Auburn Commercial Historic District

Last updated

Auburn Commercial Historic District
AuburnME MainStreetHD Downtown.jpg
View of the commercial section of Main Street
USA Maine location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Auburn, Maine
Coordinates 44°05′50″N70°13′29″W / 44.09722°N 70.22472°W / 44.09722; -70.22472
Area2.43 acres (0.98 ha)
ArchitectMultiple
Architectural styleLate Victorian; Colonial Revival
NRHP reference No. 14001087 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 29, 2014

The Auburn Commercial Historic District encompasses the main late 19th-century historic downtown area of Auburn, Maine. The twelve buildings in the district represent the city's growth between 1855 and 1902, housing businesses, professional offices and social halls, and also the city's municipal offices. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. [1]

Contents

Description

Auburn rose on the banks of the Androscoggin River with the humble beginnings of a log driver's camp in the late 19th century, and did not benefit in the 19th century industrialization the way neighboring Lewiston did, which had a more suitable siting for textile mills. A bridge across the river in 1822-23 spurred some development, including along the roads which are now Main and Court Streets. The arrival of the railroad in 1848, and the choice of Auburn in 1854 to be the seat of the new Androscoggin County cemented the importance of the area where downtown Auburn is now located. [2]

Court Street is the continuation in Auburn of Lewiston's Main Street, and is named for the Androscoggin County Courthouse and Jail, located several blocks west of the bridge on the north side of the street. The commercial historic district is on the south side of this part of the road, running from High Street in the west to Main Street in the east. Main Street parallels the river, with the block between Court and Drummond Streets lined with 19th-century buildings. Notable among this are Auburn's historic and present city halls; the latter, known as Auburn Hall, was designed by Gridley James Fox Bryant and built in 1865. The current city offices stand just to its north on Court Street, in a 2004 building, sensitively designed to blend in with its neighbor by Harriman Associates. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auburn, Maine</span> City in Maine, United States

Auburn is a city in south-central Maine, within the United States. The city serves as the county seat of Androscoggin County. The population was 24,061 at the 2020 census. Auburn and its sister city Lewiston are known locally as the Twin Cities or Lewiston–Auburn (L–A).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewiston, Maine</span> City in Maine, United States

Lewiston is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous city. It is one-half of the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly referred to as "L/A." or "L-A." Lewiston exerts a significant impact upon the diversity, religious variety, commerce, education, and economic power of Maine. It is known for an overall low cost of living, substantial access to medical care, and a low violent-crime rate. In recent years, the city of Lewiston has also seen a spike in economic and social growth. While the dominant language spoken in the city is English, it is home to a significant Somali population as well as the largest French-speaking population in the United States while it is second to St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, in percentage of speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bates Mill</span>

The Bates Mill is a textile factory company founded in 1850 and located at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston, Maine. The mill served as Maine's largest employer through the 1860s, and early profits from the mill provided much of the initial capital for nearby Bates College. Currently, the mill buildings are home to several new businesses, apartments, and a small museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androscoggin Mill Block</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The Androscoggin Mill Block is an historic tenement house at 269-271 Park Street in Lewiston, Maine, United States. The two-story brick building was one of several built in 1866 by the Androscoggin Mill Company to provide housing for workers with families, and is one of only three such 19th-century buildings to survive in the city. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewiston City Hall (Lewiston, Maine)</span> United States historic place

Lewiston City Hall is located at 27 Pine Street in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1892, to a design by John Calvin Spofford, it is a distinctive regional example of Baroque Revival architecture. It is the city's second city hall, the first succumbing to fire in 1890. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androscoggin County Courthouse and Jail</span> United States historic place

The Androscoggin County Courthouse and Jail is located at 2 Turner Street in Auburn, Maine, the county seat of Androscoggin County. The original portion of the large brick Renaissance Revival complex was designed by Gridley James Fox Bryant and was built in 1857, with a sympathetic enlargement c. 1915-20. The jail was expanded in 1970 and 1990, and is now accessed via an entrance on Pleasant Street. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 for its architecture and its association with the history of Auburn and the county, particularly with respect to the contentious debate over the choice of county seat in the 1850s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. A. Garcelon House</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The A. A. Garcelon House is a historic house in the Main Street Historic District in Auburn, Maine. Built in 1890 for a prominent local businessman, it is one of the city's finest examples of Queen Anne Victorian architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Street Historic District (Auburn, Maine)</span> Historic district in Maine, United States

