Contributed by Boston Public Library
- MMN #69932
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Description
The Cliff House sits atop Bald Head Cliff in Cape Neddick (between York and Ogunquit), Maine. The hotel opened in 1872 after Elsie Jane Weare, wife of Captain Theodore Weare, saw the opportunity to capitalize on the upcoming Boston and Maine Railroad spur to York and purchased Bald Head Cliff. Elsie planned the hotel, hiring her brother, Captain Charles Perkins, to build it using wood cut from nearby family land and milled in their sawmill on Beach Street in Ogunquit. When the hotel first opened, rates were $6 a night, including three meals. The inn soon came to attract many wealthy families, and guests partook in leisurely activities such as croquet, horseshoe pitching, and card parties.
Elsie’s son Charles took over the property in 1910, with Edward T. Weare serving as proprietor. Charles modernized the hotel with indoor plumbing, electric lights, individual garages, a gas pump, a bowling alley, and a theater. In the early 20th century, the Oceanview Annex and Colonial Annex were added and included the first private baths in the area.
The Cliff House operated successfully through the 1920s and 1930s but was closed in the 1940s while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used it as a radar station to look for Nazi submarines during World War II. The property has since continued as a resort owned by four generations of the Weare family until Elsie’s great granddaughter Kathryn Weare sold it to new owners in 2014.
The caption reads, "Bald Head Cliff and Cliff House, Ogunquit, Maine."
The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1938.
About This Item
- Title: Bald Head Cliff, Ogunquit, ca. 1938
- Creator: Tichnor Bros., Inc.
- Creation Date: circa 1938
- Subject Date: circa 1938
- Location: Ogunquit, York County, ME
- Media: Linen texture postcard
- Dimensions: 9 cm x 14 cm
- Collection: The Tichnor Brothers Collection
- Object Type: Text and Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Cliff House (Inn : Ogunquit, Me.)
- Cliffs--Maine
- Hotels--Maine--Cape Neddick
- Hotels--Maine--Ogunquit
- Hotels--Maine--York
- Postcards
People
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