the original features and opened it as The Tarratine which serves as a restaurant and space for weddings and events. The roof deck is perfect for enjoying a sunset cocktail while gazing over the Bangor skyline.

Fan Jones and her Sky Blue House of Pleasure

Wikipedia, tarratinebangor.com, Bangor Public Library archives, hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu, witchydecor.com, eBay, etsy, “Bangor in World War II: From the Homefront to the Embattled Skies” By David H. Bergquist

Now that you've read about this place, you MUST read the accompanying tale:

Maine Home + Design |

The grand island of islesboro.

Long country roads lead to island villages and various community gathering places, like the local school’s organic garden and home to a seasonal farmer's market. 

A quintessential Islesboro view of the Camden Hills. 

Ornate and idyllic farmhouses like this one are commonplace.

Departing the ferry, residents and visitors are greeted by Grindle Point Light. 

Near Dark Harbor, a rocky pathway extends into the water. 

A look at one of the midcoast’s most elegant summer retreats

When people speak about the variety of the Maine landscape, they’re often speaking about changes in scale. East from Kittery, the coast gets rockier, the pines more plentiful, the islands more formidable, making the experience of adventuring up the coast kind of a daunting one. Beyond Rockland, the landscape is simply too big, too beautiful to be denied. In my experience, no other place along the East Coast demands such deference as this stretch of Maine.

Grand is the first word that comes to mind when I think of the island of Islesboro in northern Penobscot Bay. From the mainland ferry terminal in Lincolnville, a visit to Islesboro begins with a 20-minute boat ride. Unlike the nearby islands of North Haven and Vinalhaven, Islesboro is long and thin. It keeps going and going, with no obvious center, unfurling in stretch after stretch of winding road, leading past homes of all shapes and sizes, rocky cove after rocky cove. In order to see the entire 14-mile-long island in a single afternoon it is necessary to drive, and when driving, a person can’t help but wonder about all that is invisible through the woods and down the private driveways, along the water’s edge. From these winding roads, it is possible to catch glimpses of some of the island’s famous estates—expansive English Tudors, soaring Victorians—but like most everything on Islesboro, these homes are typically oriented toward the water, and views are often best from a boat.

Islesboro was home to the largest commercial shipping fleet in the bay in the early twentieth century, but following the Civil War the island became best known as a summer resort. Wealthy families built elegant homes on the island, traveling by train from cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia to spend summers at the water’s edge. In power boats, outboards, or skiffs they visited nearby family and friends’ houses for lunch or dinner, made trips to the Tarratine Golf Club, cruised in yachts about Penobscot Bay in the afternoons, and raced Herreshoff 12.5-footers in the evenings. Before cars were allowed on the island in 1933, residents traveled by boat or by horse-drawn carriage, making the island seem like a much larger place. Simply for convenience’s sake, those living in each of the island’s villages— Dark Harbor, Pripet, and North Islesboro— tended to keep to themselves. In Dark Harbor, on the southern end of the island, this meant gathering in places like the Dark Harbor Shop (formerly E.M. Randlett) for ice cream or provisions and at the nearby tidal basin, which the village children used “for community swimming and show-off diving contests,” resident Frances Cheston Train tells me.

Meeting Ms. Train is a highlight of my latest visit to Islesboro. On the shady white porch of her current home in Pripet, looking out toward Isle au Haut and sipping lemonade, we discuss her childhood in Dark Harbor, how the island has changed, and how it stays the same. In her book In Those Days, which chronicles, in part, her childhood summers from 1926 to 1940, Train writes, “The sounds of summer and freedom are still typified by the slap, flap, stamp, of sneakers, bare feet, and flip-flops, running down the long vibrating docks and bouncing gangways to the floats; kids yelling back and forth; the splash of oars; the slatting of sails being hoisted….” I’m sure that these sounds and smells and feelings are familiar to many kids, like Train’s grandchildren and great- grandchildren, who spend their summers on the island today, learning to ride horses at the island’s Pripet Riding Program and to sail at the Tarratine Yacht Club or Big Tree Boating. “There is the same keen interest in sailing and racing as in the early days,” says Train. “But Islesboro is not mired in the past. The same traditions are adapted to 2015.”

