Mayor Hanson Res. Belfast Me. 28.

Mayor Hanson Res. Belfast Me. 28.

"Mayor Hanson Res. Belfast Me. 28." "Edward F. Hanson House, Northport Avenue, [built in] 1892-93, George F. Barber of Knoxville, Tennessee, architect." --Earle Shettleworth, 2011 [included in the Exhibit "Waldo County Through Eastern's Eye"] Mayor Hanson Res, Belfast, Maine ca. 1910 In 1892, Edgar F. Hanson built his lavish mansion, Colonia Villa on Northport Avenue, opposite what is now City Park a year prior to his first term as mayor. It was complete with turrets, bow windows and formal gardens. He was a newspaper and magazine publisher, general manager of Dana Sarsaparilla, and ten-term mayor of Belfast. The plans for the house were drawn up by George Barber & Co., a mail order architectural firm specializing in homes for the rural wealthy. It reportedly cost $40,000, a large sum for the time. The house changed hands several times in the early years of the 20th century and succumbed to a fire in 1923. The house lot remained vacant until 1930, when it was purchased by two Belfast restaurateurs (Harding & Whitcomb) who opened The Bluebird Terrace cafe, catering to tourists motoring into town on Route 1. That building is now owned by the Waldo County Shrine Club.