AUBURN — Dr. Thomas Johnson didn’t start out looking to own one of Maine’s architectural gems.
He was merely seeking a comfortable location to move his consulting and counseling practice that wasn’t a sterile square office.
His search brought him to 2 Goff St.
For the past 40 years, Johnson has considered himself a steward of one of Auburn’s crown jewels. The Holman F. Day House at the corner of Court and Goff streets has been called by preservationists the finest example of a Queen Anne Tower House in the state.
And it is for sale.
Only once since 1920 has the house been on the market, and that was when Johnson bought it from the Garcelon family, who had owned it for 55 years.
“It’s an irreplaceable building,” Johnson said. “The detail is remarkable. Each room is a piece of artwork.”
Built in 1895, the Holman F. Day House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was featured on the cover of Victorian Homes in 1985.
The authors of Maine Historic Homes said it is “unquestionably one of the finest Queen Anne-style wooden residences in the state.”
The home features five rooms, a long hallway and a half-bath on the first floor. The second floor features six rooms and a full bath. The attached carriage house has parking for two cars. Above the carriage house is Johnson’s top renovation project — a modern library and conference space completed in 1989. The space was formerly a hayloft.
Johnson worked with preservationists and the National Park Service in planning the library to take advantage of tax credits. But he was surprised to discover that the registry did not prevent wholesale changes.
“A lot of people don’t realize that you can do virtually anything with a house that is on the national registry,” Johnson said. “There are really no restrictions. You could demolish the building, which is amazing.”
One major project Johnson tackled over the years was removing the asbestos linoleum tiles on the floors. He found several ornate gas and electric light fixtures stored in the attic, which now hang throughout the home.
Formerly painted blue, the house was restored to its original beige color when Johnson found what he felt was a perfect match in an American Heritage Collection of colors for historic homes.
One surprise Johnson discovered was the existence of floral murals on the ceiling. An expert from Boston told him the murals are covered by at least five or six layers of paint, which could be removed.
Holman Day was a poet and writer, who wrote more than 300 short stories and 30 novels, Johnson said. Most of those were written in the Goff Street home. Johnson has most of Day’s novels on display in his library.
The home was designed by renowned architect George M. Coombs, who designed many historic buildings in the area, including the Kora Temple, the Lewiston Public Library on Park Street and the Cushman House in Auburn.
The house was built by Day’s father-in-law, Amos Gerald, a pioneer in the electric railroad business. The home was Gerald’s wedding present to his daughter and Day.
The attention to detail is striking throughout the home, with each room a unique piece of art with delicate carved patterns and motifs in the woodwork, fireplace and molding above the doors and windows.
Day also worked as a columnist and correspondent for the Lewiston Evening Journal before moving to Hollywood to become a writer and actor in the fledgling silent picture industry. He lived in the house from 1895 to 1914.
The Abbot family lived there briefly until 1920, when Dr. Harold Garcelon bought it and later gave it to his daughter, a professor at Bates College.
Johnson bought it in 1975.
Considering retirement and now working a few days each week, Johnson is in the information-gathering stage about the future of the house. It is not officially listed on the market, but he is seeking a buyer who shares his ideals of preservation.
“We’re just in the process of deciding what we should be doing,” he said. “I don’t want to narrow the pool of buyers too much , but I definitely want to encourage someone who has preservation values. This is really irreplaceable.”
A few people have already shown an interest in buying the house.
Setting the market value has been difficult because there are no houses comparable to it in the Twin Cities. Agents have looked at Brunswick and Portland to consider value, but those markets are different from Lewiston-Auburn, he said.
Johnson is working with a ballpark figure of more than $300,000, which is roughly what the city of Auburn values the property and nearby parking lot.
Johnson is hopeful that this low-key approach will appeal to a buyer who believes in the importance of renovation and preservation.
“I’ve really come to appreciate this home,” Johnson said. “I feel like a steward, for everyone who has lived here. (Day) would still recognize the house today.”
See Sunday’s B Section for more photos of the Holman F. Day House.
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