vanisHing Maine 66 P o R t L a n d monthly mAgA Ine dogs was destroyed. The ruins were torn down. New own- ers built a mansion on the site and sold it for $7.5M. Barker later moved into Juno Mobile Home Park in Palm Beach. We have been unable to reach him. CRossRoads S o what’s next for the Wedding Cake House? “That’s what we’re trying to fig- ure out,” Barker’s nephew, Hunt Edwards, says by telephone. “Uncle Jimmy’s partner died a year or so ago, might be a lit- tle more, and they’re finishing all the estate stuff. When they do, Uncle Jimmy will be the sole owner of the house.” Will it stay in the family or open to the public? “It won’t be open for tours this summer, I can tell you that. We’re certainly discuss- ing all that stuff.” “To be preserved, the way it is, it would most likely have to turn into some kind of public landmark or a business like a bed and breakfast or a wedding venue,” Cynthia Walker of Kennebunk’s Brick Store Muse- um says. “Simply because of the cost of up- keep of a place like that.” soMeone LeFt tHe Cake o t in tHe Rain W hatever its future, there are matters of alarming deferred maintenance. The back veran- da overlooking the river is buckled and sag- ging, and an outbuilding has collapsed. The magnificent gothic exterior trim around the entire house has all but dissolved. Tom Joyal, architectural salvage expert and for- mer owner of The Old House Parts Co., muses about the cost of repairing the gin- gerbread trim. “Oh my gosh. I’ve thought about it, believe me. [The carvings are] probably just a template now. I don’t think there’s much there worth saving. I haven’t touched it, but it just looks a bit rough. It would be just a guess. I could easily see $1M being spent there. When you drive by, you see signs of algae, telltale signs of serious rot going on.” CoMM nity aCtion “Jimmy’s quite a character,” Laura Dol- ce says today. “A real southern gentleman with fascinating stories about Maine and the arts scene of decades ago. The house