Now through January the end of January save 20% on a single summer reservation, up to 7 days! This is our largest discount ever. This promotional rate is available on the Mira Monte website only. Use promotional code FLASH2025 at check out for this special rate. Click here to book now: https://secure.thinkreservations.com/miramonte/reservations
We were very happy to be able to acquire a “new” old piece for the inn. This monumental Eastlake sideboard from the 1890’s came to us in rather rough shape, but we’ve never seen another like. The carved details are stunning.
Eastlake or “Cottage” design traces its origins to British architect and designer Charles Eastlake (1836–1906). His designs were a reaction against the Rococo and Renaissance revival styles popular during the Victorian era. Eastlake designs are characterized by a strong rectilinear form, geometric ornamentation, spindles, and lightly incised spoon-carved lines. Eastlake’s influential book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details held that furniture should be sturdy, practical and easy to clean, with emphasis upon careful craftsmanship. Manufacturers in the United States used the drawings and ideas in Eastlake’s book to create mass-produced pieces in the Eastlake style.
Whereas British designers stayed true to Eastlake’s original principles of simplicity and functionality, American manufacturers took a much different path. Much to Eastlake’s displeasure, they began mass producing pieces of increasing complexity and ornamentation, often incorporating elements of many different eras in a pastiche of styles. These pieces, which at times ventured into gaudy excess, were very much in vogue among the well-to-do of the Gilded Age for whom ostentatious displays of status and wealth were considered the norm.
A great little side trip stop along highway 1 in Bucksport is the park containing the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Ft Knox. The two attractions are a study in contrasts- built in 2006, the soaring, ultra modern bridge is touted as the tallest public bridge observatory in the world, towering 135 feet above the river below. The observatory offers a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside stretching from the coast to the town of Bucksport. The bridge’s neighbor, the stout and forebidding Ft Knox, was Built in 1844, to protect the Penobscot River Valley from a potential British naval attack. The fort was designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Totten and other engineers, and was the first and largest granite fort built in Maine. The fort never fired a shot in anger, but remains today as a superb example of milliary architecture. The fort is open to explore, but beware- it’s rumored to be among the most haunted spots in Maine! We’re not sure about that, but the two attractions are worth a quick visit.
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The last storm that blew through really did a number on the trees, including these in Glen Mary Park down the street from us. Thankfully, the inn came through unscathed!
Halloween has traditionally been viewed as the time of year when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, enabling those from the spectral realm to visit the world of the living. Perhaps not uncoincidentally, as we head into the fall months, we at the Mira Monte tend to experience events that are, shall we say, a little unconventional:
When things go wrong around the inn, we often jokingly blame the spirit of “Henry”, a former owner whose dour visage looks down from his portrait in the hallway. One morning, our guests alerted us that the cold water taps in all rooms had hot water coming out of them. The taps had been functioning perfectly the day before. After tinkering with the plumbing with no success, the innkeeper on duty turned to Henry’s portrait and shouted “Henry, you stop that right now” The water immediately returned to normal. Coincidentally (or not) this occurred on the anniversary of Henry’s death…
One quiet afternoon while working at her desk in the parlor, the evening innkeeper heard what sounded like a small girl’s voice playfully calling “hi…, hi…”. The innkeeper turned to see a faint shadow disappearing down the hallway…
A live-in housekeeper reported that her bed shook in the middle of the night, as if someone were trying to rouse her from her sleep. When she looked up, no one was there…
Of course, all of these things can easily be attributed to perfectly normal factors; voices carrying from outside, vibrations from a truck rumbling down the street or simply the typical, everyday problems that come with a very old house. As afternoons grow short in the dying days of summer, routine events can take on an eerie, almost sinister air. So, all’s well…. Nothing supernatural to see here.
Then there’s the pen incident. Just days ago, three of our staff were gossiping in the kitchen about yet another employee, when a pen “flew into the air and exploded” with a pop, sending pieces across the kitchen. No one else was in sight. This happened in full view of the three gossips, who concluded that the phantom pen-thrower had been very disappointed by their indecorous behavior.
Is the Mira Monte haunted, or are all the incidents simply a product of overactive imaginations, stimulated by the arrival of Halloween, when images of death abound and our attentions are drawn to to the world beyond? If there are any spirits here, it’s good to know that they’re helping to keep the staff in line. Happy Halloween!
This postcard of the Miller Cottage Inn from the 1930’s left us puzzled. It shows a building that looks suspiciously like the Mira Monte, or Ash Cottage as it was then known. The similarities are notable, right down to the Greek-style portico, the stacked bay windows and even the sloping driveway to the right of the building. Like Mira Monte, Miller Cottage Inn was said to have been on Mt Desert Street. Could the Miller Cottage Inn and the Mira Monte have possibly been one and the same? The known history of Mira Monte offered no clues. If the buildings were not the same, we wondered, who would build a home that was virtually identical, and on the same street? Adding to the confusion, most of the pictorial archives of Bar Harbor depict a Miller Cottage that was an entirely different building, a much larger 4 story hotel.
After much painstaking research, Bar Harbor historian Brian Armstrong has unraveled the mystery:
“The original Miller Cottage was built in the early 1880s for Henry H. Miller from Tremont. The completed cottage resembled the Mira Monte because Miller was Orlando Ash’s brother-in-law, and they most likely used the same plans and builder. Miller was married to Orlando Ash’s wife’s sister, Fanny Welch. Miller and Orlando Ash both lived in Tremont in the 1870s and moved to Eden (Bar Harbor) in the early 1880s. The Miller Cottage was destroyed in the 1947 fire.”
So, Mira Monte once had a twin just a few doors down the street! After the fire of ’47. Mira Monte alone remained as the surviving sibling. In the following photo from the 1880’s, both Miller Cottage and Mira Monte can be seen. Miller Cottage appears toward the front of the image behind the tree on the left side of t he street. Mira Monte (Ash Cottage) can be seen 4 doors down behind a home with a small tower.
The photos of the “other” Miller Cottage are of the hotel that took the cottage’s place following the fire. The second Miller Cottage appears below.
Our newly renovated suite is called “Echo Lake” after one of our favorite spots on the “quiet side” of the island. As with our other renovated rooms, the suite features the blend of contoporary and traditional design elements that the Mira Monte is known for. The suite already has a waiting list for much of the season, and we can’t wait for you to see it in person!
Mira Monte summer guests can now enjoy the facilities of the Mt Desert YMCA free of charge thanks to our group membership. Don’t snicker; the Y may not have the glitz of a high-end health club, but if you can do without a barley grass smoothie during your workout, you’ll find that the Y is far and away the best-equipped facility for miles around.
Mount Desert Island YMCA Offers:
All programs and facilities are for men, women and families alike. Ask your host for details upon check-in.
Fall has arrived, and leaf-peeping season is here! The forests in and around Bar Harbor are alive with color, and you don’t need to travel far to experience the spectacle- just our back yard, as shown in the photo!