Stephen King’s 1858 Victorian home at 47 West Broadway in Bangor, Maine, is no longer just a private residence. Forty-six years after he bought the red Second Empire mansion for $135,000, the property has officially become a centre for literary research and a working writers’ retreat, according to The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.
The transformation began in late 2019 when the Bangor City Council unanimously approved a zoning change for the 3.27-acre property, shifting it from single-family residential to a contract zone. This legal move allowed King and his wife, Tabitha, to establish the main house as a non-profit archive holding his private papers and original manuscripts. The adjacent Brown Mansion at 39 West Broadway now operates as the foundation’s writers’ residency, offering selected applicants 10-day stays with private rooms and a $2,500 stipend to cover travel or personal expenses.
Applications for the retreat are categorized for recent MFA graduates, K-12 educators, and Maine-based writers, with selection based on anonymous review of writing samples and proposed work plans. The foundation explicitly stated the archive is not a tourist attraction; access is limited to scholars and researchers by appointment. Planning officials told The Bangor Daily News that this structure was designed to protect the historic landmark while maintaining the quiet character of the West Broadway neighbourhood, preventing the influx of visitors that might otherwise draw a major celebrity’s home.
The mansion, famous for its wrought-iron gate decorated with bats and gargoyles, served as the Kings’ main family home and inspired the fictional town of Derry in novels like It and Insomnia. The foundation’s dual approach preserves the physical property while directly funding the literary community it helped build. The next intake period for the writers’ residency is expected to open applications in early 2027, with selection announcements following in mid-year.