Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Wedding Cake House (Kennebunk, Maine)

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Country
  
United States

Completed
  
1825, 1856

Engineer
  
unknown

Town or city
  
Kennebunk

Construction started
  
1825, 1852

Client
  
George W. Bourne

Opened
  
1825

Architect
  
George W. Bourne

Wedding Cake House (Kennebunk, Maine) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Structural system
  
two-story brick house (painted yellow) with wooden trim, attached wooden shed and barn

Architectural styles
  
Federal architecture, Carpenter Gothic

Similar
  
Seashore Trolley Museum, Bush compound, Brick Store Museum, First Families Kennebu, Goat Island Light

Called the "most photographed house in the state" of Maine, the Wedding Cake House, known formally as the George W. Bourne House, is a historic house located at 104 Summer Street in Kennebunk, Maine. The home was built in 1825 by shipbuilder George W. Bourne (1801–1856), who later built a frame barn which he connected to the main house with a carriage house. In 1852, the barn caught fire and the carriage house was demolished to keep the fire from spreading to the house. Bourne, who during a European tour had been impressed by the Gothic beauty of the cathedral at Milan, rebuilt the carriage house and barn in what later came to be known as Carpenter Gothic style. Using hand tools, he crafted five buttresses with pinnacles on top of each. Then in order to tie the new structures in with the existing house, he added six buttresses with pinnacles to the house and then joined them together with intricate woodwork. His only help in doing this was Thomas Durrell, an apprentice ship's carpenter. Bourne spent the rest of his life adding to these embellishments. It has been said of Bourne: "The highly skilled carpenter knew no limits to his skill."

Contents

Map of Wedding Cake House, Kennebunk, ME 04043, USA

Name

The "Wedding Cake" name was applied to the house due to its wedding cake-like appearance. Legend developed that the busy Bourne, a sea captain, had done the carpentry work to atone for not having taken his bride, Jane, on a proper honeymoon. This was not the case.

Restoration

In 1983, the home was purchased from the last descendant of George Bourne to live there by Mary Burnett and her daughter Anne. The women completely restored the mansion, completing the work in 1984.

In the fall of 2005, the home was opened to the public for the first time by current owner Jimmy Barker as a fund-raiser for Hurricane Katrina relief. Unfortunately the houses prominent trim and details have rotted and fallen apart due to harsh winters (2015).

References

Wedding Cake House (Kennebunk, Maine) Wikipedia