The green and silver color scheme in the State Dining Room was chosen to represent the trees and lakes of Maine. The formal china is a Syracuse pattern in blue and gold bearing the State's seal. The Maine silver was a gift to the battleship U.S.S. Maine (1895-98) from the State of Maine and was rescued from the bottom of Havana harbor after the Maine exploded and sank in 1898 at the beginning of the Spanish-American War. The silver was then used aboard the second battleship Maine (1901-1920) before being returned to the State in 1922. Over the mantle hangs a portrait of James G. Blaine by Augustus Franzen, a gift from the statesman's daughter, Mrs. Walter J. Damrosch. The 24 hand-carved chairs were designed and produced by Valdemar Skov of Waldoboro, Maine and are engraved with our state flower, the pinecone. The 20 foot long, Sheridan style, mahogany dining table was crafted by William Evans Fine Furniture also of Waldoboro. The room is still used for State dinners today as well as public tea receptions and social functions.
