While no “for sale” sign is posted on the property, the Holman Day House at 2 Goff St. is available. Asking price — $285,000.
“There’s been a lot of interest and we’ve had some showings,” said Dr. Thomas Johnson, who has owned the property since 1975. “There’s been local and national interest.”
Built in 1895, the Holman 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 2,898-square-foot home features 12 rooms, including four bedrooms and one-a-half baths. Each room is a unique piece of art, boasting exquisite carved patterns and motifs in the woodwork, fireplace and moldings above the doors and windows.
Above the attached carriage house is Johnson’s top renovation project — a modern library and conference space completed in 1989. The space was formerly a hayloft.
The home was listed for sale on the National Trust for Historic Preservation website for a couple of months. During that time, the home received close to 4,000 online viewings, Johnson said.
Holman F. Day was a poet and author who wrote more than 300 short stories and 30 novels. Most were written in the Goff Street home. Day, who lived in the house from 1895 to 1914, moved to Hollywood to become a writer and actor in the fledgling silent picture industry.
Johnson, who considers himself a steward for the architectural gem, is hoping to find a buyer who shares his preservation values and ideals.
While the home is still listed online on the Old House Dreams website and by a local realtor, Johnson will maintain a low-key approach during the winter months and “continue providing psychological services on a part-time basis” from the home.
“If it is still available as we approach spring it will likely be listed again on the National Trust site,” Johnson said.
ssherlock@sunjournal.com
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