Stephen King’s Turning His House Into A Museum And Writer’s Retreat
Just over two years ago, I had the great privilege to take a guided tour of Bangor, Maine, home to one Stephen King (and the inspiration for many, many locations in King's work). One of the stops on that tour was King's residence, a sprawling crimson mansion surrounded by a wrought-iron fence decorated with spiders. I looked through the gate at that house and I couldn't help but imagine what it'd be like to wander around inside, just gawking at the everyday spaces Stephen King putts around in while working on his latest release.
We weren't able to enter the house that day - King wasn't home at the moment, and it turns out that breaking-and-entering is still wildly illegal in Maine - but that doesn't mean the opportunity's completely off the table! According to Rolling Stone, the Bangor City Council has approved a request by King (and his wife, Tabitha) to "rezone their home as a non-profit, allowing it to house an archive of King’s work (offering restricted visits by appointment) and up to five writers at a time."
That's right - Stephen King's house is becoming a museum/writer's retreat:
“The King Family has been wonderful to the City of Bangor over time and have donated literally millions of dollars to various causes in the community,” one of the city councilors, Ben Sprague, told Rolling Stone. “Preserving his legacy here in Bangor is important for this community.”
“They did not want the house to become a Dollywood or some kind of tourist attraction,” David Gould, a Bangor planning officer, told New England Cable News. “That would bring all sorts of people to the neighborhood, and they have other neighbors that live there.”
At present, there's no indication how one might go applying to take up residence in the King home, or when the house (located at 47 West Broadway; you can see it on Google Maps here, but the gigantic, gorgeous trees out front kind of obstruct the view) might undergo the necessary remodeling to turn it into a museum. But what a cool thing for the King family to do!
Anyway, it's unlikely that I or anyone else on the BMD staff will actually ever have a reason to shack up in Chez King - I assume far more serious writers will be granted that experience, which is understandable - but hey, maybe you can, and now you know it's a possibility. You're welcome.
