Asticou Inn
The Asticou Inn is an inn in Northeast Harbor, Maine. It was built in 1883. In 1899, it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt.
| Asticou Inn | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| General information | |
| Location | Northeast Harbor, Maine |
| Address | 15 Peabody Drive Northeast Harbor, Maine 04662 |
| Coordinates | 44.3035°N 68.2819°W |
| Opening | 1883 |
| Owner | Asti-Kim Corporation |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 4 (in main inn) |
| Lifts/elevators | 1 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Frederick Lincoln Savage |
| Developer | Augustus Chase Savage |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 48 |
| Number of restaurants | 1 |
| Number of bars | 1 |
| Facilities | swimming pool clay tennis courts |
| Parking | yes |
| Website | |
| www | |
The rear of the building overlooks the Northeast Harbor inlet, which opens out to the Atlantic Ocean.
The inn has been owned by the Asti-Kim Corporation since 1965 and, between 2015 and 2019, was managed by the Acadia Corporation.[1]
There are 48 guest rooms: 31 in the main inn, plus 17 in six adjacent buildings: Cranberry Lodge, Blue Spruce, Bird Bank, and three "Topsiders".
The inn closes for the seven months between Columbus Day (late October) and Memorial Day (late May).
History
Augustus Chase ("A.C.") Savage (1832–1911) lived with his wife, Emily Manchester (1834–1914), in the 1854-built Harbor Cottage (now Cranberry Lodge), which sits near the apex of the corner of Peabody Drive (almost directly across from both Blue Spruce and Bird Bank, which are the other two "Asticou Cottages" that are part of the inn).[2]
Savage correctly predicted that an overflow of vacationers to Bar Harbor would greatly benefit Northeast Harbor.[2] In 1883, across the road from Harbor Cottage, he built the Asticou Inn. (The name Asticou comes from a Penobscot Indian word believed to mean boiling kettle.)[2]
The original building was destroyed by a fire 16 years after opening. It was rebuilt by A.C. and his son, George (1873–1922). A.C.'s other son, Frederick Lincoln Savage (1861–1924), was the architect.[3] It reopened in 1901.[2] The inn was spared during the great fires of 1947.
The combined Savage families took active parts in the day-to-day management of the business, with the women establishing the inn's reputation for hearty New England food and the children picking berries that contributed to desserts and pies.[2]
George Savage died in 1922, aged about 48. His 19-year-old son, Charles Kenneth Savage (1903–1979), was brought back from his boarding school in Boston, Massachusetts, to help his mother, Mabelle (1877–1965), maintain the inn's tradition.
When Charles married, his wife, Katharine Larcher Savage (1905–2001),[4] became the manager of the inn's kitchen, and her pastries, breads, ice creams and desserts proved very popular.[2] Charles and Katharine ran the inn until 1964. They had a daughter and a son.
In 1956, Savage created the Asticou Azalea Garden across the street from the inn.
Some members of the Savage family were initially interred in a family cemetery around where the cottages Blue Spruce and Bird Bank stand today. They were moved to Forest Hill Cemetery, on the other side of the azalea garden, which was created by A.C. Savage in 1904.[5] Frederick Savage, meanwhile, is buried in Ledgelawn Cemetery on Cromwell Harbor Road, along with his wife of 23 years, Alice (1879–1961), who survived him by 37 years.[6]
In 1965, when Mabelle Savage died, ownership of the inn passed from the Savage family to the Asti-Kim Corporation,[7] a group of local businesspeople and summer residents.[6]
Later personnel
Guy Toole (1938–1998) was an employee at the inn for 44 consecutive seasons.[2]
Marilyn "Muffy" Cyr (1950–2015) worked at the inn for 45 years in various capacities, including chambermaid, head housekeeper, desk clerk, reservations manager, special functions assistant, and floral arranger.[8] For the latter part of her time at the inn, Tom Weverstad was the special functions director.[9]
Gallery
The inn's welcome sign
Cranberry Lodge, one of the inn's six adjacent accommodations
The rear of the inn, viewed in 2016
The inn viewed from the Northeast Harbor marina
An original clothes hanger from the inn, found in Kennebunk, Maine, in November 2018
References
- "Acadia Corp to manage Asticou Inn" - MDI Islander, January 5, 2015
- Asticou Inn - History
- Fred Savage, The Cottage Builder - Jaylene B. Roths
- "Charles K. Savage and family, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1946" - MaineMemory.net
- "Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature" - Early Settlement
- Mount Desert Islander, July 18 2013
- "Asticou Aims to Revitalize Image" - The Ellsworth American, June 9 2010
- "Marilyn A. Cyr" - Bangor Daily News, May 10, 2015
- "ECLECTIC BLUE & GREEN MAINE WEDDING" - EveryLastDetail.com