In 1904 shipbuilding magnate and former mayor of Seattle, Robert Moran (1857-1943), then 47, retired in poor health and began planning his final home, an Orcas Island mansion on the secluded banks of Cascade Bay. By 1909, the eclectic five-story structure, wrapped by a verandah and with interior touches recalling Moran's shipbuilding past (including the exterior maroon paint normally used for ships' bottoms), was complete and heralded as the showplace of the region. Outliving his doctor's prophecies, Moran resided at his Rosario estate for almost 30 years. The second owners, Donald and Alice Rheem, painted the mansion its signature white color. Since 1960 it has functioned as a resort; today, additional guest lodgings flank the main mansion, whose rich woodwork and elaborately ornamented Music Room with its own pipe organ bespeak the elegance of a former age.