Elliot Epstein: The Value of Mill No. 5

Sun-Journal Columnist Elliot Epstein wrote this week about the history of Mill No. 5. Click on the picture or article title to read in its entirety and view reader comments.

The value of Mill No. 5

By Elliott Epstein , Rearview Mirror
Sunday, February 17, 2008

What's the importance of an old building? Just the soul of a community, that's all.

The fate of Bates Mill No. 5, a Lewiston landmark, now hangs in the balance. In the next few months, the city will likely decide whether this 94-year-old structure is to be demolished, sold or renovated.

If Mill No. 5 were the White House, the conclusion would be foregone. The executive mansion has had many publicly funded makeovers in the past two centuries, including an almost complete reconstruction from 1948 to 1952.

Yet no one ever considered razing and replacing it with a glass-and-steel office tower, topped by a presidential penthouse suite. After all, its elegant façade is an icon of American political power.

Mill No. 5 is not on symbolic par with the White House, but it's a potent symbol nonetheless: of U.S. economic power. It represents the junction of two great epochs of America's Industrial Revolution - textiles and automobiles...

Click here to finish reading.

Mike Carey
Lewiston