News ReleaseJuly 29, 2008 Contact: Greg Paxton, Executive Director (207) 775 3652 Click on links for individual resources for photos and more information ________________________________________________________________________ 13th Annual List of Maine’s Most Endangered Historic Resources Announced
Portland , Maine . Today, Maine Preservation announced its 13 th annual list of Maine’s Most Endangered Historic Resources at a press conference at the Pennell Institute in Gray. This property is among the eleven listings added to the program this year by Maine Preservation’s Board of Trustees. This year’s list features statewide thematic listings as part of a green focus, highlighting the inherent environmentally and economically sustainable aspects of preservation.
“Preservation is recycling on a large scale, and we can reduce our impact on the environment and save energy by adaptively reusing buildings and their durable historic materials rather than carting them to the landfill,” stated Executive Director Greg Paxton. “This is good old Yankee conservatism at its best. Our mission is to promote the preservation of Maine ’s historic places. Preservation isn’t only about an appreciation of the past; it’s about enriching the present and future quality of our communities. That’s why we’re excited to highlight preservation’s green agenda on this year’s Most Endangered list.”
Green theme listings include historic railroad buildings, old growth wood, embodied energy, storm windows and landfills, all of which are imperiled by the destruction of historic buildings and their historic materials to the detriment of the environment statewide, “Maine Preservation also recognizes the state’s working waterfronts, historic houses of worship, fraternal organizations, historic schools such as Pennell Institute, an African-American guesthouse and the historic tax record of Maine, which all face threats,” said Chris Glass of Camden, president of the Board of Trustees. “Failure to maintain these institutions undermines the quality of our communities. The Brooking Institution’s study highlighted the preservation of Maine ’s historic communities as key to the state’s future economic prosperity. Maintaining these buildings and institutions are not only windows to our past, but doors to our future.” New to the list in 2008 are: Working Waterfronts, throughout the state are threatened with potential loss of not only historic buildings and landscapes, but also the livelihoods, access and traditional ways of life of many citizens in Maine ’s waterfront communities. The Pemaquid Fisherman’s Co-op is an example of how businesses, aided by state programs, are struggling to stay viable; Preservation’s Statewide Green Agenda : • Historic Railroad Buildings, in addition to being historically important, are finding renewed life as stations for expanded transit lines, lessening reliance on fossil fuels. Buildings like the Greenville Junction Depot beside Moosehead Lake and the Freight Shed in Hallowell could see a second act as part of a cleaner Maine transportation network. • Old Growth Wood, the dense and far more durable wood of Maine ’s historic virgin forests is gone in nature but preserved in historic buildings. This irreplaceable building material stands the test of time far better than softer new-growth wood availabletoday. Preserving rather than replacing old-growth wood in buildings creates less waste and requires less energy. It is more cost effective in the short term while requiring less maintenance over the long term. • Embodied Energy refers to energy and resources already expended to construct an existing building. Energy-efficient certification standards like LEED do not adequately account for energy savings from retrofitting existing buildings. Most people are unaware of how improvements to an existing building can produce more energy-savings than constructing a new building; even one constructed to green standards, and is less expensive. An example of a lost opportunity is the recent decision by Department of Education to abandon Nathan Clifford Elementary School in Portland in favor of a new school building. • Landfills throughout Maine fill quickly with construction debris, the largest category of landfill waste, occupying about 1/3 of landfills’ volume. Gutting historic materials or tearing down entire historic buildings results in more rapidly filled waste sites, causing the need for new sites to be opened. • Storm Windows are threatened by replacement with expensive but short-lived vinyl windows. Putting storm windows over historic wooden windows produces the same R-value as new double-pane windows, and is more cost effective while generating less waste. Vinyl windows produce toxins in manufacture and are “maintenance free.” This means that they cannot be repaired.
Historic Houses of Worship statewide face a variety of challenges with declining membership and aging buildings. Free Will Baptist Church in Bowdoinham, a significant rural church that has long been vacant, and the United Baptist Church in Lewiston, whose congregation dwindled and building is distressed, are prime rural and urban examples; Rock Rest, Kittery Point , recently nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, operated from the late 1930s to the late 1970s as a summer guesthouse for African-American tourists. Rock Rest provided a safe haven from de-facto segregation faced by black travelers on vacation. The property has been vacant and in need of repair, and is threatened by the potential of being sold to an owner who could tear it down; The Masonic Temple, Portland represents Buildings of Fraternal Organizations statewide, many suffering from lower membership levels and lack of funding for maintenance and repairs. The Masons of Maine is considering the sale of their space, which would likely result in the destruction of its remarkable historic interiors; Pennell Institute and Campus, Gray , brick Italianate former school buildings are suffering from lack of use and deferred maintenance, like many across the state; Maine’s Municipal Tax Valuation Lists,statewide are imperiled, and irreplaceable records of buildings in many communities, vulnerable to decay or being discarded. This year, each of the individual properties will be eligible for a $500 matching grant from Maine Preservation’s Preserve Maine Fund in order to facilitate fundraising efforts necessary to plan for the facilities’ rescue, such as a building conditions assessment or marketing study. - Return to Maine's Most Endangered Historic Properties 2008 - For photos of this year’s list, inspiring success stories and ways to get involved, visit www.mainepreservation.org or call Greg Paxton, Executive Director, at (207) 775-3652 To help rescue these and other Endangered properties, contact Maine Preservation at (207) 775-3652 or email at maineprs@gwi.net. Charitable donations to the Preserve Maine Fund can be made by credit card to the above number or mailed to 500 Congress Street, 2nd Floor, Portland, ME 04101. |
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2008 Endangered List | 2001 Endangered List 2007 Endangered List | 2000 Endangered List 2006 Endangered List | 1999 Endangered List 2005 Endangered List | 1998 Endangered List 2004 Endangered List | 1997 Endangered List |
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