NORWAY – With its landmark clock tower looming in the background, the 1894 Norway Opera House on Main Street was named Thursday as one of seven of Maine’s Most Endangered Historic Properties for 2003.

“These buildings that have survived urban renewal and fires and, finally, neglect, these buildings have been here much longer than us, and it is up to us to protect them,” said Martha Mayo of Bath, president of Maine Preservation’s Board of Trustees.

The 1850 Brick Church in Lovell also made the “most endangered” list, issued annually since 1996 by Maine Preservation of Portland, the 31-year-old statewide advocacy organization for historic preservation.

The list also includes the Sheepscot Village Historic District, grange halls statewide, the Sea Urchins cottage in Bar Harbor, the District 5 Schoolhouse in North Alfred, and the Colcord House in South Berwick.

The designation is designed to raise awareness and focus the need for an organized rescue of significant historic properties that are threatened by deterioration, disuse and even demolition. It can also pave the way to major state and federal restoration grant funding.

Since the program was begun, 57 sites have been named, and only two have been lost to demolition, said Maine Preservation Executive Director Roxanne Eflin.

For the past year, Norway Downtown Revitalization has been overseeing Norway’s role as one of six Maine Street Maine communities participating in the National Main Street Program. Its president, Ken Morse, nominated the Norway Opera House to Maine Preservation two months ago, and the selection was made by Maine Preservation’s board of trustees in May.

Maine Preservation Trustee Andrea Burns of Waterford said the selection of the brick Opera House, the most dominating building on Main Street, gave her great satisfaction.

“That clock tower has marked our lives,” she said. She said naming two western Maine buildings to a list that traditionally has been dominated by coastal properties shows “that people are recognizing the importance of preserving historic rural properties.”

Another Maine Preservation trustee, Les Fossel, made reference to the owner of the building, Ralph Doering Jr., who lives in Sheepscot.

Doering has been criticized locally for years for not paying enough attention to maintenance and upkeep of the building. All five commercial storefronts are vacant, and a pigeon infestation, now eliminated, had caused damage to the upper ballroom and balcony. The roof is leaking, and its wiring and heating systems are badly in need of upgrading.

The ballroom played host to the community life of Norway for many years, including concerts, balls, traveling minstrel shows, theater performances, National Guard musters, town meetings and high school graduation ceremonies. Its upper floors have been unused since a movie theater closed in the 1970s, and the five ground floor storefronts have all been vacant for several years.

“We’re going to harass (Doering) a little bit,” joked Fossel to the crowd, which included local business and municipal officials, members of Norway Downtown Revitalization, and other economic development leader s.

In a later interview, Fossel said Doering, who owns several historic buildings, does have an active interest in preserving the Opera House. But he added, “He is a businessman. You need to convince him he can fix this up and not go broke doing it.”

Brett Doney, chief executive officer of the Growth Council of Oxford Hills, said a local group called the Opera House Corporation has been working closely recently with a person with an active interest in buying the building. Doering’s asking price is $250,000.

“If it were me, I’d be looking for public-private partnership,” said Fossel.

State Sen. Rick Bennett of Norway thanked Maine Preservation “for recognizing the prettiest Maine Street in Maine.” He also credited the generations of business owners and building owners on the street that, since the turn of the century, have “stuck with it and reinvested in their downtown against the odds.”

Downtown Director Anne Campbell said the designation comes at a time when Norway Downtown Revitalization has been busy with Maine Street beautification projects, such as putting in granite benches and trash recepticals, building an information kiosk and sponsoring an activity-packed Norway Summer Festival on Main Street, set for July 11-13.

The town also recently received a $10,000 state grant to do an updated comprehensive market analysis of the downtown.

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