Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
A 176-year-old house for sale in Bangor has a vault hidden in the basement and an accessible cupola perched on the roof.
With nearly 3,900 square feet of living space, the six-bedroom, four-bathroom house sits on more than 1.5 acres on Broadway, across the street from Bangor High School.
The home hit the market last week with an asking price of nearly $580,000. That’s more than double the value of an average home in Bangor, which Zillow placed at $284,000 as of last month.
Known as the Burleigh-Sawyer House, the property was built in 1850 for a family that generated significant wealth through the local lumber industry, said Ellen Grant of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group, the listing agent for the property.
The home belonged to Husson University, located just west of the property, for many years and was used as the president’s house until the university sold it last year for $550,000. The owners are selling it after nearly a year because they’re looking to move to a more rural area, Grant said.
“They love the house, but they’re looking for something a little more out of town,” Grant said.
Much of the stately home has remained the same over time, Grant said, including the layout, the towering ceilings and large wooden windows, many of which have “pristine” crown molding above them. Ceiling medallions can also be found anchoring light fixtures in a few rooms.
“It’s a grand house and feels very formal and luxurious,” Grant said. “A place like this with so much history and all that space is perfect for a large family. There’s so much you can do with it.”
In addition to a formal dining room, the house has a sewing room, a walk-through pantry connecting the kitchen and dining room and a cupola on the roof that offers views of the surrounding area. There are also numerous built-in cabinets and cubbies throughout the house and three fireplaces that have been converted to gas, Grant said.
The basement, meanwhile, holds a vault but it’s unclear what the previous owners used it for, Grant said. There are also doors in the basement that are rumoured to lead to tunnels from a railroad system, but the sellers never opened them, Grant said.
The land holds a three-car garage, built in 2017, and a large barn that’s original to the house. The barn has a silo and numerous items leftover from the original owners, including furniture and a carriage, Grant said.
Bangor’s city code names the address as a historic landmark. Because of this designation, the property owners can’t make changes to the home’s exterior that drastically change the structure’s appearance or historic character, Grant said.
This could be a requirement that deters some prospective buyers, Grant said, but the property has generated more interest than she was expecting.
“It’s going to take a certain type of buyer, but we’ve had a lot of interest so far,” Grant said. “A place like this needs someone who would be able to do the upkeep.”