A new public art project in Belfast offers visitors of all ages a whimsical view of the city center offering a different way to explore its vibrant offerings. Twenty dollhouse-sized doors mounted at sight level for children, adjacent to the store entrances of the companies that inspired them, invite children and adults alike to explore. A map of this smiling little doors tour is available at ourtownbelfast.org/tinydoors.
Our Town Belfast is launching the Tiny Door project, miniature doors created by local artists. The small doors encourage a closer look at the historic structures of Belfast city center stretching from Church Street to the harbor along Main Street and out to High Street from the traffic light.
The tiny scale of the doors suggests a village for mouse-sized shoppers evoking the character of beloved Maine author EB White, Stuart Little, a mouse adopted by a human couple, Mr. and Mrs. Little from New York. In the book, Stuart takes a ride in a model sailboat in Central Park. You can almost imagine that Stuart Little paddled through Penobscot Bay to Belfast for an adventure and a ride. Visitors may find the small wharf where Stuart may have moored his birch bark canoe. One can easily imagine Stuart Little shopping in Belfast city center.
Left Bank Books, which has a small door on the outside of its entrance, also has an inside mouse hole in its children’s books space. Co-owners Barbara Klausmeyer and Lindsay McGuire could neither con ï¬ rm nor deny that Stuart Little has ever visited the store, but they do stock the classic books from EB White, Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web, as well as his adult books.
Tiny Doors can be found in the following locations:
1. The Good Food – 68 Main Street
2. Heavenly Yarns – 133 High Street
3. Northwoods Gourmet Girl – 65 Main Street
4. Downgrade Café / CG Bikes – 39 Main Street
5. Eat more cheese – 94 Main Street
6. People Place Things – 145 High Street
7. Exit on a Whimsey – 88 Main Street
8. All About Gaming – 78 Main Street
9. Belfast Fiberarts – 171 High Street
10. Brambles / Ocean House – 2 Cross Street
11. Fiddlehead Artisan Supply – 64 Main Street
12. Back and forth – 25 Front St
13. Archangel Computer – 107 Church Street
14. Period – 69 Main Street
15. Left Bank Books – 109 Church Street
16. Vinolio – 74, main street
17. Old Teacher’s Bookstore, 99 Main Street
18. City Drawers, 105 Main Street
19. Man in Main, 103 Main Street
20. The Chocolate Drop, 35 Main Street
21. Stuart Little’s Garden, between 69 and 65 Main Street
22. Stuart Little’s Dock – Belfast Marine, 15 Front Street
Artists who created the doors include Sally Brophy, Valerie Schurer Christle, Lisa Gant, Bonnie Irwin, Pegi Miller, Ti ï¬ any Nemec, Anne-Marie Nolin, Amy Tingle, Craig Watson and Heather Wilson.
OUR TOWN BELFAST is a community-based and nationally accredited organization whose mission is to grow and sustain our historic downtown area while celebrating our unique cultural heritage.
We believe in supporting local businesses, honoring our heritage through historic preservation and bringing the community together to make Belfast city center a better place to live, work and play.
Our City of Belfast envisions a vibrant future in which our waterfront, shopping district, treasured historic buildings and outdoor public spaces are bustling with activity.