Lewiston, Maine City of Maine Location of Lewiston, Maine Location of Lewiston, Maine Website Town of Lewiston, Maine Lewiston is the most central town/city in Androscoggin County in the U.S.
State of Maine, and the second-largest town/city in the state.
It is one of two principal metros/cities of and encompassed inside the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, urbane New England town/city and town region and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area, which as of 2006 census estimates has a combined populace of 107,702.
It is also part of the extended Portland-Lewiston-South Portland, Maine, combined statistical area, which has a combined populace 621,219 as of 2006 estimates.
A former foundry town, it is positioned in south-central Maine, at the falls of the Androscoggin River, athwart from Auburn.
Lewiston and Auburn are often considered a single entity and referred to as Lewiston Auburn, colloquially abbreviated as L-A or L/A.
They have a combined populace of 59,647 citizens . Together, Lewiston-Auburn is somewhat lesser than Maine's biggest city, Portland (excluding its own suburbs).
Lewiston is most prominently home to Bates College, which was established by small-town preacher and politician Oren Burbank Cheney, and financed by Lewiston developer Benjamin Bates, the wealthiest person in the state for his lifetime in the city.
The town/city has various traditional and celebrations that draw crowds from around Maine, such as the Patrick Dempsey Challenge, Liberty Festival, Festival Franco - Fun, The Great Falls Balloon Festival, and the Emerge Film Festival.
It is also home to the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the University of Southern Maine's Lewiston-Auburn College, and two momentous county-wide general hospitals: Central Maine Medical Center and Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center.
4.3 Main Street The Lewiston region was formerly inhabited by citizens s of the Androscoggin (or Arosaguntacook) tribe.
A grant comprising the region of Lewiston was given to Moses Little and Jonathan Bagley, members of the Pejepscot Proprieters, on January 28, 1768 on the condition that fifty families lived in the region before June 1, 1774.
Paul Hildreth was the first man to settle in Lewiston in the fall of 1770.
By 1795, Lewiston was officially incorporated as a town. At least four homes that have railwayfrom this reconstructionare presently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
New England industrialist, and employer of Lewiston, Benjamin Bates.
Saints Peter and Paul Basilica, one of only a several basilicas in New England, and the only in Maine, positioned on Ash Street Lewiston was a slow but steadily burgeoning farm town throughout its early history.
By the early-to-mid-19th century, however, as water power was being honed, Lewiston's locale on the Androscoggin River would prove to make it a perfect locale for emerging industry. ...for the purpose of erecting and constructing dams, locks, canals, mills, works, machines, and buildings on their own lands and also manufacturing cotton, wool, iron, steel, and paper in the suburbs of Lewiston, Minot, and Danville. Later reorganized as the Lewiston Water Power Company, the revenue of stock thriving Boston investors including Thomas J.
Such economic evolution thriving New England industrialist Benjamin Bates who began building and developing mills in the town and quickly period Lewiston's economy.
This began the transformation from a small farming town into a textile manufacturing center on the model of Lowell, Massachusetts. The Bates Mill remained the biggest employer in Lewiston from the 1850s to the mid-late 20th century.
Subsequently, trains connected Quebec with Lewiston on a daily schedule.
In 1860, a flood of French-Canadian immigration into Maine began, spawned by industrialized work opportunities in Maine metros/cities with water power from waterfalls. This brought a momentous influx of Quebecois millworkers that replaced the former Yankee millgirls.
Lewiston's populace boomed between 1840 and 1890 from 1,801 to 21,701.
Canadiens settled in an region downtown that became known as Little Canada, and Lewiston's character has remained largely Franco-American ever since.
In 1855, The Maine State Seminary in Lewiston, now Bates College, was incorporated.
During this time, in 1863, Lewiston was incorporated as a city.
In 1880, Le Messager, a French language newspaper, began printing in Lewiston to serve its dominant ethnic population.
Construction of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul began in 1905 and ended in 1938, mostly funded through thousands of small donations from Lewiston residents.
It is the biggest Roman Catholic Church in Maine, and Lewiston's most prominent landmark.
While the Diocese of Portland did not relocate to Lewiston, the church nevertheless became a basilica in 2004.
In 1937, one of the biggest labor disputes in Maine history occurred in Lewiston and Auburn.
After workers attempted to march athwart the Androscoggin River from Lewiston to Auburn, Governor Lewis Barrows sent in the Maine Army National Guard.
After World War I, profits from the textile trade in New England foundry towns such as Lewiston, Biddeford, Manchester, New Hampshire, Waterbury, Connecticut, and Fall River, Haverhill, Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts began to decline.
Businesses began moving to the South due to lower costs of power from more undivided technologies (Lewiston's water wheel technology gave way to hydroelectricity, cheaper transit (as most cotton and materials came from the South), and cheaper labor).
Starting in the late 1950s, many of Lewiston's textile mills began closing.
Kresge, JC Penney and Sears Roebuck shut their doors or moved to malls on the outskirts of Lewiston or Auburn.
