Introduction to Lewiston’s History

Lewiston was started just like any other mill town. Once a small farm town, entrepreneurs saw the area with untapped water potential and looked to Lowell, MA as inspiration. Soon after, many textile mills dominated the skyline. The Bates Mill complex, Pepperell Mill, Androscoggin Mills, Cumberland Mill, Lewiston Gas Light Co., Avon Mill, Continental Mill, Lewiston Mill, Cowan Mill, and the W.S. Libbey Mill. (Courtesy of HISTORIC LEWISTON: A self-guided tour of our history, architecture and culture)

As early as the first World War, the profits from the mill began to decline and some mills started moving to the south for cheaper labor, cheaper transportation, and cheaper power. In the 1950s, even more mills started closing and downtown started to decay along with the mills themselves. The population declined in the 1970s and even faster in the 1990s.

Lewiston soon became Maine’s embarrassment due to the incredibly high crime rate and deplorable conditions.

In the early 2000s Lewiston began to improve. The Bates Mill complex was renovated; now housing lofts, offices, and commercial/retail. Not to mention Centreville; iconic, side-by-side, brick buildings that now house retail, offices, restaurants, a cafe, and a few high-end apartments.

Downtown Lewiston

Even though Lewiston’s improvement began in the early 2000s, and has been steadily moving along since, Lewiston still has a poor reputation within Maine.

How come?

The housing downtown. This area covers roughly around 165 acres. Over half of the people in this neighborhood are living on or below the poverty line. These buildings are primarily flat-roofed, dense, multi-unit tenements built-in the 19th century as worker housing. Just from observing the building and street conditions while driving through this neighborhood, it could be very easily categorized as a slum, whether it’s true or not.

Because of this area, Lewiston has kept its reputation. Lewiston’s government has been taking a scorched earth approach to fixing this. Several buildings in this neighborhood have been condemned and thus torn down.

A scorched earth approach is not what Downtown Lewiston needs, wants, or deserves. I say that the buildings in Downtown Lewiston have (though this word is said so often, that its lost its meaning) potential. Inside these buildings are suspended ceilings. But above the suspended ceilings are the original, high ceilings; a demanded characteristic in mid to high-end apartments. The suspended ceilings were put in place to save on heating costs.

Portland, Oregon’s Pearl District used to be the last place anybody wanted to live. Warehouses, industry, and a rail yard used to dominate the landscape. Since the 1990s, the area went through extensive urban renewal, and is now considered one of the most iconic if not the most iconic district in Portland, Oregon. Now containing art galleries, and upscale businesses and residences.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Boston’s North End was subject to the same thing. Once a poor immigrant neighborhood, it was improved. As Jane Jacobs describes in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, “streets were alive with children playing, people shopping, people strolling, people talking. Had it not been a cold January day, there would surely have been people sitting. The general street atmosphere of buoyancy, friendliness, and good health was so infectious that I began asking directions of people just for the fun of getting in on some talk.”

Why is Boston’s North End and Portland, Oregon’s Pearl District relevant?

Simple. Because they could be used as models as to the improvement in Downtown Lewiston. Both offer a high quality of life, and were once slums.

From the outside, the apartments in Downtown Lewiston could be painted with vibrant colors like in the iconic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Trees could line a street with a dedicated bike lane for shade and air quality. Yards could be filled with grass, flowers, and bushes. And inside are rent controlled apartments with a mixture of a modern and original interior.

Conclusion

If people were willing to put in the money and effort to achieve the redevelopment of Downtown Lewiston in the ways stated, Lewiston could become an icon with stunning, welcoming neighborhood streets and desirable housing. It could be the centerpiece to Lewiston’s target audience of young, trendy, daring, and entrepreneurial residents and tourists. Just like what the Great Falls offered to the mill founders. This could be Lewiston’s saving grace, and the nail in the coffin for Lewiston’s infamous reputation.

A scorched earth approach is not the way to go. And sometimes a little paint can go a long way.