Victoria Mansion

What's going on at Victoria Mansion?

Today, our project manager from Stone & Lime Historic Restoration Services is onsite to facilitate the building of the scaffolding for our Reception Bay restoration project. After ten years in the planning, the onsite phase of this project begins! The Reception Bay restoration project will mark the end of an era. With all of the historic Portland Connecticut brownstone quarries now closed, this will likely be the last large scale brownstone restoration that we undertake.

This project has been so long in germinating because it is so complex and fraught, with elaborate interior decorative finishes sitting mere inches away from thousand-pound stones requiring surgical removal and replacement. Not since the tower project have we undertaken such a high stakes restoration. However, we have a skilled team assembled, and, against all odds, we have secured perfectly matching replacement stone. If executed to the highest standards, this project will protect and preserve Victoria Mansion’s iconic front façade for a century to come.

Stay tuned for more updates as this exciting restoration progresses! This project was partially funded by a grant from The 1772 Foundation, Inc. in cooperation with Maine Preservation.

Happy ! We thought today would be a perfect day to tease some of the fabulous exhibitors, performers, and other special guests for our Bizarre Victorian Bazaar, coming up on Saturday, October 5th! 🔮

Enjoy live music by pirate band the Shank Painters, and scenes from "Dracula" by Portland Ballet; pick up some delicious savory and sweet seasonal treats from Sullivan House Bakery; stop by curiosity booths featuring collections and stories from Spirits Alive at the Eastern Cemetery, the Osher Map Library & Smith Center for Cartographic Education, the Dyer Library/Saco Museum, Terrarium, and ; learn about tea leaf reading with Roxie Zwicker of , and about the history of scrying methods and tarot with Ashley Gagnon of ; learn about Maine's own Spiritualist camp with author Mira Ptacin, and visit our special exhibition of art by Maine-based artist, Spiritualist minister, and psychic medium Julie Gray.

Stay tuned as we announce more Bizarre Bazaar happenings, and join us on October 5th at Victoria Mansion! Learn more and secure your spot at victoriamansion.org/event/victorian-fair-2024.

Earlier this summer, window restoration experts Edward Reilly and John Leeke removed one of the historic windows in the Mansion's original kitchen and replaced it with a storm window. The historic window was brought offsite for restoration, and today Edward Reilly was back onsite to re-install it. Edward and John will soon begin the restoration process for the windows in the service hall over the Ell on the second floor before returning to the first floor to restore the other kitchen window.

Victoria Mansion will be tabling at the Maine Irish Heritage Center's Open House this Sunday, September 15th! Stop by and say hi, and take a tour of MIHC's beautiful historic building!

The Maine Irish Heritage Center is located just down the street from Victoria Mansion, at the corner of State and Gray Streets.

Next Week!

Join us at the Maine Irish Heritage Center for an open house. Some of your favorite neighborhood organizations, including the West End Neighborhood Association - WENA and the Victoria Mansion !

If you live/work in locally, and would like to have a table, there is still time to secure a spot - please email [email protected] for more information!

Check out these beautiful, tarot card-style postcards for our upcoming Bizarre Victorian Bazaar! Only a limited run were printed, but we'll soon be scattering them around the Greater Portland area. The back of the card lists just a few of the exciting features at this year's event - we hope you can join us here at Victoria Mansion on October 5th! 🔮

Card design by Gina Platt. Learn more about this event and make a reservation at victoriamansion.org/event/victorian-fair-2024.

Many thanks to Aimsel Ponti at the Portland Press Herald for including A Bizarre Victorian Bazaar: An Exhibition of Oddities & the Obscure in this fall events roundup!

Learn more and reserve your spot at victoriamansion.org/event/victorian-fair-2024

Throw on a flannel and head to these 15 fall events Fill the season with pumpkins, crafts, food, music and more, often all in one place.

Did you know that we offer a calendar of free events for our Members every year? Our last Member event of the regular season is coming up soon, and there's still time to join or RSVP!