Because the town/city took over the complex in 1992 after back taxes went unpaid, years of taxpayer frustration in the city's need to maintain the 1,100,000-square-foot (100,000 m2) behemoth led to two referenda (one non-binding vote, the other binding).
Statue in Kennedy Park, Lewiston, commemorating declined soldiers in the Civil War The plan was to demolish a several blocks of 19th-century millworker housing, lay new streets with updated infrastructure, construct more owner-occupied, lower-density housing, and build a boulevard through one neighborhood using federal Community Development Block Grant funds provided over a reconstructionof ten years.
They formed a neighborhood group called "The Visible Community", which has since been actively involved in the planning process, and resulted in cooperation between neighbors and town/city officials to redesign Kennedy Park, including input on the locale of new basketball courts, and feedback regarding creation of the biggest all-concrete skate park in Maine. Downtown is home to a new command posts for Oxford Networks, along with a $20 million upgrade in small-town fiber-optics, a new auto parts store, a ground of the for-profit Kaplan University, the command posts for Northeast Bank, a parking garage, and the newly renovated Maine Supply Co.
In 2002 and again in 2006, the L-A region led the state in economic evolution activity, as stated to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development's list of company investments and expansions.
In a 2006 KPMG International study measuring the cost of locating and maintaining a business, Lewiston ranked first among the New England communities analyzed, and rather than 24th out of 49 U.S.
Lewiston earned a 2007 All-America City Award designation by the National Civic League.
Main articles: History of the Somalis in Maine and History of the Bantus in Maine In 1999, the United States government began preparations to resettle an estimated 12,000 refugees from the Bantu minority ethnic group in Somalia to select metros/cities throughout the United States.
Word soon spread that Lewiston had a low crime rate, good schools and inexpensive housing. Somalis later began a secondary migration from other states to the former foundry town, and after 2005, many Bantus followed suit. In January 2003, about 32 members of a white supremacist group from Illinois demonstrated in Lewiston to denounce Somali immigrants. This prompted a simultaneous counter-demonstration on the ground of Bates College to demonstrate support of the Somali community. The rally repudiating the white supremacists thriving 4,000 attendees, including governor John Baldacci, Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and other officials. Mayor Raymond was reportedly out of town on vacation on the day of the protests. In August 2010, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported that Somali company doers had helped reinvigorate downtown Lewiston by opening shops in previously closed storefronts.
Lewiston City Hall According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 35.54 square miles (92.05 km2), of which, 34.15 square miles (88.45 km2) is territory and 1.39 square miles (3.60 km2) is water. Lewiston is drained by the Androscoggin River, which is positioned on its border.
It is positioned between Portland, the state's biggest town/city and cultural center, and the state capital of Augusta.
Downtown Lewiston runs from Oxford Street up to Jefferson Street, and from Adams Avenue to Main Street.
It contains mostly housing, although on Lisbon Street and Main Street, it is entirely businesses.
Lewiston City Hall Lewiston City Hall Central Maine Medical Center Schools that serve this neighborhood are Farwell Elementary, Martel Elementary, Lewiston Middle School, and Lewiston High School.
This region is served by Mc - Mahon Elementary, Lewiston Middle School, and Lewiston High School.
Climate data for Lewiston, Maine People of French-American descent were by far the most represented ethnic group in Lewiston, with 29.4% being of French-Canadian descent and 18.3% French (the two were listed as separate categories in the census although the vast majority were of French-Canadian descent).
Central Maine Medical Center: Founded by Edward H.
Hill in the mid-1860s CMMC (Central Maine Medical Center) is positioned downtown at High Street.
In recent years the hospital has created the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute, and the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing.
Central Maine Medical Center is the flagship hospital of Central Maine Medical Family.
The Central Maine Medical Family is positioned a block away from the hospital on Bates Street in the Lowell Square Building, a refurbished textile factory.
The Lewiston Sun Journal on Park Street Country Kitchen Bakery: Country Kitchen is positioned in downtown between Lisbon and Park streets.
Walmart Distribution Center: Walmart presently operates a 485,000-square-foot (45,100 m2) warehousing facility in Lewiston.
Downtown Lisbon Street: Lisbon Street is the commercial and government center of Lewiston.
Downtown Lisbon Street is also home to the Emerge Film Festival as well as Art Walks on the last Friday of each month amid summer.
Upper Lisbon Street: Past downtown features a several malls, including the Lewiston Promenade Mall and the Lewiston Mall.
A home in Lewiston, off Main-street Downtown Main Street: Main Street starts near the downtown region at the Governor James B.
Crossing into Lewiston, one passes Veterans Memorial Park, a large park on the waterfront that memorializes all veterans.
After the canal bridge there is the downtown section of Main Street.
Joseph's Church, Central Maine Medical Center, in addition to many other businesses.
Upper Main Street: Past downtown there are a several businesses and a several chain stores and restaurants, but it is mostly residentiary.
According to Lewiston's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town/city are: 1 Central Maine Medical Center 2,381 The Lewiston Public Library has played a primary part in the emerging culture of Lewiston.
The library is positioned downtown on the corner of Lisbon Street and Pine Street and has over 100,000 books in its collection.