Water has always been central to life on Islesboro. The island is home to several boatyards and an active lobstering fleet. In addition to engaging in fishing, boatbuilding, and boat repair, many of the island’s 600 or so year-round residents work as carpenters and caretakers, in shops, or as teachers in the local K-12 school, which, in addition to island children, serves charter students who commute via ferry from the mainland. The island has a new community center, a health center, a library, a robust local government, and places like the Island Market, where I meet Linda Mahan (known locally as “Loony”), who co-owns the grocery and catering business with her husband, David Mahan (known locally as “Shake”). Shake and Loony have run the Island Market, which stays open through the winter, for almost 20 years. “This is a great place to raise children,” Loony tells me on a break from preparing hot lunches for some islanders working construction that day. Her son recently graduated from Islesboro Central School. “It’s very safe. Once my husband and I were working at the store and our son was riding his bike. Three people came by to tell me he wasn’t wearing his helmet.”

The boats of choice have changed from Herreshoffs to Dark Harbor 20s, and many second homeowners’ summer vacations have been shortened due to work demands, but people continue to make their way downeast throughout June, July, and August, and the symbiotic relationships between summer folks and year-round islanders remains intact. Family homes, names, traditions—all of these things have been passed down from generation to generation on Islesboro. Pendletons and Coombs (among others) have lived on the island for centuries, and when I stop to ask for directions I hear these and other surnames uttered over and over again before words like Cove and Road, or painted on signs. Dark Harbor Shop is still a gathering place in the quaint village of Dark Harbor. In the summer months, those who can still prefer to travel by boat to friends’ houses for parties and potlucks. And the island itself remains as beautiful as ever, trimmed with rocky beaches and thick with woods. While places like Bar Harbor— another grand summer resort of the gilded age—have been transformed into popular vacation destinations, out-of-the-way Islesboro, with its minimal commercial activity, has not seen such a transformation. The island remains relatively untouched, sprawled out in all its majesty just three miles from the mainland.

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Club Profile: Tarrantine Yacht Club of Dark Harbor

March 1, 2016 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

• Day-to-day instruction in the junior sailing program including all levels of sailing and seamanship instruction;
• Day-to-day coaching in the afternoon racing program including inter-club and intra-club series racing;
• Supervising and mentoring the Club’s teenage Junior Instructors;
• Occasional weekend Race Committee duties; and,
• An interest in racing Herreshoff 12s and Dark Harbor 20s when not occupied by teaching responsibilities.

Candidates should be mature, enthusiastic sailors with strong backgrounds in instruction and racing. Participation in a structured 420 racing program (college, high school or summer club racing team) featuring weekly practices and regattas will be preferred.  A demonstrated ability to teach sailors with varied skills and interests is required. The club offers a competitive salary, housing, shift lunch, and the potential for a year-end merit bonus. To apply, visit here.

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Dark Harbor 20

A timeless beauty.

Photos By Tricia Ladd

Against a murky backdrop of global turmoil, traditions bring a sense of security; the players may change, but the traditions remain, unifying, nurturing, and maintaining connections to past generations.

One-design racing in summer communities up and down the coast of Maine is such a tradition, including on Islesboro, where Dark Harbor 20s have been racing for 85 years. The races are a joy to view, as much as it is to be aboard. For many, the 20s are as much of a cherished island icon as the Grindle Point Lighthouse. “To me, the 20 represents more than just a boat,” said Stanley Pendleton, founder of Pendleton Yacht Yard on Islesboro. “It is part of the life I have grown up with—it speaks of the life we have in Islesboro, and the history of the life we have been nurturing for the last century.”

The DH 20s came into existence after 1934, when naval architect and classic boat sailor/designer Clinton Crane led the Tarratine Yacht Club of Islesboro in the search for a new class of racing sailboat to replace the gaff-rigged Dark Harbor 17s. He introduced the club to Olin Stephens II of Sparkman and Stephens. The young MIT-educated designer was beginning to attract attention for designing the record-breaking yawl Dorade ; he had also designed Gimcrack , one of the first boats whose design was tank tested at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. The findings would go on to be called the “Gimcrack Coefficients”—a pivotal breakthrough in the science of predicting sailing yacht performance.

