Originally a cigar making factory, this building became Perry's Tropical Nut House when owner Irving Perry started selling pecans in 1926. The business flourished as automobile traffic along Route 1 grew, and it soon became Maine's number one tourist destination. Promoted as the most interesting place on the Maine Coast, it drew many travelers, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who stopped to purchase nuts, homemade fudge, jams, jellies, and souvenir trinkets. A nut museum and a menagerie of exotic, stuffed animals also attracted customers. Changes in the late 1990s led to the dispersal of the museum and animal collection.