From the moment we first realized we needed a space in which our customers could interact with and get to know our furniture, we’ve purposefully chosen the building intended to house our showrooms with the same attention to detail we apply to making furniture— including fidelity to each region’s unique characteristics. Each of our showrooms has its tale to tell about the building it inhabits, its region’s architecture, and the local community surrounding it.
Above: An image of the building that houses our Freeport showroom circa 1909. Image from the collections of Freeport Historical Society, Freeport, Maine.
Our Freeport showroom has been in the same residence on Main Street since 1998. The modest 19th-century home has seen the historic town of Freeport change from a small, quiet neighborhood to a 21st-century bustling shopping environment that hosts several million tourists each year. A classic example of the Victorian Stick style, our cozy building stands almost unchanged on the outside from its inception. A cape house may have existed initially on the land, but in 1871, a local dry goods dealer named Oxnard is recorded as the owner of the current structure. In historical pictures of the town taken around 1909, the house is nearly the same today.
As we move through time, the contemporary history of the showroom is mainly medical. In 1950, a physician and surgeon, Dr. Lous. V. Dorogi and his wife, Maria, bought the house. They were from Eastern Europe. Mrs. Dorogi, a survivor of World War II, refused to live in any structure without a bomb shelter. Dr. Dorogi had the basement bomb shelter constructed that still exists. We leased the building in 1998 from another doctor living there and have happily shown our designs there ever since. Showcasing our furniture in a real house where people have lived for over 150 years has a subtle but lasting effect. In this location, it is easy to see how our furniture designs transcend time– equally at home in a Victorian or modern house — much as the house itself has transcended Freeport’s evolution.
What we love about Maine
“Freeport, Maine, is home to LL Bean and many well-known Maine businesses. But what makes Freeport genuinely unique is the landscape. From Wolfe’s Neck Farm to Lower Flying Point Road, there are so many pristine coastal moments to explore while visiting the area.”
Steve Wyman
Showroom Manager, Freeport
