Wilfred E. Mansur (1855–1921) was the most prominent architect in late 19th- and early 20th-century Bangor, Maine.

Life and career Mansur designed many private and municipal buildings, including the Penobscot County Courthouse and at least seven schools. His masterpieces are probably the Nichols Block and Columbia Building (both 1892), in which he used a Romanesque Revival style with exuberant patterned brickwork, and the Graham Building of 1911, among the most prominent landmarks in downtown Bangor. Mansur's largest number of commissions came following the Great Fire of 1911, which destroyed half of the city's commercial district (and a number of his own buildings). At least eleven designed buildings he designed are preserved on the National Register of Historic Places, many in Bangor's Great Fire of 1911 Historic District.

Personal life Mansur's brother George I. Mansur was also an architect. After working in his brother's office for many years, George I. Mansur succeeded to the practice after his death."Business," American Contractor 42, no. 25 (June 18, 1921): 42.

Mansur was a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Boston Society of Architects, and the Maine Society of Architects. He was also a prominent Mason.

Mansur married in 1892, to Charlotte Elizabeth Brown of Bangor."Married," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, June 17, 1892, 2.

Architectural works Bangor High School, Bangor, Maine (1882, burned 1911)Mayor's Address; also, the Annual Reports of the Several Departments, and the Receipts and Expenditures offor the Municipal Year 1882-83 (Bangor: City of Bangor, 1883) Green Mountain House, Acadia National Park, Maine (1883, burned 1884)Lydia Vandenbergh and Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., Revisiting Seal Harbor and Acadia National Park (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 1997) Green Mountain House, Acadia National Park, Maine (1885, demolished 1896) Hersey Retreat, Stockton Springs, Maine (1885, burned 1908)"To Contractors," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, MArch 13 1885, 2. Howes Block, Belfast, Maine (1885)"Local Matters," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, July 23, 1885, 3. I. O. O. F. Building, Old Town, Maine (1887)"Local Matters," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, August 10, 1887, 3. Brewer High School (former), Brewer, Maine (1888, demolished)"Brewer High School," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, December 17, 1888, 3. I. O. O. F. Building, Belfast, Maine (1888)Belfast Commercial Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1980) Aroostook County Jail, Houlton, Maine (1889–90, NRHP 1990)"Local Matters," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, July 4, 1889, 3."Local Matters," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, February 14, 1890, 3. First Congregational Church, Brewer, Maine (1889)"Local Matters," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, February 2, 1889, 3. Moosehead Inn, Greenville, Maine (1889, burned 1912)"New Hotel," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, March 11, 1889, 3. House for Frederic H. Parkhurst, Bangor, Maine (1890)Whitney Park Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1988) Y. M. C. A. Building, Bangor, Maine (1890–91, demolished)"The Corner Stone Laid," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, September 2, 1890, 3. Orono Town Hall, Orono, Maine (1891–92, demolished)"A Handsome Structure," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, February 19, 1892, 3. Columbia Building, Bangor, Maine (1892–93)"The New Block," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, February 18, 1892, 3."A Handsome Block," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, December 22, 1893, 3. House for Frederic H. Appleton, Bangor, Maine (1892–93)"Local Matters," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, May 27, 1893, 3. House for Francis B. Denio, Bangor, Maine (1892–93)Bangor Theological Seminary Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1977) Nichols Block, Bangor, Maine (1892)Great Fire of 1911 Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1984) Superintendent's house, Bangor Waterworks, Bangor, Maine (1892, demolished 2017)"Local Matters," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, May 13, 1892, 3. Shaw Block, Greenville, Maine (1893) Frisbie Block, Houlton, Maine (1894–95 and 1905)Market Square Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1980) Aroostook County Courthouse, Caribou, Maine (1895)"Building Intelligence," American Architect and Building News 47, no. 1002 (March 9, 1895): xiii. Addition to the Aroostook County Courthouse, Houlton, Maine (1895, NRHP 1990)Aroostook County Courthouse and Jail NRHP Registration Form (1990) Gymnasium, Bangor Theological Seminary (former), Bangor, Maine (1895) House for John N. Merrill, Bangor, Maine (1895–96) House for Eugene C. Nichols, Bangor, Maine"The Nichols Residence," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, September 24, 1895, 1. Morse & Company Office Building, Bangor, Maine (1895, NRHP 1973)"New Office Building," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, January 28, 1895, 3. Palm Street School, Bangor, Maine (1895, demolished)"Notice to Builders," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, July 9, 1895, 2. Bangor Hose House No. 5 (former), Bangor, Maine (1897, NRHP 1997)Bangor Hose House No. 5 NRHP Registration Form (1997) Moody Memorial Chapel, Good Will-Hinckley, Fairfield, Maine (1897)Hinckley Good Will Home Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1987) Niben Club, Pushaw Lake, Orono, Maine (1897, demolished)"Notice to Builders," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, September 4, 1897, 4. Surgical Building, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, Maine (1898–99)"Notice to Builders," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, March 19, 1898, 3. Eastport Primary School (former), Eastport, Maine (1899)"Eastport News," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, October 16, 1899, 7. Morse-Oliver Building, Bangor, Maine (1899, burned 1911)"One Thing Sure," Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, March 29, 1899, 3. Lodge, Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor, Maine (1900, NRHP 1974)Mount Hope Cemetery District NRHP Registration Form (1977) Bangor Fire Engine House No. 6 (former), Bangor, Maine (1902, NRHP 1988)Bangor Fire Engine House No. 6 NRHP Registration Form (1988) Penobscot County Courthouse, Bangor, Maine (1902–05)"Buildings," Engineering News 45, no. 21 (May 23, 1901): 180. Addition to house for William M. Shaw, Greenville, Maine (1905, NRHP 2013)William M. Shaw House NRHP Registration Form (2013) Mansur Block, Houlton, Maine (1905–06) Larkin Street School (former), Bangor, Maine (1906–07)"New Schools," School Board Journal 33, no. 5 (November 1906): 26. M. G. Shaw Lumber Company Office, Greenville, Maine (1906, demolished) Houlton Town Office, Houlton, Maine (1907) Hersey Retreat, Stockton Springs, Maine (1909)A Brief History of French’s Point Graham Building, Bangor, Maine (1911) Central Building, Bangor, Maine (1912) First National Bank Building, Bangor, Maine (1915) Peirce School (former), Belfast, Maine (1915)Church Street Historic District NRHP Registration Form (1978) Preble Hall, University of Maine at Presque Isle, Presque Isle, Maine (1920–21)"Buildings," Engineering News-Record 84, no. 25 (June 17, 1920): 426.

Gallery of architectural works

Notes

References

Deborah Thompson, Bangor, Maine, 1769-1914: An Architectural History (Orono: U. of Maine Press, 1988) & Gregory Clancey (Maine Historic Preservation Commission), "Great Fire of 1911 Historic District", National Register of Historic Places Inventory - nomination form, on file at Maine Historic Preservation Commission, 55 Capitol St., Augusta, Maine