The McLellan House built by John Kimball, Sr., 1801
The 2002 restoration of the McLellan House by the Portland Museum of Art brought a remarkable example of Federal era architecture back to its original splendor. Built in 1801 for shipping tycoon and businessman Hugh McLellan (1758-1823), the McLellan House was the epitome of neoclassical taste in Portland. Sitting high on the unpopulated west end of the peninsula, the McLellan House represented the wealth and sophistication of the new nation as seen in the example of McLellan's own success and affluence. McLellan's prominence in Portland was due to his success as the owner of Maine's largest shipping fleet, an industry that was thriving after the Revolutionary War, making Portland the nation's sixth largest port. McLellan's trade connections not only provided the financial means to create the McLellan House, but also greatly influenced the design and decor of the building. Many of the architectural and decorative details are taken from English pattern books, which served as handbooks for American builders. The current interpretation of the McLellan House recognizes its varied roles throughout the last two hundred years as a home, a museum, and a work of art. Interior decor serves to highlight the architectural features of the house, including the magnificent flying staircase, creative and varied woodcarving on the chair rails, moldings, and architraves, and the large rooms designed for specific functions and social use.
After only 14 years of residence, the McLellan family lost their home due to financial hardships brought on by the Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812. In 1816, Asa Clapp purchased the McLellan House to serve as the home of his son, Charles Qunicy Clapp, and Charles's in-laws, the Wingates. In the 1880s, U.S. Congressman Lorenzo de Medici Sweat bought the McLellan House from the Clapp descendants as a summer home for himself and his wife, Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat. It was Mrs. Sweat's foresight and interest in historic preservation that led her to bequeath the McLellan House to the Portland Society of Art in 1908. The McLellan House has thus functioned as an art museum for the past 100 years.
The structure of the McLellan House exemplifies Federal Style design in its three-story brick cube shape with symmetrical facade. Neoclassical decoration can be found in the carved dentil moldings, urns, semicircular portico, and Palladian window. The building is characterized by a sense of grace, delicacy, and elegance inside and out. The floor plan of the McLellan House shows a new approach to domestic furniture in early 19th-century America. In contrast to the central chimney, great room plan of colonial architecture, the McLellan House chimneys are at the corners of the building, allowing the interior to be divided into several individual rooms designed for specific public and private functions. The first floor features large, ornately decorated rooms designed for social use, including the stair hall entryway, parlor, and dining room. Back rooms, bedrooms, and work areas both downstairs and up served more private functions.
Extensive research was conducted to create the current look of the McLellan House. First, the physical structure of the house was carefully examined for any clues as to original paint colors and decor. The carved wood details were found to have been painted to mimic stone in the latest neoclassical style. The window seats, baseboards, and chair rails in the stair hall were discovered to have been painted with a simulated wood graining imitating mahogany, a much more expensive wood than the actual pine that was used. The dining room plaster walls revealed ghosts of wallpaper seams, indicating the room was originally papered with American-made wallpaper that was horizontally joined, since the technology to create rolls of wallpaper did not exist in 1801. The wallpaper would have been block printed by hand in large sheets that was then seamed and hung on the wall. Other McLellan House furnishings include the English wool carpets found in the parlor and dining room and the hand-painted floorcloth in the stair hall. After carefully examining the physical structure, restorers turned to other research sources including comparable homes from the same time period in the region, primary documents to trace what materials and products were available in the region, paintings, prints, and drawings of the time that represented domestic interiors, and carefully studying the McLellan family for indications of tastes and interests. The final decorative plan displays early 19th-century aesthetics in the context of this grand architectural structure that acts as a symbol of early American prosperity and potential.
Hugh married (1) Abigail "Nabby" Browne 25 Mar 1783 in Falmouth ME.
Hugh married (2) Mary Gilman 12 Oct 1812 in Portland ME.
The 2002 restoration of the McLellan House by the Portland Museum of Art brought a remarkable example of Federal era architecture back to its original splendor. Built in 1801 for shipping tycoon and businessman Hugh McLellan (1758-1823), the McLellan House was the epitome of neoclassical taste in Portland. Sitting high on the unpopulated west end of the peninsula, the McLellan House represented the wealth and sophistication of the new nation as seen in the example of McLellan's own success and affluence. McLellan's prominence in Portland was due to his success as the owner of Maine's largest shipping fleet, an industry that was thriving after the Revolutionary War, making Portland the nation's sixth largest port. McLellan's trade connections not only provided the financial means to create the McLellan House, but also greatly influenced the design and decor of the building. Many of the architectural and decorative details are taken from English pattern books, which served as handbooks for American builders. The current interpretation of the McLellan House recognizes its varied roles throughout the last two hundred years as a home, a museum, and a work of art. Interior decor serves to highlight the architectural features of the house, including the magnificent flying staircase, creative and varied woodcarving on the chair rails, moldings, and architraves, and the large rooms designed for specific functions and social use.
