A rare 1913 Rolls-Royce once owned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s daughter, Alice, and valued at $1 million was vandalized overnight Friday in Portland ahead of an event Saturday at the Maine Historical Society.
The acting director of the Owls Head Transportation Museum, Kevin Bedford, said the Rolls-Royce was being stored inside a trailer overnight in a parking area near the Maine Historical Society on Congress Street when someone broke in and took several items from the vehicle, according to WCSH-TV. One of the items taken was the iconic radiator cap, the emblem of the “Spirit of Ecstasy.”
Steve Bromage, executive director of Maine Historical, said all the stolen items were recovered “and what could have been a disaster turned into the foundation for an amazing day.” More than 700 people participated in the historical society’s Magical History Tour, he said, “and people loved the Rolls and its history.”
Maine Historical Society’s visitor’s services manager, John Babin, said police arrested a suspect and the car is intact, WCSH reported. A police spokesman did not have details of the incident on Saturday night.
The Rolls-Royce was brought to the Maine Historical Society as part of Saturday’s Magical History Tour.
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