On September 19th, Executive Director Tim Brosnihan will present a lecture on brownstone - from its formation to its use in residential architecture - and preview the upcoming restoration process for the Reception Room Bay. Brownstone elements that have been salvaged from the Mansion's exterior over the last 50 years will be exhibited during this lecture as well. If you are a Member, we hope you can join us as we prepare for this exciting restoration project more than a decade in the planning!

If you are interested in becoming a Member and would like to learn more, please visit victoriamansion.org/get-involved/membership or give us a call at (207) 772-4841 ext.111 or ext.101.

Thank you Visit Portland Maine for this feature of the Mansion on your page! The painted surfaces of the Stair Hall shown in this photo are currently undergoing cleaning and conservation - in the most public part of the house, our guests often have the chance to see conservators at work, helping to preserve the Mansion's interiors for future generations.

Stairway to history. From the intricate stained glass to the sweeping staircases, this historic home is a must-see for lovers of history, art, and architecture alike. Uncover the story where luxury and history meet in Portland at the Victoria Mansion.

Have you been?

📷: Serena Folding Photography

Last week, artisans at Skylight Studios, Inc. in Woburn, MA captured precious information from two carved brownstone capitals removed from Victoria Mansion a half century ago. They applied flexible silicone rubber to carved details, creating molds that were then filled with plaster to create castings. Sculptors will apply clay to these plaster castings to build out lost details. The mold making and casting process will then be repeated, this time producing a plaster casting that represents the carvings as they looked in 1860. These will then be shipped to Vermont to guide stone carvers working on the upcoming restoration of Victoria Mansion’s front bay.

Stay tuned as we continue to document the bay restoration process in the coming weeks!

📷 Photos by sculptor Bob Shure:
1: Molds taken from front capitals
2: Plaster cast of capital corner detail
3: Plaster cast of capital moldings

We're thrilled to be working with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine again this fall to offer a two-hour, one day only workshop on September 17th focusing on the conservation and restoration projects and processes here at Victoria Mansion.

The story of Victoria Mansion is not exclusive to its history as a home; the care and attention it receives as a museum are history-making as well. Join Mansion staff to talk about all the ways we work to conserve the original structure, wall paintings, and furniture for today’s visitors and future generations. A tour of the Mansion will be included, where visitors can see the over 90% original furnishings and decorative arts in their original settings.

There's still time to enroll! Learn more and register at usm.maine.edu/osher-lifelong-learning-institute/registration. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute offers courses for learners ages 50 and above. Registration for this workshop is $20/student.

Thank you to Restoring Your Historic House for highlighting Tony Castro's masterful restoration of the grain-painted Stair Hall wainscoting for Labor Day! Read more in the post below:

On Labor Day, let's recognize the labor and skill of the artisans and craftsmen who built our houses and those equally talented folks who restore them.

Before & After ~ Restored Paint-Graining at Victoria Mansion.

Trompe l'oeil (fool the eye) paint effects were used in many 19th-century interiors. These decorative paint treatments were widely used to mimic more expensive materials.

This example is in the Victoria Mansion in Portland, ME. Decorative paint restorer Tony Castro restored areas of the paint-grained wainscot that had lost bits of the paint to flaking or scrapes, exposing the white plaster beneath.

This work was done after conservators had cleaned and stabilized the historic paint and sealed it with a reversible varnish. The in-painting of the graining is only in the missing areas and can be removed in the future without damage to the original work.

Victoria Mansion is a showcase of 19th-century decorative painting and well worth a visit. https://victoriamansion.org/

In many houses, historic faux finishes have been damaged over time or painted over. They can be restored or recreated by a decorative painter or a homeowner willing to learn the techniques required.

Decorative paint finishes are discussed in Chapter 18 of "Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners."

Signed and personalized copies of the award-winning and bestselling 720-page hardcover book are only available in our online shop at YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/.

Our shop also carries select preservation and restoration titles by other authors.

© Scott T. Hanson 2024.

