Maine Preservation honors UMaine, others
The University of Maine was recognized on June 9 for the renovation and restoration of Coburn Hall, a building of historical significance that had fallen into disrepair. Maine Preservation, a statewide nonprofit organization that works to promote historic preservation, presented the award at the organization’s June 9 Honor Awards event in Lewiston. Executive Director of Facilities, Real Estate and Planning Elaine Clark accepted the award on behalf of the university.
Coburn Hall was built in 1888 and designed by Frank E. Kidder, a graduate of the university. In the fall of 2006, the occupants were moved because of the building’s condition. Nickerson & O’Day, along with WBRC Architects and Engineers, collaborated with UMaine to restore the brick façade, damaged windows, slate roof and other important features.
The 2011 Maine Preservation Honor Awards recipients included property owners, architects, contractors, craft specialists and others connected to the restoration and rehabilitation of Coburn Hall and several other Maine properties: Baxter Library in Portland, the Brown Library and Longfellow Garden at the Maine Historical Society in Portland, Gilman Place/Gilman Street School in Waterville, Littlefield School in West Bath, the Mill at Saco Falls/Laconia Mill in Biddeford.
There is also a UMaine connection to Baxter Library, donated to the city by six-term mayor James P. Baxter in 1883. The building has been repurposed by Northland Enterprises, LLC to serve as office space for the Via Agency, a marketing agency founded and owned by John Coleman, a UMaine graduate who serves on the university’s Board of Visitors.
Four Maine artisans associated with various historic trades were also honored. They are Ben Coombs, Norm Faucher, Robin Neely and Arron Sturgis, all commissioned by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to work on the museum’s Brown-Pearl Hall. Neely, of Westbrook, fabricated windows with glass made by Coombs, a glassblower from Portland. Sturgis, of Berwick, employed his timber framing skills to rebuild antique frames that exemplified mortise and tenon construction. Faucher, who lives in North Lebanon, forged rosehead nails to be used in the timber framing construction.
With 24 privately developed projects investing $135 million using Maine Historic Preservation Tax Credits since 2008, historic preservation projects are helping boost the economy and the real estate industry throughout the state, according to Maine Preservation.
June 20, 2011
Contact: Greg Paxton, Maine Preservation executive director
(o) (207) 847-3577, (c) (207) 232-5995