Victoria Mansion
Variant namesVictoria Mansion is a historic house in downtown Portland, Maine. The brownstone exterior, elaborate interior design, opulent furnishings and early technological conveniences provide a detailed portrait of lavish living in nineteenth-century America. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.
This stately brownstone Italianate villa was completed in 1860 as a summer home for hotelier Ruggles Sylvester Morse. The house was designed by the New Haven architect Henry Austin. Its distinctive asymmetric form includes a four-story tower, overhanging eaves, verandas, and ornate windows. The frescoes and trompe-l'œil wall decorations were created by the artist and decorator Giuseppe Guidicini. Morse lived in the house until his death in 1893.
A year later, the house and its contents were sold by his wife to Joseph Ralph Libby, a Portland merchant and department store owner. The Libby family occupied the house for over 30 more years, until 1928. Due in part to the Great Depression a year later, the home was repossessed in 1939 due to back taxes. William H. Holmes bought the house in order to preserve it as a museum; it opened in 1941 as the Victoria Mansion.
Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
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referencedIn | Victorian Mansion collection, [1944]. | Maine State Library | |
referencedIn | Peabody, Frances W. Frances W. Peabody papers, 1821-1999. | Maine Historical Society Library | |
referencedIn | Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006. National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017 | National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration | |
referencedIn | Collection of architectural drawings, [ca. 1936-1939]. | Brown University Archives, John Hay Library | |
referencedIn | Calderwood, Roger, 1911-1986. Calderwood collection, 1882-1979. | Maine Historical Society Library |
Role | Title | Holding Repository |
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Filters:
Relation | Name | |
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associatedWith | Calderwood, Roger, 1911-1986. | person |
associatedWith | Peabody, Frances W. | person |
Place Name | Admin Code | Country | |
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Portland | ME | US |
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Corporate Body
Active 1970
Active 1941
Active 1928
Active 1894
Establishment 1860