Wilfred E. Mansur (1855–1921) was the most prominent architect in late 19th and early 20th century

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

Life and career

He designed many private and municipal buildings, including the

Penobscot County Penobscot County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, named for the Penobscot Nation on Wabanakik. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,199. Its county seat is Bangor. The county was established on February 15, 1816, from part of ...

Courthouse and at least seven schools. His masterpieces are probably the Nichols Block and Columbia Building (both 1892), in which he used a Romanesque Revival style with exuberant patterned brickwork, and the Graham Building of 1911, among the most prominent landmarks in downtown Bangor. Mansur's largest number of commissions came following the

Great Fire of 1911 The Great Fire of 1911 took place in Bangor, Maine, United States, on April 30 and May 1, 1911. A small fire that started in a downtown shed went out of control and destroyed hundreds of commercial and residential buildings. History It started ...

, which destroyed half of the city's commercial district (and a number of his own buildings). At least eleven Mansur-designed buildings are preserved on the National Register of Historic Places, many in Bangor's

Great Fire of 1911 Historic District The Great Fire of 1911 Historic District is located in downtown Bangor, Maine, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. It preserves Maine's most significant collection of early 20th century public and commerc ...

Personal life

Mansur's brother George I. Mansur was also an architect. After working in his brother's office for many years, George I. Mansur succeeded to the practice after his death. Mansur was a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Boston Society of Architects, and the Maine Society of Architects. He was also a prominent Mason. Mansur married in 1892, to Charlotte Elizabeth Brown of Bangor.

Architectural works

* Bangor High School,

(1882, burned 1911) * Green Mountain House, Acadia National Park, Maine (1883, burned 1884)Lydia Vandenbergh and Earle G. Shettleworth Jr.,
Revisiting Seal Harbor and Acadia National Park
' (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 1997) * Green Mountain House, Acadia National Park, Maine (1885, demolished 1896) * Hersey Retreat, Stockton Springs, Maine (1885, burned 1908) * Howes Block, Belfast, Maine (1885) * I. O. O. F. Building,

Old Town, Maine Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on the relatively large Marsh Island, though its boundaries extend beyond that. The island i ...

(1887) * Brewer High School (former), Brewer, Maine (1888, demolished) * I. O. O. F. Building, Belfast, Maine (1888) * Aroostook County Jail,

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and as the birthplace of Sam ...

(1889–90, NRHP 1990) * First Congregational Church, Brewer, Maine (1889) * Moosehead Inn,

Greenville, Maine : Greenville is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,437 at the 2020 census. The town is centered on the lower end of Moosehead Lake, the largest body of fresh water in the state. Greenville is the historic ...

(1889, burned 1912) * House for Frederic H. Parkhurst,

(1890)Whitney Park Historic District NRHP Registration Form
(1988) * Y. M. C. A. Building,

(1890–91, demolished) * Orono Town Hall, Orono, Maine (1891–92, demolished) * Columbia Building,

(1892–93) * House for Frederic H. Appleton,

(1892–93) * House for Francis B. Denio,

(1892–93)Bangor Theological Seminary Historic District NRHP Registration Form
(1977) *

Nichols Block The Nichols Block (1892) is a prominent Romanesque Revival style commercial building in downtown Bangor, Maine. Designed by local architect Wilfred E. Mansur, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Great Fire of 191 ...

(1892)Great Fire of 1911 Historic District NRHP Registration Form
(1984) * Superintendent's house, Bangor Waterworks,

(1892, demolished 2017) * Shaw Block,

(1893) * Frisbie Block,

(1894–95 and 1905)Market Square Historic District NRHP Registration Form
(1980) * Aroostook County Courthouse,

Caribou, Maine Caribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 7,396 at the 2020 census, and between the 2010 and 2020 census it was the fastest-shrinking city in Maine. The city is a service center for the agri ...

(1895) * Addition to the Aroostook County Courthouse,

(1895, NRHP 1990) * Gymnasium,

Bangor Theological Seminary Bangor Theological Seminary was an ecumenical seminary, founded in 1814, in the Congregational tradition of the United Church of Christ. Located in Bangor, Maine, and Portland, Maine, it was the only accredited graduate school of religion in Nor ...

(former),

(1895) * House for John N. Merrill,

(1895–96) * House for Eugene C. Nichols,

* Morse & Company Office Building,

(1895, NRHP 1973) * Palm Street School,

(1895, demolished) * Bangor Hose House No. 5 (former),

(1897, NRHP 1997) * Moody Memorial Chapel,

Good Will-Hinckley Good Will-Hinckley is a charitable organization in Fairfield, Maine. Organized in 1889 by George W. Hinckley, the membership-driven organization is dedicated to educating youth and changing lives. It has a campus of more than in Fairfield, on whi ...

, Fairfield, Maine (1897) * Niben Club,

Pushaw Lake Pushaw Lake is a shallow, warmwater lake in Penobscot County, Maine, United States about north of Bangor and west of Orono. The lake is part of the towns of Orono, Old Town, Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Huds ...

, Orono, Maine (1897, demolished) * Surgical Building,

Eastern Maine Medical Center Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (frequently shorted to Eastern Maine or simply EMMC) is a hospital located in Bangor, Maine that serves communities throughout central, eastern, and northern Maine. NLEMMC is the second largest hospital ...

(1898–99) * Eastport Primary School (former), Eastport, Maine (1899) * Morse-Oliver Building,

(1899, burned 1911) * Lodge, Mount Hope Cemetery,

(1900, NRHP 1974) *

Bangor Fire Engine House No. 6 The Bangor Fire Engine House No. 6 is a historic former fire station at 284 Center Street in Bangor, Maine. Built in 1902, it is a high quality local example of Beaux Arts architecture, and is one of a series of important public commissions by ...

(former),

(1902, NRHP 1988) * Penobscot County Courthouse,

(1902–05) * Addition to house for William M. Shaw,

(1905, NRHP 2013)William M. Shaw House NRHP Registration Form
(2013) * Mansur Block,

(1905–06) * Larkin Street School (former),

(1906–07) * M. G. Shaw Lumber Company Office,

(1906, demolished) * Houlton Town Office,

(1907) * Hersey Retreat, Stockton Springs, Maine (1909) * Graham Building,

(1911) * Central Building,

(1912) * First National Bank Building,

(1915) * Peirce School (former), Belfast, Maine (1915) * Preble Hall, University of Maine at Presque Isle, Presque Isle, Maine (1920–21)"Buildings,"
Engineering News-Record
' 84, no. 25 (June 17, 1920): 426.

Gallery of architectural works

Notes

References

Deborah Thompson, ''Bangor, Maine, 1769-1914: An Architectural History'' (Orono: U. of Maine Press, 1988) Gregory Clancey (Me. Historic Preservation Commission), "Great Fire of 1911 Historic District", National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, on file at Maine Historic Preservation Commission, 55 Capitol St., Augusta, Maine {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur, Wilfred E. Architects from Bangor, Maine 1855 births 1921 deaths