Driving down Summer Street in Kennebunk, these days, one can hardly help but notice the naked Wedding Cake House. At first glance I was horrified by the sight, but as the landmark is restored by Tim Spang and company, and the fretwork and spires are being replicated I appreciate the opportunity to see the house as the stately brick Federal it was built to be in 1825/6.

It wasn’t until 1852, after George W. Bourne’s barn burned down, that he started decorating it like the medieval European cathedrals he loved so much. Once you commit to such a bold style choice you can hardly stop midway so in 1855, Bourne added gothic fretwork and pinnacles to his brick federal house to match his ornate new barn. Sadly, George W. Bourne didn’t get to enjoy his newly decorated house for long. He died in December 1856 at 55 years old.

The removable adornments have been repaired and painted many times over the years at an ever-ballooning expense. In 1968, when the ancient intricate woodwork refused to hold any more paint, owner Harold I. Lord, a descendant of the builder, decided the cost to restore the gothic fretwork and pinnacles was just too great for him to bear. Rumors started to spread that he planned to remove the adornments. His plans were confirmed in a May 1968 issue of Down East Magazine.

A teenage Colby College student, Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., who at such a tender age was already a well-known expert on historic preservation and is now the Maine State Historian, wrote a plea to the editor of the Portland Press Herald. “Because of the pleasure they give and the architectural Importance they, have, I Implore that the wonderful fretwork and pinnacles of the Wedding Cake House be preserved.”

I don’t know if Earle’s letter played a role in saving the gothic trim on the Wedding Cake House in 1968, but I am deeply grateful to all those who have participated in preserving the beautiful old houses that make the Kennebunks unique.