Stephens, who would become one of the most successful and influential yacht designers of the 20th century, was at the frontier of scientific yacht design focused on speed. The Dark Harbor 20 was a beneficiary. He used the Gimcrack findings to help design the new class, and the result was an immediate success. Reported Stephens, “They are nimble, exciting to race, and typically carry a crew of three in addition to the skipper. Displacement is light, and beam is moderate towards narrow; the hull easily driven. The boats are also attractive in appearance, as would be expected of a class sailed in this stylish and long-established enclave.” In the words of an island veteran at the time, the Dark Harbor 20 “turns on a dime and gives you change!”

Today, more than 80 years later, the DH 20s remain fast, responsive, and easy to handle. The current Islesboro racing fleet numbers 24 boats. Distinctively sleek, they have a narrow fin keel hull with long overhangs and a tall Marconi rig. Add custom craftsmanship, bronze fittings, and varnished mahogany brightwork, and you have all the characteristics of a timeless beauty.

During the 1930s, the first 16 DH 20s were built by George Lawley & Son in Massachusetts; five more were built after World War II by S. B. Norton & Son on 700 Acre Island at what is now Dark Harbor Boat Yard. All but one of these original boats remain today. “That so many of the inaugural fleet are still sailing is a remarkable accomplishment,” said Steve White, former president of Mystic Seaport Museum.

In 2003, over concerns about rising maintenance-and-repair costs, a “Save the Dark Harbor 20” campaign was initiated to preserve the fleet by researching a fiberglass version of the original boats, which were showing signs of age. Sparkman & Stephens re-engineered the design and Shaw Yachts of Thomaston, Maine, built four new boats using modern fiberglass materials and production techniques. The objective from the start was that the boats be identical in all relevant aspects to the original wooden boats to preserve their classic feel and ensure fair competition.

Mystic Seaport Museum honored Dark Harbor 20 sailors in 2018 for their commitment to preserving and maintaining a significant class of American sailing craft, and presented them with the William Avery Baker Award, “given to promote the awareness and appreciation of fine examples of one-design classes or boats, foster faithful preservation and restoration, encourage more people to do it, and keep boats alive and in use.”

In 2019, Pendleton Yacht Yard built a fiberglass DH 20 using parts from an original wooden hull, including the lead keel, deck house/coaming, tiller/rudder post, varnished mahogany bulkhead, seats, spars, and fittings, as well as the original Lawley bronze castings from 1935.  The result was a new fiberglass boat with the patina of age, and a hint of the past; Shearwater ( previously named New Wave ) was welcomed by the fleet two summers ago.

“The 20s have traditionally been handed down from one generation to the next,” explained Pendleton, “but we have secured hull No.6 for restoration or refit with a fiberglass hull, and are committed to preserving the authenticity of this special racing class.”

Today, PYY maintains and services the largest fleet of DH20s and is building additional new fiberglass versions of the boat, reviving Shaw’s original mold with what Pendleton calls a “modern twist.” The carvel-planked hulls, canvas-covered decks, and drifted oak rudder blades are being made of hand-laid fiberglass. The intention of each modification is to make the boats race and look the same as the originals.

Even on its mooring, the Dark Harbor 20 is a photographer’s dream, a most graceful and tranquil seascape subject. But on any Friday or Saturday summer afternoon, the 20 is primed for racing, and the air is charged with anticipation. Keenly competitive skippers and crews maneuver at the race start, and a loyal following of spectator boats keeps  up with the action right to the cannon blast heralding the victor at the finish line.

The Tarratine Yacht Club offered its first silver sailing cup in 1899 for a series of Saturday races in a class for “raceabouts.” Rooted in this 127-year-old heritage, the DH 20 stands as a symbol of stability.

“Tradition” comes from the Latin verb “trader,” meaning “to give for safekeeping.” Surely the Dark Harbor 20 is a tradition that has tied together generations who have kept the class safe and sound for future enjoyment. 

Tricia Ladd is a photographer who grew up near the Herreshoff boatyard in Bristol, Rhode Island, and summers on Islesboro, Maine. More of her photographs can be viewed at www.tricialaddphoto.com .

LOA: 30' ½" LWL: 20' Beam: 6' 8" Draft: 4' 1¼" Displ.: 5,200 lb. Ballast: 2,620 lb. Sail Area: 357 sq. ft.

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Tarratine Yacht Club

Play in the heart of downtown baltimore, marina info.

Tarratine Yacht Club is located at 195 Wharf Landing West in Islesboro, ME. Tarratine Yacht Club offers direct passageway to the water and other amenities within Islesboro. Tarratine Yacht Club has not been reviewed by any boaters, be the first to review and rate this marina! To contact the marina directly call 207-734-2281.

