Morse-Libby Mansion - Portland, ME - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Morse-Libby Mansion is an Italianate style brownstone mansion commonly known as the Victoria Mansion. It was built in 1858 as a summer home for hotel magnate Ruggles Sylvester Morse and his wife Olive. The mansion was designed by architect Henry Austin. Morse lived in the house until he died in 1893. In 1894 the house was sold to Joseph Ralph Libby, a Portland merchant and department store owner. Libby occupied the house until 1928. The house was abandoned and was saved from demolition by William H. Holmes who bought and preserved the mansion as a museum that he opened in 1941 and that he named the Victoria Mansion. It continues to be operated as a museum.

The mansion has an asymmetric design with a central four story tower with a single window on the second level, then a round window, and at the top a triple set of tall windows with rounded tops. At the bottom of the tower is a central entrance reached by a set of steps. The entrance is flanked by four fluted Ionic columns and four semi-fluted square columns.

A veranda with a flat roof is to the west of the entrance. Set back, above the veranda are a pair of ornate windows. To the east is a protruding block with three tall rectangular windows, Above, on the set back second level is a triple set of ornate windows.

Street address: 109 Danforth Street Portland, ME United States 04101 County / Borough / Parish: Cumberland Year listed: 1970 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1850-1874 Historic function: Domestic Current function: Recreation And Culture Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed

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