After only 14 years of residence, the McLellan family lost their home due to financial hardships brought on by the Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812. In 1816, Asa Clapp purchased the McLellan House to serve as the home of his son, Charles Qunicy Clapp, and Charles's in-laws, the Wingates. In the 1880s, U.S. Congressman Lorenzo de Medici Sweat bought the McLellan House from the Clapp descendants as a summer home for himself and his wife, Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat. It was Mrs. Sweat's foresight and interest in historic preservation that led her to bequeath the McLellan House to the Portland Society of Art in 1908. The McLellan House has thus functioned as an art museum for the past 100 years.
The structure of the McLellan House exemplifies Federal Style design in its three-story brick cube shape with symmetrical facade. Neoclassical decoration can be found in the carved dentil moldings, urns, semicircular portico, and Palladian window. The building is characterized by a sense of grace, delicacy, and elegance inside and out. The floor plan of the McLellan House shows a new approach to domestic furniture in early 19th-century America. In contrast to the central chimney, great room plan of colonial architecture, the McLellan House chimneys are at the corners of the building, allowing the interior to be divided into several individual rooms designed for specific public and private functions. The first floor features large, ornately decorated rooms designed for social use, including the stair hall entryway, parlor, and dining room. Back rooms, bedrooms, and work areas both downstairs and up served more private functions.
Extensive research was conducted to create the current look of the McLellan House. First, the physical structure of the house was carefully examined for any clues as to original paint colors and decor. The carved wood details were found to have been painted to mimic stone in the latest neoclassical style. The window seats, baseboards, and chair rails in the stair hall were discovered to have been painted with a simulated wood graining imitating mahogany, a much more expensive wood than the actual pine that was used. The dining room plaster walls revealed ghosts of wallpaper seams, indicating the room was originally papered with American-made wallpaper that was horizontally joined, since the technology to create rolls of wallpaper did not exist in 1801. The wallpaper would have been block printed by hand in large sheets that was then seamed and hung on the wall. Other McLellan House furnishings include the English wool carpets found in the parlor and dining room and the hand-painted floorcloth in the stair hall. After carefully examining the physical structure, restorers turned to other research sources including comparable homes from the same time period in the region, primary documents to trace what materials and products were available in the region, paintings, prints, and drawings of the time that represented domestic interiors, and carefully studying the McLellan family for indications of tastes and interests. The final decorative plan displays early 19th-century aesthetics in the context of this grand architectural structure that acts as a symbol of early American prosperity and potential.
Hugh married (1) Abigail "Nabby" Browne 25 Mar 1783 in Falmouth ME.
Hugh married (2) Mary Gilman 12 Oct 1812 in Portland ME.
The McLellan House built by John Kimball, Sr., 1801
The 2002 restoration of the McLellan House by the Portland Museum of Art brought a remarkable example of Federal era architecture back to its original splendor. Built in 1801 for shipping tycoon and businessman Hugh McLellan (1758-1823), the McLellan House was the epitome of neoclassical taste in Portland. Sitting high on the unpopulated west end of the peninsula, the McLellan House represented the wealth and sophistication of the new nation as seen in the example of McLellan's own success and affluence. McLellan's prominence in Portland was due to his success as the owner of Maine's largest shipping fleet, an industry that was thriving after the Revolutionary War, making Portland the nation's sixth largest port. McLellan's trade connections not only provided the financial means to create the McLellan House, but also greatly influenced the design and decor of the building. Many of the architectural and decorative details are taken from English pattern books, which served as handbooks for American builders. The current interpretation of the McLellan House recognizes its varied roles throughout the last two hundred years as a home, a museum, and a work of art. Interior decor serves to highlight the architectural features of the house, including the magnificent flying staircase, creative and varied woodcarving on the chair rails, moldings, and architraves, and the large rooms designed for specific functions and social use.
After only 14 years of residence, the McLellan family lost their home due to financial hardships brought on by the Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812. In 1816, Asa Clapp purchased the McLellan House to serve as the home of his son, Charles Qunicy Clapp, and Charles's in-laws, the Wingates. In the 1880s, U.S. Congressman Lorenzo de Medici Sweat bought the McLellan House from the Clapp descendants as a summer home for himself and his wife, Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat. It was Mrs. Sweat's foresight and interest in historic preservation that led her to bequeath the McLellan House to the Portland Society of Art in 1908. The McLellan House has thus functioned as an art museum for the past 100 years.
The structure of the McLellan House exemplifies Federal Style design in its three-story brick cube shape with symmetrical facade. Neoclassical decoration can be found in the carved dentil moldings, urns, semicircular portico, and Palladian window. The building is characterized by a sense of grace, delicacy, and elegance inside and out. The floor plan of the McLellan House shows a new approach to domestic furniture in early 19th-century America. In contrast to the central chimney, great room plan of colonial architecture, the McLellan House chimneys are at the corners of the building, allowing the interior to be divided into several individual rooms designed for specific public and private functions. The first floor features large, ornately decorated rooms designed for social use, including the stair hall entryway, parlor, and dining room. Back rooms, bedrooms, and work areas both downstairs and up served more private functions.