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Tarratine Yacht Club

Address: 621 Pendleton Point Road Islesboro, ME 04848

Website: https://tarratineclub.org/home

Phone: (207) 734-2248

About Tarratine Yacht Club

Tarratine Yacht Club is located at 621 Pendleton Point Road Islesboro, ME 04848. They can be contacted via phone at (207) 734-2248 for pricing, directions, reservations and more.

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What is the phone number for tarratine yacht club.

The phone number for Tarratine Yacht Club is (207) 734-2248.

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Tarratine Yacht Club is located at 621 Pendleton Point Road , Islesboro, ME 04848

What is the internet address for Tarratine Yacht Club?

The website (URL) for Tarratine Yacht Club is https://tarratineclub.org/home

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You can use Latitude: 44.25445190 Longitude: -68.92358780 coordinates in your GPS.

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You can contact Tarratine Yacht Club at (207) 734-2248.

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Sparkman & Stephens “Dark Harbor 20″

“Dark Harbor 20” Recreation

Sparkman & Stephens of New York, the 75-year-old yacht design firm, is proud to announce the reintroduction of the Dark Harbor 20, the 30-foot one-design class sloop, which is to be constructed for the first time in modern fiberglass materials on a production basis at a very reasonable cost.

LOA 30′-0″ 9.14 m LWL 20′-0″ 6.10 m BMAX 6′- 8-1/2″ 2.06 m Draft 4′-1-1/4″ 1.24 m Displacement (Lightship) 5,200 lbs 3,360 kg Ballast 2,620 lbs 1,190 kg Sail Area (100% fore triangle) 357 ft2 33 m2 Design No. 68

History And Design

In 1932 a committee composed of members of local yacht clubs around Long Island Sound was formed, including members from Seawanhaka, Larchmont and American Yacht Clubs. Their task was to develop a new class of racing sailboat to compete with the Sound Interclub and Atlantic classes. One of the proposals was from Sparkman & Stephens, A Proposed New One- Design Class for Long Island Sound. Hull number one was named Gimcrack, a 34′-6″ LOA, 23’LWL low-profile day sailer very similar in appearance to the Dark Harbor 20. Olin Stephens and the Davidson Laboratory at Stevens Institute successfully used Gimcrack to correlate scale model results with full-scale sailing testing, measuring the longitudinal driving force, aerodynamic side force and heeling moment. The correlation constants between model testing and full-scale performance as derived by these studies became known as the Gimcrack Coefficients. The Gimcrack Coefficients were the first known comparison of this type, proving to be a significant breakthrough in the science of sailing yacht performance prediction. This early trial horse became the genesis of the design of the Dark Harbor 20. In 1934, Olin Stephens took the results from the Gimcrack testing and designed the Dark Harbor 20. She was designed as a fairly fine ended and easily driven hull form, with a simple and straightforward rig. Twenty-one Dark Harbor 20 were built in the first half of the 20th century. Due to the dedication of their owners and the members of the Tarratine Yacht Club of Dark Harbor (Islesboro, Maine), most all of the original DH20’s still exist today and actively compete in the pristine waters of coastal Maine. In a combined effort between the members of the Tarratine Club, Sparkman & Stephens, and Shaw Yacht of Thomaston, Maine, new DH20’s are to be built starting this summer in fiberglass.

Conformity To Originals

In preparation for the design of the fiberglass version of the Dark Harbor 20, Sparkman & Stephens inspected and documented a sampling of the existing Dark Harbor 20 fleet to ascertain the stability and verify the as-built weights of the existing vessels. A series of Dark Harbor 20s were subjected to freeboard measurements (which, when used with the hull lines, can be used to determine the vessel’s weight and longitudinal center of buoyancy), in-the-water inclining experiments (a procedure used to incrementally heel a boat to both port and starboard to access its stability and vertical center of gravity), and on-land scale measurements (to confirm the weight ascertained from freeboard measurements). The fiberglass models have been designed to match the weight and stability of the original fleet so that new boats can race with the existing fleet on an equal basis, preserving the competitive nature of this esteemed one design fleet.

Construction

Shaw Yacht of Thomaston, Maine has been selected as the authorized builder of the new fiberglass Dark Harbor 20s. The production-quality molds of the hull, deck, keel, and rudder are created directly from Sparkman & Stephens 3-dimensional surface models for a high degree of accuracy to the original plans.

