Mystery Photo for December 27, 2015

Several people incorrectly identified last week’s Mystery Photo as the Blaine House in Augusta, with one respondent even noting that he could see Gov. Paul LePage peeking through a window. However, the correct answer is the Horatio G. Foss House on Elm Street in Auburn. It was built between 1914 and 1917, designed by Gibbs and Pulsifer of Lewiston for Mr. Foss, owner of a large, local shoe factory. The well-preserved building is of the colonial revival style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The mansion was bequeathed by Ella Foss to the Women’s Literary Union in 1941 and today opens its doors to the public for various events and functions throughout the year. In a random drawing of the correct responses, Shirley Fox of Lewiston is the winner of a $10 Subway gift card. Fox commented that “I have never won anything in my entire life and I am 79 years old.” She also mentioned that her brother and sister-in-law were once caretakers of the mansion in the late ’60s and early ’70s.