Extensive research was conducted to create the current look of the McLellan House. First, the physical structure of the house was carefully examined for any clues as to original paint colors and decor. The carved wood details were found to have been painted to mimic stone in the latest neoclassical style. The window seats, baseboards, and chair rails in the stair hall were discovered to have been painted with a simulated wood graining imitating mahogany, a much more expensive wood than the actual pine that was used. The dining room plaster walls revealed ghosts of wallpaper seams, indicating the room was originally papered with American-made wallpaper that was horizontally joined, since the technology to create rolls of wallpaper did not exist in 1801. The wallpaper would have been block printed by hand in large sheets that was then seamed and hung on the wall. Other McLellan House furnishings include the English wool carpets found in the parlor and dining room and the hand-painted floorcloth in the stair hall. After carefully examining the physical structure, restorers turned to other research sources including comparable homes from the same time period in the region, primary documents to trace what materials and products were available in the region, paintings, prints, and drawings of the time that represented domestic interiors, and carefully studying the McLellan family for indications of tastes and interests. The final decorative plan displays early 19th-century aesthetics in the context of this grand architectural structure that acts as a symbol of early American prosperity and potential.
Hugh married (1) Abigail "Nabby" Browne 25 Mar 1783 in Falmouth ME.
Hugh married (2) Mary Gilman 12 Oct 1812 in Portland ME.
The 2002 restoration of the McLellan House by the Portland Museum of Art brought a remarkable example of Federal era architecture back to its original splendor. Built in 1801 for shipping tycoon and businessman Hugh McLellan (1758-1823), the McLellan House was the epitome of neoclassical taste in Portland. Sitting high on the unpopulated west end of the peninsula, the McLellan House represented the wealth and sophistication of the new nation as seen in the example of McLellan's own success and affluence. McLellan's prominence in Portland was due to his success as the owner of Maine's largest shipping fleet, an industry that was thriving after the Revolutionary War, making Portland the nation's sixth largest port. McLellan's trade connections not only provided the financial means to create the McLellan House, but also greatly influenced the design and decor of the building. Many of the architectural and decorative details are taken from English pattern books, which served as handbooks for American builders. The current interpretation of the McLellan House recognizes its varied roles throughout the last two hundred years as a home, a museum, and a work of art. Interior decor serves to highlight the architectural features of the house, including the magnificent flying staircase, creative and varied woodcarving on the chair rails, moldings, and architraves, and the large rooms designed for specific functions and social use.
After only 14 years of residence, the McLellan family lost their home due to financial hardships brought on by the Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812. In 1816, Asa Clapp purchased the McLellan House to serve as the home of his son, Charles Qunicy Clapp, and Charles's in-laws, the Wingates. In the 1880s, U.S. Congressman Lorenzo de Medici Sweat bought the McLellan House from the Clapp descendants as a summer home for himself and his wife, Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat. It was Mrs. Sweat's foresight and interest in historic preservation that led her to bequeath the McLellan House to the Portland Society of Art in 1908. The McLellan House has thus functioned as an art museum for the past 100 years.
The structure of the McLellan House exemplifies Federal Style design in its three-story brick cube shape with symmetrical facade. Neoclassical decoration can be found in the carved dentil moldings, urns, semicircular portico, and Palladian window. The building is characterized by a sense of grace, delicacy, and elegance inside and out. The floor plan of the McLellan House shows a new approach to domestic furniture in early 19th-century America. In contrast to the central chimney, great room plan of colonial architecture, the McLellan House chimneys are at the corners of the building, allowing the interior to be divided into several individual rooms designed for specific public and private functions. The first floor features large, ornately decorated rooms designed for social use, including the stair hall entryway, parlor, and dining room. Back rooms, bedrooms, and work areas both downstairs and up served more private functions.
Extensive research was conducted to create the current look of the McLellan House. First, the physical structure of the house was carefully examined for any clues as to original paint colors and decor. The carved wood details were found to have been painted to mimic stone in the latest neoclassical style. The window seats, baseboards, and chair rails in the stair hall were discovered to have been painted with a simulated wood graining imitating mahogany, a much more expensive wood than the actual pine that was used. The dining room plaster walls revealed ghosts of wallpaper seams, indicating the room was originally papered with American-made wallpaper that was horizontally joined, since the technology to create rolls of wallpaper did not exist in 1801. The wallpaper would have been block printed by hand in large sheets that was then seamed and hung on the wall. Other McLellan House furnishings include the English wool carpets found in the parlor and dining room and the hand-painted floorcloth in the stair hall. After carefully examining the physical structure, restorers turned to other research sources including comparable homes from the same time period in the region, primary documents to trace what materials and products were available in the region, paintings, prints, and drawings of the time that represented domestic interiors, and carefully studying the McLellan family for indications of tastes and interests. The final decorative plan displays early 19th-century aesthetics in the context of this grand architectural structure that acts as a symbol of early American prosperity and potential.
Hugh married (1) Abigail "Nabby" Browne 25 Mar 1783 in Falmouth ME.
Hugh married (2) Mary Gilman 12 Oct 1812 in Portland ME.
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