Mansard Monday ~ The Walter P. Mansur House in Houlton, Maine. The April 22, 1880, edition of the Aroostook Times carried a brief item in its local news that “Walter Mansur is soon to commence the erection of a fine residence…” Progress on the new building proceeded rapidly for by June 24th the paper reported that “Walter Mansur is to slate the roof of his new dwelling house. It will be the first slated roof in this town.”
At this time, Walter Mansur was an assistant in the Houlton fire department and also have been associated with the starch factory of R. M. Mansur and Sons and was the first president of the Houlton Water Company. In 1881 he became the president of the First National Bank of Houlton, a position he held until 1900, and he had also become the fire department’s chief engineer. Following the death of Mansur, it became St. Mary’s Academy, a parochial school, for many decades. It is now in commercial use.
The Mansard roof form that turns an Italianate style house into a Second Empire style house comes from France and was typically called a “French roof” during the 19th century. Mansard roofs come in several forms, including concave and convex. This fabulous example retains its original decorative slate patterning.
Understanding the style of a house will help you understand which features are character-defining so you can prioritize their preservation.
Second Empire is one of 25 historic architectural styles described and illustrated in Chapter 2 of “Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners.”
Signed and personalized copies of the award-winning and bestselling 720-page hardcover book are available from the author in our online shop at YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/.
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© Scott T. Hanson 2025.
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