Restoration project planned for Bean home

BY ROSANNA GARGIULO Times Record Staff

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COURTESY OF L.L. BEAN FREEPORT

L.L. Bean founder Leon Leonwood Beans Freeport home will be getting a splash of color if a restoration project, up for review by the Freeport Planning Board next week, is approved.

The objective is to return the house to its historic appearance during the period of significance, said Freeport-based historic architect Malcolm Collins, who has been contracted for the restoration project.

It is believed that the Queen Anne style home, located at 6 Holbrook St., across a parking lot from Main Street, was designed by Francis H. Fasset, Portlands leading architect of the 1870-1880s.

Restoration to the period of significance, circa 1912-1917, is being guided by historic photographs in the home, which is currently in use as the L.L. Bean Museum and Archive Center. The center contains the corporate archives and museum artifacts, along with storage and office space.

BERTHA PORTER BEAN, Leon L. Beans first wife, sits on the steps of their home at 6 Holbrook St. circa 1912-17, at left. Standing in the yard is their daughter Barbara Bean (Gorman), Leon Gormans mother. The Queen Anne style home, believed to have been built in the late 1800s by Portland architect Francis Fassett, is where L.L. Bean lived when he started his company and designed the Maine Hunting Shoe. Today the building, at right, houses the L.L. Bean corporate archives, museum, offices and storage space. Renovations will include the removal of later additions, restoration of the original exterior walls, and construction of a climate controlled gallery. ROSANNA GARGIULO This is the house that L.L. Bean and his first wife Bertha moved into when they moved to Freeport in 1912, said Collins, noting that during this period L.L. Bean founded his company and invented the product that the company built its reputation on: the Maine Hunting Shoe, now commonly called the Bean boot.

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Restoration project planned for Bean home