A year after launching its capital campaign, Portland’s historic Victoria Mansion said it met a $1 million challenge and surpassed its initial $8 million fundraising goal.
The Forward Facing campaign is a five-year, $8 million initiative aimed at preserving the National Historic Landmark and building on its mission in the fields of historic preservation and museum education.
The nonprofit also received a challenge grant from an anonymous donor. The new initiative, named “Forward Facing-Faster,” will accelerate efforts to preserve the mansion, said Tim Brosnihan, Victoria Mansion’s executive director.
The challenge to raise another $1 million will unlock an additional gift to seed an endowment for the building. The completion of the challenge will allow the nonprofit to tackle building priorities sooner than expected.
“Throughout this organization’s history, we have relied on the support of our community to think big and tackle projects well beyond the reach of most small museums,” said Brosnihan.
Historic landmark
Victoria Mansion, which dates to the 19th century, still has in tact some 90% of its original interiors. The 1860 building became a museum in the 1940s and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1971.
Preservation efforts completed this year include the restoration of a large exterior window bay that called for hand-carving and installing blocks of brownstone weighing as much as 13,000 pounds.
The overall restoration was recently among nine rehabilitation projects and a preservation advocate to be recognized by Yarmouth-based nonprofit Maine Preservation.
From the early 1970s through the early 2000s, the nonprofit that owns the museum addressed structural issues and sealed the weather envelope to protect the interiors.
Over the past 20 years, major interior restorations have been completed. In 2022, the museum began its most ambitious paint conservation project — a two-year effort to clean and restore a soaring central stair hall.
