Authors Stephen and Tabitha King have famously resided in a Victorian mansion located at 47 West Broadway in Bangor, Maine, but that iconic house will soon have a new purpose: as an archive and writers retreat.
Last month, Bangor Daily News wrote that the Kings intend to turn the home into an archive that will house Stephen King’s writing. Rolling Stone reports that Bangor’s City Council has approved the Kings’ rezoning request, paving the way to turn the building into a non-profit.
Up until recently, King’s archives were housed at the University of Maine’s Raymond H. Fogler Library. According to the library, the archive includes, “manuscripts, galley proofs, correspondence, screen plays on videotape” and other items related to King’s career. Those archives will move to the 47 West Broadway location, where they’ll be available by appointment to scholars. In addition to hosting the archive, the house will provide office space for the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.
The rezoning will allow the Kings to utilize their property as a writers retreat as well, and the house next door (39 West Broadway, also owned by the Kings) will be used as a residence for up to five writers at any given time.
Warren Silver, the lawyer representing the Kings, say that the family wants to “minimize the impact on the neighborhood,” preventing it from being turned into a tourist attraction. As a result, the building won’t be open to the general public. The house’s transformation will happen gradually, Silver told Bangor Daily News. The family has since cleared the change with their neighbors, and will implement the changes over the next couple of years.
The family currently divides its time between three residences: the house in Bangor, a home in Lovell, Maine, and Sarasota, Florida.
Image by Jim Roberts utilized under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
