West End Walks. 161 Pine Street. A family compound.

This home is from the office of Francis Fassett & John Calvin Stevens. Built in 1882 for Elizabeth M McDonald. This home was built at the same time and for the same person as 171 Vaughan Street.
I have not found any information on Ms/Mrs. McDonald so I am at a loss to explain what led her to build on the West End. She certainly arrived with a bang. Also built for McDonald at the same time was the carriage house at 159 Pine which will be the subject of a future posting.

Displaying a verticality that was somewhat common in Queen Anne style urban homes of the period, the exterior is somewhat subdued. Details are limited to terra cotta panels in the bays and gables and decorative wrought ironwork.

The 1924 tax records show the owner as Eleazer W. Clark. Clark’s name shows as the owner of some 20 Portland-based schooners in the 1911 Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States.  Current property records show the house is 4 condominiums.