McLellan-Sweat Mansion
About this property
The McLellan-Sweat Mansion (or The McLellan House) is a historic house museum on High Street in Portland, Maine. It forms the rear component of the Portland Museum of Art complex. Built in 1800–01, the house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 as a well-preserved Federal style brick townhouse. The McLellan-Sweat Mansion is set at the corner of High and Spring Streets in downtown Portland, but is accessed via the main entrance of the Portland Museum of Art at Congress Square. It is a three-story brick structure with a low-pitch hip roof and a granite foundation. The brick of the walls is laid in Flemish bond. The main facade, facing Spring Street, is five bays wide, with a central entrance sheltered by a semicircular portico supported by Doric columns, and topped by a balustrade. The entry is flanked by sidelight windows and topped by a fanlight window. Above the entry on the second level is a Palladian window. The roofline has a bracketed cornice, and there is a low balustrade ringing the roof whose posts are surmounted by urns. The interior has a central-hall plan, with high-quality woodwork in the public rooms of the first floor. Constructed in 1800–1801 for shipping magnate Major Hugh McLellan, the brick mansion was designed by John Kimball Sr. (1758–1831). The cost was $20,000. After a change of owners, the property was purchased in 1880 by Lorenzo De Medici Sweat. In 1908, his widow bequeathed it to the Portland Society of Art (now the Portland Museum of Art). The L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries, designed by John Calvin Stevens, were added in 1911 behind the house, to which they connected by corridor. In 1957, two mantelpieces salvaged from the 1805 Commodore Edward Preble House, designed by Alexander Parris, replaced originals lost during a Greek Revival remodeling of the drawing and dining rooms. In 1970, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark. The Charles Shipman Payson Building by Henry N. Cobb of Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners opened in 1983, extending the length of the museum to its new entrance on Congress Square Plaza. After an extensive restoration, the McLellan House reopened in 2002. National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about McLellan-Sweat Mansion
This page lists McLellan-Sweat Mansion. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nearby Battles
Questions about this property
When was McLellan-Sweat Mansion listed on the National Register?
McLellan-Sweat Mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 4, 1970.
What type of historic resource is McLellan-Sweat Mansion?
McLellan-Sweat Mansion is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is McLellan-Sweat Mansion a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. McLellan-Sweat Mansion has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for McLellan-Sweat Mansion?
The period of significance for McLellan-Sweat Mansion is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near McLellan-Sweat Mansion?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near McLellan-Sweat Mansion will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Cumberland County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Cumberland County.
Explore CumberlandCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near McLellan-Sweat Mansion will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.