Criterion A: Transportation
Period of Significance: 1922-1973
Local Level of Significance
Miller's Garage at 25 Rankin Street in Rockland, Knox County, Maine is locally significant under National Register Criterion A for its association with events that have made an important contribution to the broad patterns of transportation history. It is an early automobile sales and repair shop in Rockland, and its architecture resembles many of the other local automobile service buildings of its time. In the early days of the automobile, there was no established building form associated with their care. Automobiles were often sold, stored, and repaired in existing buildings, sometimes those associated with other transportation modes. Livery stables were often associated with early automobile care particularly as cars replaced travel by horse, but other businesses like carriage, blacksmith, or bicycle shops also provided services for automobiles. These businesses often shared building forms that are associated with early automobile care. Millers Garage is a significant illustration of the transition to, and the growth of, automobile dealerships in Rockland. The period of significance for Millers Garage stretches from 1922 when the center section was built, through 1928 when the automobile showroom was added on the west, and ca. 1941 when the automobile service area was expanded on the east, ending in 1973 which is 50 years before the present day. The three sections of the building continued to resemble an early automobile facility, even up to the present day, creating a visual link to the early days of automobile transportation when automobile sales and service were often based in established transportation businesses. Rockland has no other extant automobile related buildings with integrity from the period to represent the early days of automobile sales in the town.