Safford House

93 High Street, Portland

The Issue

Built in 1858 the Safford House is one of the last high style homes built on High Street in the 19th century. The Renaissance Revival style dwelling with brick and brownstone details was converted to a business use in the mid 20th century and wasused as classroom space by the Portland Society of Art from 1965-1983. In 1983 the Portland Society of Art sold the building with historic preservation covenants to Safford Associates who completed a renovation of the building, adding a rear elevator and restoring some interior partitions removed by the Portland Society of Art to create large classrooms.

Read about the history of the Safford House on our blog.

Our Position

Since its early years Landmarks has demonstrated its preservation goals through hands on projects using its Revolving Fund, the biennial Old House Trade Show, the restoration of the Portland Observatory, and the organization’s headquarters. In 2004 Landmarks sold its longtime home at 165 State Street and began to search for a new location for the organization in a historic building in need of preservation. The following year Landmarks purchased the Safford House, a former dwelling at 93 High Street. Suffering from deferred maintenance, the building needed significant repairs to its building systems, roof, and exterior facades. Landmarks developed a preservation plan and implemented the most critical repairs in 2010 with the replacement of the roof and repairs to the cornice and frieze. Additional work completed on the multi-phase preservation plan includes restoration of the original windows, masonry repairs, and interior improvements.

Press

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What You Can Do

  • Attend an event at Safford House! Sign up for our mailing list to stay informed about advocacy, education programs, and upcoming events.

  • Support the preservation efforts of Greater Portland Landmarks.