October 2019

By Colin W. Sargent

We’re on a Boston Whaler on the Saco River when we see it. A for-sale sign reflects in the crisp blue water as the river rushes toward Biddeford Pool. Above the sign, on a scenic hill, a late 1980s estate crowned by a gambrel-roof style house presides over an entire mini peninsula as it reaches into the water. Front and center, the boathouse/artist’s & writer’s studio/cocktail lounge literally hangs over the water on I-beams. More boats slow down to look at the architectural marvel with the for-sale sign in front. Who could ever give this up? Is it a she-shed? A man cave?

“Everybody lays claim to it!” says Barbara Boutet, owner. “This studio is the first place everyone wants to see. My husband and I built it when we built the house and added the swimming pool. You could never build an in-ground pool so close to the river today.”

The river studio has exposed beams and a pickled interior. From here, a new owner will enjoy bold views of 355 feet of river frontage and “stunning sunsets. When all the windows are open, the wind blows right through here. It’s heaven.”

Can stunning and homely occupy the same space? It does here. This house captures the imagination as a restoration project because of the incomparable lot and building site, and yet many choices, like “the Mexican clay tiles I bought and put in here 40 years ago,” deserve to stay.

The rooms are graciously proportioned–upstairs there are two large bedrooms with baths and a sitting room between, all facing the water.

Boutet loves and understands this river as though it’s a dear relative. “Across the river, do you see those pilings? That’s where the original ferry landed,” she says.

In the 1980s, this house was very much a part of Maine’s cultural map. Barbara and her husband [who passed away in 2015] hosted many Democratic fundraisers here. “Schooner Fare played right in the living room when we hosted Joe Brennan,” she says. As she speaks, she looks beyond the tall, tall oak trees and a white pine to the river, as if it’s listening. A 21-foot Pro-Line boat motors by and slows along the river. The people inside draw closer and point. They’re bewitched by the studio.

We ask Boutet if her house has a nickname. She closes her eyes and lets the question tie up at the dock. You can tell she’s speaking for two. “If I had to give it a name, I guess I’d call it The Narrows.” Taxes for 551 Ferry Road, Saco, are $19,060.