W is for the Wedding Cake House

Wedding Cake House

In 1826, George and Jane Bourne built their fine Federal brick home at 104 Summer Street, just up the bank from the Bourne & Kingsbury shipyard and in front of George’s childhood home. A fire in 1852 destroyed the original barn, and the home itself was only saved from the fire by tearing down the connecting shed. Inspired by ornate carvings he had seen on Milan Cathedral, George Bourne rebuilt the barn and added a wing with gothic-style ornamentation, or “gingerbread” trim. His original Federal-style house did not match the new look, so he continued adding the ornamentation to the main house, meticulously carving the pieces by hand. He died not long after he completed it.

Today the Bourne home on Summer Street is better known as “The Wedding Cake House” and is among the most-photographed homes in all of Maine. A modern legend from the early 1900s has it that the Wedding Cake House was built to compensate a bride deprived of her wedding cake by her seafaring husband—a compelling story, but not true. The home today is a private residence not open to the general public.

Portraits of George and Jane Bourne done by Thomas Badger are currently on view in the upstairs gallery of the Museum.