Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 10088 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine House of the Month courtesy remax oceanside their family, whichwouldgrowto sixchildren,allofwhomnowen- joysuccessfulcareersinarchitec- ture,engineering,andeducation. Leasure saw the rock, was in- trigued by the opportunity, and started designing, in spite of the “Fool on the Hill” jokes he must have entertained. The re- sult is nothing short of a won- der, shades of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Falling Water” near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in its vaulted angles, real red- wood sheathing and massive beams, stun- ning outlooks, porches, and vistas, and in- credible livability. There’s a deftness in the way both struc- tures address, and even incorporate, their sites into design elements. The impossible rocky ledge even appears here and there in the basement, proudly, like peninsulas sur- rounded by cool gray concrete. “It’s clear heart redwood,” Leasure says, sitting at the kitchen and bar that hangs over a multi-story living room that divides the house into two worlds, the intimate and the vast. Asked about his inspirations, Leasure says, “Frank Lloyd Wright was an old rep- robate, I understand. You have to push and shove and be nice about it.” From a design standpoint and appar- ently personally, Leasure has pulled this off here. On top of that, “the price was right,” he says and laughs at the ledge and the sweet difficulties it presented. H e ducked into the Navy for several years after World War II, instruct- ing Naval Aviation personnel at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. He went to Penn State to become an ar- chitect and grabbed a Man-in-the-Gray- Flannel-Suit job afterword “in New Jer- sey. It was a 60-man office. Everybody was in the drafting room. It was bing-bang, two schools in a week” during the Baby Boom. “One design called for two wings, and I slightly adjusted them to something a bit more dramatic to address the site. My architectural design firm supervisor swung by. “‘What’s this?’” The office, by now, was all ears. Finally the supervisor said softly, “‘We don’t do much architecture.’” There was a silence. Then the room exploded into laughter. “A voice popped up: ‘We don’t do any architecture here!’” The Leasures moved to Maine, where everything seemed possible. Leasure started a firm that won commissions all over New England (10,000 to 15,000 homes, units, schools, banks, and be- yond). International clients sought his designs, from faraway places such as Dubai. He says one of his clients is a sultan and shows us a design for spar- kling desert monument, “three times the height of the Eiffel Tower.” No one knows more deep- ly than the Leasures that this four-bedroom family home is a time capsule, exuberant in its period, from the vaulted ceilings, open floating chalet fireplace, blue walls, the wall of glass that looks down the hill and rolls out to Fort Williams, and the indoor/outdoor expe- rience of the grand entrance. “You’re on safari out there,” Leasure says of the open area. “You need a backpack.” It appears even the furnish- ings are original. Lovers of 1970s style don’t need to invoke Mar- sha Marsha Marsha or somesuch while touring this house. It’s 1972 down to the dishes. Leasure brought Marsha Mar- sha Marsha to Maine. The character Mike Brady, with his indoor garden, was doing his best to play John Leasure in The Brady Bunch. Of course any house needs gen- tle restoration after 45 years to bring out is midcentury magnificence. But we’re hoping this will be done on the house’s own terms. Leasure may love to talk about every- thing in the world, but lets his design speak for itself. Mystically, he offers, “There are two areas. Living and sleeping.” n Thesalepriceis$825,000.TwelveLittlejohnRoad isbeingofferedbyRustyKnowsRealEstate.Annualtaxes are$4,468.31.