The Curtis Mansion is a two and one half story rectangular-shaped stone building with a five bay facade, cross gable roof and northeast corner tower. The massive proportion of this building, the use of monochromatic random coursed and rock faced stone, and the semi-circular arched entry at the southeast corner all reflect an influence of the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style. Additional noteworthy embellishments include a projecting cross gable at the south facade with exposed stocks and struts, and a drop pendant with ball finial at the gable end ridge line. A broad hip roof is broken by several small dormers, and a wrap-around porch with Doric column posts and square balustrade lines the northwest corner and west facade of this building.
Number 189 West Main Street, or the Curtis Mansion, was built by Mr. A.A. Curtis in approximately 1903. The land on which this structure is built was originally part of an estate known as "Oaklands," the Wilson family property which stretched south of West Main Street to what is now Barksdale Road. Toward the end of the nineteenth century the Wilsons began to subdivide their land and in 1899 a large plot fronting on West Main Street was sold to A.A. Curtis.Alfred A. Curtis was one of the three sons of F.D. Curtis, owner and operator of the Nantum (later Curtis) Paper Mill which had carried on business in Newark since the mid-1840s. Curtis' monumental Romanesque style home was built of stone quarried locally in Port Deposit.
The Curtis Mansion is a significant and outstanding example of the Romanesque architectural style in Newark. One of the largest homes on a street once referred to as "Quality Hill," this monumental structure also illustrates a period of post-1900 home building carried out by some of Newark's enterprising and affluent men.
The mansion was acquired by the University of Delaware in 1961. It was initially used by the University for foreign student housing. It has now been renovated and is now used to house the University's nglish Language Institute.