Nannau, Maine


Nannau is a historic summer estate house in Bar Harbor, Maine. Located between Maine State Route 3 and overlooking Compass Harbor, this 1904 Shingle style house was built for David R. Ogden, a New York City lawyer, to designs by the Boston firm Andrews, Jaques and Rantoul. The house was characterized in 1906 as "an excellent example of shingle work"; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Description and history

Nannau is set on the south side of a private drive, south of the main village of Bar Harbor, and located between Maine State Route 3 and Compass Harbor, an inlet off Frenchman Bay. It has a two-story rectangular main block, oriented northwest to southeast, with projecting ells at both ends. It has a steeply-pitched hip roof, with projecting 2-1/2 story gable sections on the main land-side facade, flanking a smaller single-story entry portico with its own steeply-pitched hip roof with a flared edge. The walls are finished in wood shingles.
Nannau was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Andrews, Jaques, and Rantoul, who were responsible for the design of a number of Bar Harbor's finest summer estates. It was built in 1904 for David R. Ogden, a New York lawyer who helped found Saint Saviour's Church in Bar Harbor, and who gained a national reputation for his philanthropic work with the American Red Cross during the First World War. The house was featured in a 1906 edition of The Country House, in which it was described as "an excellent example of shingle work". The house in recent years was used as a bed and breakfast that is now closed. Currently it is a private residence.