The hull, deck, deckhouse, and cockpit are to be built of hand-laid fiberglass over a foam core. The rudder and deadwood will also be built of fiberglass, with the cores of each being poured foam with an adjustable density to accurately match the weights of their original wooden counterparts.

The boats will be finished in gelcoat for a durable, low maintenance finish, with a color of the owner’s choice. The deck surface will have a durable canvas non-skid pattern akin to the originals, achieved by having a permanent texture added to the deck molds. To retain the aesthetics of the original boats, the new boats will have a tasteful amount of wood trim. Woods available will be either teak or mahogany, and either oiled or varnished. The deckhouse and cockpit seating will have vacuum-bagged wooden veneers while the cockpit coamings and toe rails will be solid wood. The spars will be constructed directly from the original plans, and be built of high grade, clear Sitka spruce.

Please contact Harry Morgan at Sparkman & Stephens for current pricing and availability. 529 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10017 (212) 661-6170, fax (212) 661-1235 Email: [email protected]

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Tarratine Yacht Club

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• Latitude:  44.25844
• Longitude:  -68.90942

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Tarratine Club

A collective effort to grow the game of golf throughout Maine, our Member Clubs offer a wide variety of course types, locations, and communities to explore. Men, women, and junior competitive or educational opportunities can be found at many of our courses throughout the state. Come explore a new course today!

Address: Golf Club Rd, Islesboro, ME 04848, USA

Phone:   207-734-2248

Email: [email protected]

Pro: Jim Corrigan | 404-202-8493 | [email protected]

Superintendent: Keith Pendleton | 207-734-6772

A Fine Dining Restaurant and Elegant Events Center In Historic Downtown Bangor, Maine

The Tarratine in Downtown Bangor is the area’s premier fine dining restaurant , open to the general public Wednesday through Saturday. It’s the perfect choice for an intimate dinner, a celebration meal, or a chic cocktail party that needs to impress.

The Tarratine is also available to book for private events. Whether you are hosting a corporate meeting or your perfect wedding, The Tarratine offers attention to detail for a unique and memorable experience.

Restaurant Amenities

Your fine dining experience at The Tarratine will be unforgettable. Our restaurant in Downtown Bangor, Maine, is open for dinner Wednesday – Saturday from 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM. The Tarratine offers a full-service bar, multiple dining rooms for an intimate fine dining experience, and a seasonal rooftop lounge for a more casual experience. Many of our guests join us to celebrate significant life events, such as engagements, weddings, or anniversaries.

Our building also has many historical aspects, such as the Locker Room and Ballroom on the second floor. Our third floor boasts our Game Room and Billards Room, which are available for our dining guests.

There are multiple working fireplaces throughout the building for our guests to enjoy. We offer complimentary valet parking for our guests on most nights and coat-checking service during the winter months.

See our Menus

See our Drink Menus

Host your Meeting or Event at the Tarratine!

The Tarratine is perfect for any celebratory event! In addition to weddings and meetings , join us for:

• Private Dinners
• Class Reunions
• Anniversaries
• Family Gatherings
• Cocktail Parties
• Wine Tastings
• Bar Mitzvahs & Bat Mitzvahs
• Themed Events
• Baby / Bridal Showers
• Rehearsal Dinners

The History of the Tarratine

The Tarratine Building is a historic structure in Bangor’s Great Fire District. The exclusive Tarratine Club was organized in the year 1884 by 31 Bangor citizens. Among that group of 31 was former U.S. Vice President and first Tarratine Club President Hannibal Hamlin.

The original Tarratine Club served as a social club that fostered business growth and encouraged the progress of social services in the local community.

Reviews of The Tarratine

The food was excellent, along with great service. The environment, old style architect building with more to offer later with a rooftop bar. Best yet in Bangor! – Zane C., Google

Always a first class experience! Excellent food, exceptional staff & a relaxed but elegant atmosphere. Definitely our favorite date night place. Never disappoints! – Tina W. Goggle

The Tarratine Inn on French Street

Located in the heart of downtown Bangor, The Tarratine Inn on French Street is within walking distance of fine dining and pub fare, craft beer breweries, shopping, theater, museums, concerts and more. All rooms are completely private at the Inn and can be booked individually.