Before the great fire of 1933, tourist homes were a predominant feature in Ellsworth, serving as hotels for travelers to the region. One was the American House, built in 1836 by Benjamin Tinker on Main Street. After the great fire of 1933, downtown Ellsworth was rebuilt in a modern look that reflected America in the 1930s. The Grand, designed by Boston architects Krokyn & Brown and built by William McPherson of Bangor in 1938, is a single-story brick building designed for showing movies, with an original capacity of 730 patrons. Its theatre entrance has flanking sections of polished granite and black Vitrolite glass, and it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an example of Art Deco design.