At Museum L-A visitors can walk through a simulated manufacturing line, then view exhibits covering the textile, shoe, and brick industries that once thrived in Lewiston and Auburn.
Bates College Museum of Art: Located on the Bates College Campus, the Bates College Museum of Art features a wide range of art.
The Atrium Gallery: Located at the University of Southern Maine ground in Lewiston.
Lewiston also features The Public Theatre, which puts on different plays throughout the year with about six to eight productions per season.
The Emerge Film Festival was first held in June 2014 in downtown Lewiston and Auburn.
Lewiston hosts the annual Dempsey Challenge, which began in 2009.
All the proceeds go to the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope at the Central Maine Medical Center.
The center of sports in Lewiston is the Androscoggin Bank Colisee (formerly known as the Central Maine Civic Center).
The Lewiston Maineiacs, the only American team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League played their first season in 2003 2004 and dissolved the team after the 2010 2011 season.
Two Lewiston schools, Lewiston High School and St.
Dominic Regional High School (now positioned in Auburn), combine for over half of the state class A high school hockey championships in the state's history.
Main article: Lewiston Maineiacs The Maineiacs moved to Lewiston in 2003 from Sherbrooke, Quebec and were the only team in the QMJHL positioned in the United States.
They played their home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
Main article: Maine Nordiques They were based at the Central Maine Youth Center in Lewiston.
Lewiston's enhance education fitness has recently seen a number of new buildings constructed for Farwell Elementary School and Pettingill School, now replaced with the 600 Student capacity Geiger Elementary School.
Bates College, positioned in central Lewiston Central Maine Community College - Auburn Lewiston Public Schools operates enhance schools.
Lewiston High School (9-12) 1,446 students Lewiston Regional Technical Center (9-12) Lewiston Middle School (7-8) The Sun Journal was the recipient of the 2008 New England Daily Newspaper of the Year and the 2009 Maine Press Association Newspaper of the Year.
Lewiston is part of the Portland tv market, and receives all primary channels in that market.
WGME-TV and WCSH both have small-town bureau in the city, and are positioned athwart the street from each other on Main Street.
Lewiston is part of the Portland radio market, and receives most primary stations in that market.
WFNK 107.5 FM (Frank FM) is licensed to the City of Lewiston; however they broadcast from the Time and Temperature Building in Portland.
The town/city of Lewiston uses the Citylink or Purple Bus system.
It runs through the downtown of both Lewiston and Auburn.
Route 202: Main Street in Lewiston is 202 as well as ME-Route 11, and ME-Route 100.
It runs straight through the center of downtown to the company parks outwards of town, and the northern Lewiston suburbs.
Connects Lewiston to Auburn and Greene.
Maine State Route 196: Starts in Lewiston at U.S.
Route 202, Main Street.
In Lewiston it is Canal Street, which turns into Lisbon Street.
This route joins Lewiston to Lisbon, and makes easy access to the suburbs of Topsham, and Brunswick.
Route 1 in the City of Brunswick, Maine.
Maine State Route 126: Starts in Lewiston at US Route 202, Maine Street.
In Lewiston it is Sabbatus Street.
It joins Lewiston to the town of Sabbatus.
It joins Lewiston to Auburn.
It provides fast transit from Russell Street, and Main Street to Auburn's Mt.
Auburn Ave, and shopping centers on Center Street and the Mall Area.
Longley Memorial Bridge: Connects Main Street in downtown Lewiston to Court Street in Downtown Auburn.
Named after Lewiston resident and Governor of Maine James B.
Starts in Lewiston as Cedar Street and starts in Auburn as Broad Street.
Oak Street Bus Station: Greyhound Lines operates a bus line out of Lewiston.
Main article: List of citizens from Lewiston, Maine In 1999 when King was hit by a car while walking in Lovell, Maine, he was flown by helicopter and treated at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
In the mini-series, the hospital is assembled on the site of a textile foundry which made military uniforms amid the Civil War, which the Bates Mill and other Lewiston textile factories actually did.
King attended elementary school in the close-by town of Durham, Maine and high school in the neighboring town of Lisbon Falls, Maine A History of Lewiston, Maine with a Genealogical Register of Early Families page 52.
History of Lewiston, Maine (municipal site) "LEWISTON NAMED ALL-AMERICA CITY".
Lewiston Auburn Maine It's Happening Here!.
"Lewiston is one of the best places to retire in the US, as stated to Forbes".
Perceived Barriers to Somali Immigrant Employment in Lewiston - A Supplement to Maine's Department of Labor Report Somali stores bring citizens back to Lisbon Street Lewiston Sun-Journal, August 30, 2010 Lewiston city, Maine - Population Finder - American Fact - Finder City of Lewiston CAFR Elder, Janus G., A History of Lewiston, Maine with a Genealogical Register of Early Families.
Finnegan, William, Letter from Maine: New in Town, the Somalis of Lewiston.
Loyal but French: The Negotiation of Identity by French-Canadian Descendants in the United States (2008) on acculturation in Lewiston since 1860 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lewiston, Maine.
Municipalities and communities of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States Cities of Maine
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