October 2016

Perched high on the Western Prom, the home of Portland’s former mayor is an enticing slice of history.

By Colin W. Sargent

Handsome 261 Western Promenade was designed in 1902 by noted Portland architect Frederick A. Tompson for the Forest City’s mayor, Adam Leighton.

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 “the first big picture postcard business in the United States,” his granddaughter, the late Emily Niles of Tallahassee, Florida, told Portland Monthly in 1996. “He 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.”

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. “They turned brooms upside down, and set them on fire. All my grandmother’s friends came in their little coupes with horses, to visit and to have tea. It was an entirely different, Victorian world.”

Famous guests entertained here include Admiral Robert Peary, publishing millionaire Cyrus Curtis, and Australian soprano Nellie Melba.

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 “Brussian,” 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’s entertaining space), in the hallway, and in the billiard and powder rooms were recovered from Maine Medical Center’s basement, where they were stored when this house was a medical office.

The 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’s kitchen with original butler’s 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’s 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. “We were spoiled,” Emily said. “We used to roller skate up there.” 

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.