The Main Street Historic District is a small residential historic district south of the downtown area of Auburn, Maine. The fourteen houses in the district represent a cross-section of residential development during Auburn's growth between about 1825 and 1925. The district extends along Main Street, from Drummond Street south just past Elm Street, and includes a few houses on Elm and Vine Streets. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engine House (Auburn, Maine)</span> United States historic place

The Engine House is an historic former fire station at Court and Spring Streets in downtown Auburn, Maine, USA. Built in 1879, it is one of the few surviving 19th-century fire stations in the state of Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Callahan Building</span> United States historic place

The First Callahan Building is an historic commercial and residential building at 276 Lisbon Street in Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1892 to a design by noted local architect George M. Coombs, the Renaissance Reviva brick building was part of a major development on the city's main commercial street by the Callahan brothers, owners of a local gentleman's furnishings store. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First National Bank (Lewiston, Maine)</span> United States historic place

The First National Bank is a historic commercial building in Lewiston, Maine. Built about 1903 for the city's first chartered bank, it is a fine local example of French-inspired Classical Revival architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Block</span> United States historic place

The Lord Block is a historic commercial building in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1865, it is one of downtown Lewiston's oldest commercial buildings, and a reminder of the city's early commercial character. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Block-Lisbon Block</span> United States historic place

The College Block/Lisbon Block is an historic commercial and civic building in Lewiston, Maine, United States. Built in 1855-56, it is the oldest surviving building in the city of the Franklin Company, the city's major early developer. The building has house many local civic groups, and served as Lewiston's town hall prior to its incorporation as a city in 1863. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Lisbon Street Historic District</span> Historic district in Maine, United States

The Lower Lisbon Street Historic District encompasses part of the earliest commercial center of Lewiston, Maine. Located on the west side of Lisbon Street, the city's main commercial area, between Cedar and Chestnut Streets are a collection of commercial buildings representing a cross section of architectural styles, built between 1850 and 1950. When the historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, it included 18 buildings. Eleven of these have since been demolished, and one has a significantly altered facade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingley Building</span> United States historic place

The Dingley Building, formerly the Oak Street School, is a historic municipal building at 36 Oak Street in Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1890, it is a distinctive local example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, designed by local architect George M. Coombs. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It now houses the Lewiston school system's administrative offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewiston Main Post Office</span> United States historic place

The Lewiston Main Post Office of Lewiston, Maine is located at 49 Ash Street in downtown Lewiston. Built in 1933 and enlarged in 1975, it is a fine local example of Colonial Revival architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as U.S. Post Office–Lewiston Main.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savings Bank Block</span> United States historic place

The Savings Bank Block is an historic commercial building at 215 Lisbon Street in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1870, it is a fine local example of commercial Second Empire architecture, and is representative of the city's early development as an industrial center. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George M. Coombs</span> American architect

George M. Coombs was an American architect in practice in Lewiston, Maine from 1874 to 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick Commercial Historic District</span> Historic district in Brunswick, Maine, U.S.

The Brunswick Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic late-19th century commercial core of Brunswick, Maine. It includes the northern four blocks of Maine Street, the town's principal commercial thoroughfare, which was laid out in the late 17th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

The Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District encompasses the major 19th-century mill complexes and associated water power systems in Lewiston, Maine. Developed beginning in 1850, Lewiston's canals and mills were the largest textile mill complex in the state, and one of the best-preserved mature large-scale expressions of the Lowell system of cotton textile manufacturing, perfected at Waltham and Lowell, Massachusetts earlier in the 19th century. The district includes a series power canals and mill complexes developed over a 100-year period, along with mill worker housing and transportation infrastructure. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 Mitchell, Christi (2014). NRHP nomination for Auburn Commercial Historic District; available by request from the Maine State Historic Preservation Commission