In the 1930s, the son of America’s first billionaire hired a New York architect to design gatehouses for a network of carriage roads in Maine. No need to spare any expense, never mind that there wasn’t a need for actual gatekeeping on these public lands. The architect, who specialized in rural retreats for wealthy industrialists, showed more interest in form than function anyway, opting to take his inspiration from French countryside estates. This particular gate is flanked by two octagonal stone towers and a long wall that runs from a carriage house on one end to a half-timbered residence on the other. The residence, with its big living room and four bedrooms, today provides workforce housing. Carriages remain an occasional sight on the 45 miles of car-free gravel roads that wind back into the woods. More commonly spotted, though, are hikers and cyclists and, after a good snow, cross-country skiers.
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