Mansion

We hope you can join us on Saturday, October 5th for A Bizarre Victorian Bazaar: An Exhibition of Oddities & the Obscure! Featuring divination demonstrations, exhibitions on Spiritualism and other Victorian fascinations, Victorian craftmaking, and much more! 🔮

Learn more and reserve your spot at victoriamansion.org/event/victorian-fair-2024.
Adults: $21
College students: $8
Children 6-17: $6
Museums for All: $3 with valid SNAP/EBT card
Children 5 and under: FREE
Victoria Mansion Members: FREE

Stay tuned throughout September as we reveal the partners, performers, and other special guests who will be joining us for this year's Bazaar!

Victoria Mansion is CLOSED on Monday, September 2nd in observance of Labor Day. We will re-open for tours at 10am on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Plan your visit on our website any time at: victoriamansion.org/your-visit.

📷: Employees of J.R. Libby's Biddeford department store, ca.1903. Libby was the second owner of Victoria Mansion, and his Portland department store opened not long after he and his family moved in. Department stores offered new avenues to careers for women, as well as some immigrants - the employees pictured here are mostly, if not all, French-Canadian.

SAVE THE DATE: Our pre-Halloween event, A Bizarre Victorian Bazaar: An Exhibition of Oddities & the Obscure, returns to Victoria Mansion on October 5th! 🔮 Tickets go on sale September 1st - stay tuned!

Learn about poison books and wallpaper, how purported mediums conducted seances, and why some elite Victorians held mummy unwrapping parties. Have your cards (or head) read, create Victorian crafts, and explore exhibitions and curiosities for all ages! More information about our fabulous featured experts, performers, and exhibitors coming soon...

This event is designed for visitors ages 8 and up. We encourage caregiver discretion for younger and more sensitive children.

Learn more at victoriamansion.org/event/victorian-fair-2024.

Sharing this call from Maine Preservation: If anyone working in preservation trades has experience refinishing cast iron tubs, check out their post below!

Yesterday was our annual summer volunteer appreciation event! Over 60 of our dedicated docents, board members, committee members, holiday season designers, and programming partners gathered in the Mansion and on the lawn for a social evening. Staff opened the shutters of the Mansion to let in natural light - a rarely seen but often requested event - and some select textiles were exhibited in the textile conservation room on the third floor. Thank you to the team at Bird & Co. for their top-notch catering services, and thank you to the crew at for the wildly popular dessert donation!

And, of course, THANK YOU to our volunteers! Victoria Mansion is fortunate to have such a passionate, hard-working team helping us interpret and share the Mansion, its history, and its collections with tens of thousands of visitors every year.

Happy 112th birthday to the Kotzschmar Organ!

This magnificent historic organ here in Portland was dedicated by Cyrus H.K. Curtis in memory of his music teacher, Hermann Kotzschmar. Kotzschmar's wife, Mary Ann, was also a music teacher - a copy of her 1907 book of piano lessons is included in the Library collection here at Victoria Mansion.

Did you know that dozens of pieces of brownstone removed from Victoria Mansion over the last 50 years are stored in the building’s basement? These provide a wealth of information about the technologies used in the building’s construction. They also document the amazing artistry of the stone carvers who worked on the building between 1858 and 1860.

This week we crated up two stone capitals for a journey to Skylight Studios in Woburn, Massachusetts (https://skylightstudiosinc.com). There, molds will be taken of delicate carvings and castings will be made. These castings will help guide stone carvers in Vermont as they carve new brownstone capitals for the Mansion’s front bay window. In any restoration work that we do, we take our cues from the original fabric of the building whenever possible.

Historic preservation in progress! While much of our conservation and restoration work happens onsite at Victoria Mansion, some projects require specialized offsite care. Historic woodworking experts Bob and Sebastian Cariddi have been carving balustrades out of wood in their workshop, based on the brownstone originals from the front façade of the Mansion. Borrowing a trick originally used in the late 1850s for the back of the Mansion, we restore many brownstone elements like these balustrades with wood treated with sanded paint to give the illusion of true brownstone.

