Maine State Building
Poland Spring, Poland, MEIn 1892, an International Exposition was opened in Chicago to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Maine's response to the Columbian Exposition was an irregularly shaped Queen Anne-type structure the shape of which was dictated by the irregular lot assigned to it on the far eastern end of the exposition.
The architect chosen for the building was a Lewiston, Maine native by the name of Charles Summer Frost who had achieved a national reputation for his buildings in Chicago.
When its role as the Maine Exposition building had ended it was decided that it would be an advantage to the granite and slate industries of Maine to donate the building as a permanent fixture to the city of Chicago. The park commission subsequently informed the Maine representatives that all buildings in that section of the park were to be removed.
At this point, several parties made offers to purchase the building. The committee considered all proposals and decided to sell the building to Hiram Ricker and Sons who were the owners of the celebrated Poland Spring summer resort at Poland Springs, Maine. The Rickers paid $30,000 for the building and it cost them approximately $5,000 to move it to Poland Springs. A sixteen-car train was hired and the building was loaded piece by piece. It was finally reconstructed in front of an oak grove beside the Grand Hotel at Poland Spring. On July 1, 1895, the building was dedicated as a library and arts building and thereafter advertised as an additional attraction to this famous watering place of the turn of the century leisure class.
The building stands empty today although still in its original condition. With the great Poland Spring House and the rolling hills of Androscoggin County as a backdrop, the Maine State Building is a rare survivor because it was brought back to Maine for a second life as a cultural center for those who took the waters at Poland Spring. It is ironic that its second career would be cut short by the technological advance it was built to commemorate, for the development of the automobile would eventually spell the doom of Poland Springs itself.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.