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Photos, top to bottom: Corey Templeton, Maine Historical Society, Victoria Mansion
Inhabiting HISTORY
Ever wonder what life was like for our predecessors? Museum homes
invite visitors to step back in time and gain a greater perspective and
respect for the historic forces that continue to influence our lives.
VICTORIA MANSION
One of the greatest 19th century houses
in the country, Victoria Mansion was
built between 1858 and 1860 as a
summer home for Ruggles Sylvester
Morse, a Maine native who amassed a
fortune as a NewOrleans hotel
proprietor. The sumptuous interiors of
the brownstone Italianate villa are the
creation of Gustave Herter, the first
interior decorator of note in America.
2016 marks Victoria Mansion’s 75th
anniversary as a public museum. Today
the Mansion boasts over 90% of its
original furnishings as well as fabulous
fresco-style wall paintings that date to
1860. Unlike anything else in Portland,
and of recognized national importance,
Victoria Mansion’s brilliant stained glass,
colorful wall and ceiling paintings, and
original carpets, sculpture and gas
lighting fixtures are a virtual time
capsule of pre-Civil War grandeur.
Open seven days a week, May through
October, and during the Holiday
season, when it is lavishly decorated.
TATE HOUSE
When it was built in 1755, the Tate House
was the largest and most elegant home
situated in the Stroudwater section of
what later became the city of Portland.
Constructed for Captain George Tate
and his family, it is the only pre-Revolu-
tionary home in Greater Portland open
to the public. George Tate arrived in the
Colonies around 1751 to act as Senior
Mast Agent, overseeing the cutting and
shipping of white pines to be sent back
to England for use by the British Navy.
Tate built an impressive home on a hill
overlooking the mast yard on the banks
of the Fore River.
With its period details, including 18th
century furnishings and herb gardens,
The Tate House reflects what a merchant
class family might have owned in colo-
nial Maine. Open June through October