Peter de Paolo joined the Cariddis at their workshop last week for the sanded paint process. For this process, the wood is primed and painted, and then brownstone sand is blown onto the wet paint. Scroll to the final image to see one of the newly turned wooden balusters next to a brownstone original. When the balustrades are restored to the front of the Mansion, the Danforth Street façade will be complete for the first time in decades. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting restoration project!

At Victoria Mansion, we are fortunate to work with some of Maine, New England, and the nation's foremost experts in historic preservation, thanks in part to the generous support of our community. Help us continue our preservation work with a donation of any size at victoriamansion.org/get-involved/donate.

Photos by Sarah Coughlin.

Tour availability for the rest of the day today, Friday, August, 9th, is VERY LIMITED. If you would like to plan your visit for this afternoon, please check availability at victoriamansion.org/your-visit.

If you are unable to visit today, we hope to see you this weekend - plenty of spaces are available Saturday and Sunday!

Our morning tours have filled up fast! All morning tours are SOLD OUT today, August 9th, and tours are filling quickly through the afternoon. If you would like to visit today, we highly recommend reserving a spot in advance at victoriamansion.org/your-visit.

If you are unable to join us for a tour today, we hope you can join us this weekend - plenty of spaces are available for Saturday and Sunday!

Our morning tours have filled up fast! All morning tours are SOLD OUT today, August 9th, and tours are filling quickly through the afternoon. If you would like to visit today, we highly recommend reserving a spot in advance at victoriamansion.org/your-visit.

If you are unable to join us for a tour today, we hope you can join us this weekend - plenty of spaces are available for Saturday and Sunday!

Happy to our two feline volunteers, and ! Ruffi and Lilly live with their people next door to the Mansion, and on sunny days like today one or both of them can be found greeting guests in the Mansion courtyard or Carriage House shop. If you see Ruffi or Lilly during your visit, they always appreciate a hello and a pat! 🐈🐈

There are always projects happening at Victoria Mansion, and guests will often have the opportunity to see historic preservation in action during their tours. Earlier this week, Edward Reilly of Deering Sashworks and John Leeke, head instructor of our Preservation Trades Training Workshops, were onsite to remove one of the historic kitchen windows from the rear ell and install a sturdy storm window as a temporary replacement. The historic window has been taken offsite for restoration, and when it is re-installed, the second of the ell windows will undergo the same process.

Here at Victoria Mansion, we are fortunate to work with some of Maine, New England, and the nation's foremost experts in historic preservation! Learn how you can help support this much-needed work at victoriamansion.org/get-involved/donate.

Portland Ballet has just announced auditions for dancers ages 7-17 for this winter's production of "A Victorian Nutcracker"! This unique version of the classic ballet incorporates figures from Portland's history - as well as set and costume designs based on the interiors of Victoria Mansion! If there is a dancer in your family who might be interested, check out Portland Ballet's post below:

Portland Ballet is excited to announce that we will be holding open auditions for our 2024 production of 'A Victorian Nutcracker!' Auditions are open to dancers ages 7-17 from any studio in our community and will be held at our facility on Saturday, August 24th. We look forward to seeing you there! Find more information and register for the audition here: https://www.portlandballet.org/nutcracker-auditions

Students who are enrolled in classes at Portland School of Ballet for the 2024/2025 School Year do not need to audition.

It's opening day of the so we're brushing up on our French with our new French-language tour brochure! This fleur-de-lis stained glass window in the Mansion's Reception Room may be a nod to the Morses' New Orleans home and its French history.

As athletes from around the world gather in Paris this summer, many visitors from around the world are joining us for a tour at Victoria Mansion. We have tour brochures available to read in Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese, but would love to offer more translations - especially in Mandarin, Japanese, and Arabic. If you would like to volunteer your translation skills, please let us know in the comments or email Staci Hanscom, Director of Education & Public Programs, at [email protected].