PARIS – The reminders are everywhere, from the exposed wooden beams to the framed pictures on the walls.

A century ago, the new Western Maine University and Community College Center building was the grand expo building for the Oxford County Fair, and showcased the fruits of the farming life of western Maine.

Now it’s still grand, but it’s a center of higher learning, combining courses offered by the University of Maine and Central Maine Community College, as well as the Career Center of South Paris.

On Monday, Nikki Abbott, the University College director, gave members of the SAD 17 Board of Directors a tour of the building. The way that the original features – including the posts, beams and interior windows – have been preserved and integrated into the new design earned the project a preservation award from Maine Preservation after the building opened this spring.

Abbott led board members from the high-ceilinged community room on the second floor to classrooms, including a computer training classroom and a remote learning center. On the first floor are more classrooms, a registration area and a student lounge and study area.

Through courses available on-site, online or through interactive television, the University College is able to offer the community access to 35 degrees and certificate programs and more than 150 courses.

Abbott gave board members a demonstration of the interactive television – or ITV – program, which allows students to listen to instructors on television, either in real time or on tape.

The ITV program formerly was in a small suite of rooms at the adjacent Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.

The board also toured a suite of rooms that now houses the Western Maine Community Action Career Center, formerly the Norway Career Center in South Paris.