Legendary retailer Leon L. Bean loved the outdoors. In his grandson Leon Gorman's book, L.L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon, the former chairman and president of the company wrote of his grandfather, “Business and pleasure in the Maine outdoors had all been the same for him.”
To its generations of customers rooted in the outdoors, L.L. Bean is known for its quality apparel, outdoor gear and ever-popular catalog. They operate 41 stores in 17 states, plus 27 stores in Japan. With nods to its own roots, this year the omnichannel merchant continued its philanthropic support for the environment with a multi-year, $3 million partnership with the National Park Foundation. Perhaps lesser known, along coastal Maine where it all began, the company recently completed a historic restoration of the founder’s home.
Origins Of The Bean Home
In 1912, the avid outdoorsman pulled himself up by his own boot invention, the Maine Hunting Shoe, and founded the company, launched on a single product. To reach a wide audience, Bean came up with the idea of marketing to Maine’s list of licensed, nonresident hunters. A cataloger from the very beginning, he used a single sheet of paper folded in half, populated with a testimonial, a signed note from himself and promotional copy illustrating the Maine Hunting Shoe.
That same year he founded L.L. Bean, Leon and his wife Bertha, purchased and moved into a house off Main Street. When he wasn’t out testing his company’s products, his personal residence provided a respite from a rocketing commercial success. By 1937, the company topped $1 million in sales. Bean went on to write two books for his warm, dry and loyal customer base. He kept working into his nineties. As his grandson wrote, he “attributed his long life to the healthful benefits of his outdoor recreational pursuits.” Bean passed away at 94 in 1967. The residence sold the following year.
The two-story, Queen Anne house had been built in 1888, designed by Portland-based architect Francis H. Fassett. The home’s distinctive features included windows bordered with small panes of colored glass, coffered gable ornamentation, a five-color earth tone paint scheme and a carriage barn.
Regarded as one of Maine’s most distinguished architects of the 19th century, Fassett designed other buildings in Freeport, including the Italianate E. B. Mallett Office Building, also completed in 1888. Examples of Fassett’s creations throughout the state include Adams Hall at Bowdoin College, Corthell Hall at the University of Southern Maine, and Baxter Library and the Maine General Hospital Building in Portland. The Mellen E. Bolster House, another of Fassett’s prolific Portland contributions, has been restored and rebranded as a historic hotel: The Francis.
Respect For The Founder
In 1987, the company bought the former Bean residence near its flagship campus of stores to use for office and storage. By then, the house had been modified. The window sashes had been changed. A porch got enclosed. Chimneys had been removed. And the exterior was painted white.
Around 2005, the company began planning for the long-term good of the Bean home. With astute guidance from professionals and local volunteers, the company set out on what would become a 12-year, carefully-phased historic restoration, starting with a historic structure report. Most of the restoration took place from 2014 through 2016, including the construction of a main entrance vestibule between the carriage barn and the addition for corporate archives.
This month, Maine Preservation announced winners of its 2018 Honor Awards, celebrating excellence in historic preservation, with a ceremony held at the Portland Country Club. Fittingly, the Bean home and those who saw to its restoration were recognized.
“L.L. Bean is one of the most well-known Maine brands in the world and is renowned for the quality of its goods as well as locally for its commitment to the Maine community,” said Executive Director Greg Paxton of Maine Preservation.
“We are honored that L.L. Bean would make a substantial investment in the authentic restoration of its founder Leon L. Bean’s house, and are pleased to recognize its efforts with a Maine Preservation Honor Award,” Paxton said.
The residence once again resembles those early years when the Bean family first lived here. Times have changed, like the name of the hunting shoe we know today as the Bean Boot. His house? That’s now the Leon L. Bean Home and Archive Center. At this time, the home and archives are not open to the general public.
“It is extremely gratifying to receive such a prominent award from Maine Preservation for the meticulous work we did in restoring Leon Leonwood Bean’s house to its original character,” said Mac McKeever, senior public relations representative with L.L. Bean.
“The house not only exists as a historical and architectural landmark for the town of Freeport and L.L. Bean,” McKeever said, “it also pays homage to our founder, a remarkable human being with a zest for life and an incredible idea that revolutionized the outdoor footwear industry. We are very pleased with the completion of this project and the corresponding award we received.”
