A remote mountaintop mansion that was once a museum of glass art is for sale for $1.7 million, but the building isn’t finished yet.
Built in 1987, the seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom property on Douglas Mountain in Sebago was created to be a glass art dealer’s main residence. However, the home doubled as the Jones Museum of Glass and Ceramics, which displayed the owners’ personal collection, according to listing agent Bailey Pate, owner and broker of Maine Real Estate Co. in Scarborough.
“They wanted something exquisite to be their main residence,” Pate said. “It’s a random place for a glass museum, but they wanted it at their property.”
The museum closed to the public in 2001, according to a 2003 article from Antiques and The Arts Weekly.
Pate said the original owners “went under” on the house and it fell into disrepair. It changed hands a few times until the current owner purchased it in 2022 and began renovations.
The property has also hosted more than 30 weddings in its lifetime, Pate said.
“I see it as being someone’s massive estate or an event venue once again,” Pate said. “It’s a remarkable property and I think it’d be perfect to hold more weddings.”
The original owners, both of whom are deceased, sourced the plans for the steel-frame home from Saudi Arabia, Pate said, and “spared no expense” when building the property. This is most evident in the home’s four fireplaces made with marble imported from the Middle East, Pate said.
The property’s main house and guest house combined offer more than 14,700 square feet of living space.
The first floor of the main house holds a formal dining room, kitchen, living room, library, solarium, office and two full bathrooms. There’s also a separate wing that houses an indoor pool and hot tub.
The home’s second floor has five bedrooms, four more bathrooms and another library, complete with a spiral staircase and a secret room hidden behind a bookcase. Both of the home’s libraries held reference materials for the museum.
Pate said she’s glad the current owner maintained some of the building’s charming features that hint at its former life as a museum, such as built-in lit shelves that once displayed art pieces.
Other unique features in the home include stained glass, arched doorways, numerous balconies, high ceilings and sweeping views of Mount Washington and Peabody Pond. A lockable safe room hidden behind a wood panel in a basement wall was once used to store valuable pieces of art when they weren’t on display.
The 2,600-square-foot guest house includes two bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, a screened porch, laundry facilities and its own heat, septic, well and electrical systems.
The building has an attached four-car garage, but the lot has an additional parking area large enough to accommodate up to 20 vehicles.
The grounds of the estate, which span more than 4 acres, have garden paths and multiple stone staircases that add to the property’s charm, Pate said.
“It’s a remarkable property, not just because of the size and the views,” Pate said.
The home also sits on a dead-end road, which gives it additional privacy, but is a 10-minute drive from Sebago Lake and other local attractions, Pate said.
The current owner completed most of the renovations, but the building still needs an estimated $350,000 of work, including new flooring and plumbing and light fixtures. However, Pate said the remaining items on the to-do list allow the buyer to customize the property to their taste.
“It’s extremely unique and I think it needs a unique buyer that has a vision for it and is looking for a home of this size,” Pate said. “There’s nothing like this home in Maine.”