Forward Facing

The Campaign to Preserve Victoria Mansion for the Ages

Restore. Conserve. Enlighten.

The Forward Facing Capital Campaign is a 5-year $8 million initiative aimed at creating a world-class institution to steward and share one of the most important buildings surviving from the nineteenth century.

Preserving this iconic building and restoring its unparalleled collection of furnishings and decorative finishes requires constant and expert attention. But such work is vital to preserving our collective history.

A Regional, National, and International Treasure

A recent visitor described the house as “shimmering with potential,” a reminder that Victoria Mansion is not just about the beauty of the building and its collections, but about its ability to inspire curiosity and offer meaningful and thought-provoking encounters with the past. To make the most of this rare survivor from the eve of the Civil War, we need to take a forward facing approach to its future.

Over the next five years, we will transform the Mansion into a beacon for scholarship, engagement with the arts, and hands-on preservation, while bringing the building nearer to its 1860 appearance and propelling the organization toward its full potential.

The success of the Forward Facing Campaign will make it possible for us to complete this important work, while placing the Mansion’s educational, curatorial, and outreach efforts on a solid foundation for generations to come.

Ways to Support the Campaign

To discuss giving options &/or to schedule a tour, contact Ann O'Hagan, Director of Development.

Make a Donation

Support the Forward Facing Campaign with a One-Time Gift.

You may direct your gift to be applied as an unrestricted donation or applied to:

  • Restoration & Preservation
  • Interior Conservation
  • Education and Research
  • Stewardship/Endowment
Donate

Annual Pledge

Pledges to the Forward Facing Campaign may be made from one to five years and include the following options:

  • Gifts of Cash
  • Gifts of Securities
  • Monthly Gift Over 60 Months
  • Gifts may be unrestricted or directed to the campaign priority that is most meaningful to you.
Download Pledge Form

Planned Giving

Create Your Legacy at Victoria Mansion by supporting the Forward Facing Campaign with a Planned Gift.

We would be pleased to talk to you about ways you can do so and ensure that your intentions will advance the Forward Facing Vision of Victoria Mansion.

 

Planned Giving Letter of Intent
https://youtu.be/cxFTeqkzZxs

“Victoria Mansion is the best surviving example of a pre-Civil War Italianate villa style Mansion. Taken as a whole, when it was completed in 1860 it was at the very zenith of architectural decoration and design. The challenge has always been to hold back the destroying hand of time. But the greatness of the house has brought out the best in the organization.”

Earl Shettleworth Jr., Maine State Historian and Honorary Chair of Victoria Mansion’s Forward Facing Campaign

Watch on YouTube

Campaign Priorities

We are pleased and gratified to report that since launching the campaign in May, we exceeded our $1 million challenge and have raised a total of $6 million in pledges and bequests. We continue to focus on the following priorities to bring both the building and organization to their full potential:

Restoration and Conservation

  • Restoring an Architectural Masterpiece ($3.3M): Our goal is to continue to maintain and preserve the Mansion’s iconic architecture and to return the building to its 1860 appearance and realign the building with architect Henry Austin’s original vision.
  • Preserving our Iconic Interiors ($1.2M): To preserve the last intact commission by interior decorator Gustave Herter and decorative painter Giuseppe Guidicini, we have initiated a series of projects to conserve painted decoration and to restore textiles and carpets.

Education and Stewardship

  • Exploring our Past ($1M): Victoria Mansion sits at the crossroads of American history. It is a learning laboratory offering opportunities to engage with the past for those who visit each year.
    • We seek to expand our educational staffing to amplify our engagement with schools across the state and to support a more robust program of historical research, partnering with institutions of higher education in the process.
    • Along the way, we will continue to open new avenues of inquiry while providing hands-on training for the next generation of historic preservation tradespeople.
  • Sustaining our Future ($2.5M): Victoria Mansion is charged with potential, but the organization has long chafed against certain limitations.
    • Our staff is exceptional, but not quite large enough to carry out our most ambitious plans.
    • And while the Mansion itself is grand, the spaces available for offices and modern museum functions are extremely limited.
    • To accomplish this, we must embark on a process of carefully managed institutional growth to support the people and infrastructure that undergird all our work.

The Sheldon Family Preservation Fund: Preserving the Mansion for the Ages

Victoria Mansion will be forever grateful to the late Peter Sheldon and his family for this significant bequest. It has been foundational to the $8 million Forward Facing Campaign and essential to advancing critical restoration initiatives now underway.

In recognition of the Sheldon Family’s transformational legacy commitment to Victoria Mansion, we have established, in perpetuity, the Sheldon Family Preservation Fund.

This fund will ensure that emerging preservation and restoration needs at the Mansion can be addressed at the discretion of the Executive Director in consultation with the Board of Trustees.

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Latest Campaign News

In a nod to the New Orleans life of Ruggles and Olive Morse – Maine natives who made their fortune in the Crescent City, the Forward Facing Campaign was announced at a New Orleans-flavored jazz brunch on May 18, 2025. Pictured are Event Co-Chairs Robin Webber (left) and Candice Thornton Lee (right) with Executive Director Tim Brosnihan.

Ashley Towle, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History, University of Southern Maine shares the social and historical context of ties between Maine and New Orleans in the mid 19th-century.

“At Kennebec Savings Bank, we believe in the power of preserving the places that help tell Maine’s story. Victoria Mansion is a true architectural and cultural treasure, and we’re proud to support its continued restoration and educational mission. This campaign reflects the same commitment to history, community, and craftsmanship that we value as a community bank.”

– Andrew Silsby, President and CEO

Robin Webber

Board Trustee & Volunteer Docent

“It’s all about the Mansion, truly a Portland treasure. As a long term docent and more recently a Board Trustee, it has been rewarding to see Victoria Mansion grow in importance and recognition every year. It continues to be restored to its original splendor, made possible by the commitment of all those who love it.”

Randal Rucker

Board Trustee. Retired Health and Human Services Executive

“Victoria Mansion is the bedrock, perpetual invitation to absorb and appreciate the dedication and skill of its artisans and crafts people, while at the same time contemplating the historical, social and political context that enveloped the country during the Mansion’s construction. The Mansion is the unique embodiment of the human abilities of imagination, survival, adaptation, learning, and reflection. I am grateful for the opportunities Victoria Mansion offers today and I’m excited about the possibilities that will unfold for future generations of visitors – from children and families to scholars and artisans.”

Cynthia Macdonald

Board Trustee and Volunteer Docent

“I’m always inspired by Victoria Mansion. Not only are there lovely furnishings and lovely people, but by conveying our knowledge to others we create a tangible community connection. We all share a desire to understand the present in the light of the past, and by standing in the beautiful space created in the Mansion we strengthen our connections to one another.”

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Connect With Victoria Mansion

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Address

Victoria Mansion
109 Danforth Street
Portland, Maine, USA 04101

Hours of Operation

Open November 28th through January 4th

Tuesday – Sunday: 10am-4pm

Email

[email protected]

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