Klir Beck House

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Klir Beck House
Klir Beck House is located in Maine
Klir Beck House
LocationVienna, Maine
Coordinates44°30′26″N 70°0′5″W / 44.50722°N 70.00139°W / 44.50722; -70.00139Coordinates: 44°30′26″N 70°0′5″W / 44.50722°N 70.00139°W / 44.50722; -70.00139
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1927 (1927)
Built byBeck, Klir A.
NRHP reference No.77000067,[1] updated to 100001239
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 23, 1977
Removed from NRHPJune 30, 2017

The Klir Beck House, also known as The Gnomes, was a historic house in Vienna, Maine. It was an architecturally idiosyncratic house, built by the artist Klir Beck as a summer residence. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977,[1] and was destroyed by fire in 2000.[2] It was delisted in 2017.

Description and history[]

The Klir Beck House stood in a rural area of Vienna, west of the village center of adjacent Mount Vernon, in a setting of woods, fields, and lakes. It was a 1+1⁄2-story structure, built out of a combination of materials. It had an irregularly coursed stone foundation, a ground floor finished in half-timbered brick, and the half story was finished in half-timbered stucco. The roof was gabled, with a cross gable section and main gable end that each feature a projecting hipped overhang, with a carved wooden balcony in the style of a Swiss chateau. Some of the wall sections created by the half-timbering were further decorated, several exhibiting a lotus pattern on a brick background. The interior was equally rich and fanciful, including a compass set in stone on the living room floor.[3]

The house was built in 1927 by Klir Beck, in part by adapting and altering an existing 19th-century farmhouse. Beck was well known in artistic circles, and is credited with creating dioramas that are displayed in the Maine State Museum.[3] In January 2000, a fire broke out in the basement, resulting in the destruction of the house.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Perry, Donna (January 27, 2000). "The Gnomes offered art, history". Franklin Sun-Journal.
  3. ^ a b "NRHP nomination for Klir Beck House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
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