By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – A two-story office building in front of the Bates Mill that may be torn down led a list of endangered historic buildings announced Friday.

The 150-year-old structure, which juts into the parking lot between the Bates Enterprise Complex and the canal, is vital to the history of the area, said Douglas Hodgkin, a member of the city’s Historic Preservation Review Board.

The list, which also includes property in Rumford and North Livermore, is released each year by Maine Preservation, a nonprofit group that works in concert with the state Historical Society.

The first floor of the Bates building was built in 1852. A second story was added in 1902. It housed the administrative and business offices for Bates Manufacturing.

“When people tour the complex, we can show them where the cotton was stored, or where the cloth was weaved,” Hodgkin said. “Without this building, we won’t be able to show where the decisions were made. This is the place where they decided the layout of the city.”

The building is currently used by complex managers. It bisects the parking area and narrows the traffic lane considerably. Removing the building would allow traffic to flow in and out of the lot more safely, said owner Tom Platz.

However, no decision to remove it had been made, he said Friday.

“When we make a decision, it will be based on a global look at the project as opposed to any particular space,” he said.

The developer is looking at restoring nearly 1 million square feet of historical space in the complex, and the endangered building is only a couple of thousand square feet, he said.

The local historic board has the ability to delay destruction of a historic building for 90 days, according to city rules. Putting the building on the list doesn’t offer any other legal protection.

“But it makes the state of the building more public,” said Maine Preservation Executive Director Roxanne Eflin. “Sometimes, that attention helps.”

Past endangered properties include St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lewiston. That building was taken over by the Franco-American Heritage Center and is being renovated as a performing arts center.