{"id":15726,"date":"2019-01-22T16:21:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T21:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=15726"},"modified":"2020-09-29T09:49:27","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T13:49:27","slug":"postcards-from-the-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/postcards-from-the-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Postcards from the Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>October 2016<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 35px; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/issues\/october2016\/?page=94\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Perched high on the Western Prom, the home of Portland\u2019s former mayor is an enticing slice of history.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>By Colin W. Sargent<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Handsome 261 Western Promenade was designed in 1902 by noted Portland architect Frederick A. Tompson for the Forest City\u2019s mayor, Adam Leighton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Mayor Leighton was riding high at the time, having earned considerable wealth as an early manufacturing developer of color postcards. He was the founder of \u201cthe first big picture postcard business in the United States,\u201d his granddaughter, the late Emily Niles of Tallahassee, Florida, told <i>Portland Monthly<\/i> in 1996. \u201cHe developed them in 1888 and made a fortune when they were debuted at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. My grandfather was a Republican who was against alcohol, so I remember our Christmases were dry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-15723\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-1024x727.jpg\" alt=\"oct16 home postcards\" width=\"1024\" height=\"727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-1024x727.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-768x545.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-200x142.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-493x350.jpg 493w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Which is not to say they were boring. Emily recalled political rallies for her grandfather outside the house, where hundreds of Portlanders gathered on election eve. \u201cThey turned brooms upside down, and set them on fire. All my grandmother\u2019s friends came in their little coupes with horses, to visit and to have tea. It was an entirely different, Victorian world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Famous guests entertained here include Admiral Robert Peary, publishing millionaire Cyrus Curtis, and Australian soprano Nellie Melba. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Upon entering the 17-room mansion, guests are treated to original matching Baccarat chandeliers, capacious bay and bow windows with window seats, a walnut-paneled library, and one of the finest leaded-glass and paneled dining rooms in Portland, glowing with original murals painted in oil, possibly by the architect himself, who was a noted \u201cBrussian,\u201d a group of Portland-area amateur painters that included John Calvin Stevens. Stained-glass windows in the massive entryway, on the stair landing (set to the left to maximize the center hallway\u2019s entertaining space), in the hallway, and in the billiard and powder rooms were recovered from Maine Medical Center\u2019s basement, where they were stored when this house was a medical office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">T<\/span><span class=\"s1\">he seller, Nick Nikazmeral, who has owned this seven-bedroom showcase since he purchased it from the Hartglass family, founders of Mr. Bagel, has been an exacting curator with the highest standards and a voluminous historical folder on the house, complete with early photos and notes from multiple interviews. There is an updated chef\u2019s kitchen with original butler\u2019s pantry. The woodwork throughout the house has been cleaned and updated to perfect original standards by M.R. Brewer and Co. In a residence that is charming everywhere, two spots charm in particular. At one end of the billiard room, an original children\u2019s stage in quarter-sawn oak awaits future performances. The third-floor, with its exquisite views of Mt. Washington in winter and the Fore River year-round, boasts an Inglenook fireplace and a curved window seat with horsehair cushion. It will make cozy memories for all who are lucky enough to visit here. \u201cWe were spoiled,\u201d Emily said. \u201cWe used to roller skate up there.\u201d<\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\">Two hundred sixty-one Western Promenade is being offered by John Hatcher, owner of The Hatcher Group of Keller Williams Realty. The sale price is $1.675 million. Annual taxes: $15,667.84.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-15721\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-3-1024x729.jpg\" alt=\"oct16 home postcards 3\" width=\"1024\" height=\"729\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-3-1024x729.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-3-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-3-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-3-200x142.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-3-492x350.jpg 492w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-3.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-15722\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-2-1024x731.jpg\" alt=\"oct16 home postcards 2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-2-1024x731.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-2-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-2-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-2-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-2-490x350.jpg 490w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/oct16-home-postcards-2.jpg 1066w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This home of Portland\u2019s former mayor is perched high on the Western Prom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[892,232,224],"tags":[211,160,254,255],"class_list":["post-15726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate","category-shelter-design","category-talking-walls","tag-architecture","tag-portland-maine","tag-postcards","tag-postcards-from-the-edge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15726"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19304,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15726\/revisions\/19304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}