NORWAY – A couple who redid the facade of a building on Main Street were recognized last week for helping to beautify the downtown, receiving an award from an organization that is trying to revitalize Main Streets around the state.
Kay and Wayne Goodall, who own the 109-year-old building at 273 Main St., were honored by the Maine Downtown Center for “Outstanding Public/Private Partnership.”
The award underscores an important approach to bringing downtowns back to life. Many involved in this movement consider both individual and government investment as critical to the survival of struggling downtowns.
The Goodalls used a Department of Economic and Community Development grant, which was then administered by Norway, to repair siding, paint the building’s outside, install new windows and fix the porch. They had to match the $10,000 grant.
Wayne Goodall said that the cost of repair would have been prohibitive without the funding, which is earmarked specifically for buildings’ exteriors. “I don’t think that this work would have ever been able to get done without it. Being such an old building, it is hard to keep up with it sometimes,” he said Friday.
Debbie Wyman, director of community development in Norway, said the buildings receiving the state’s facade-improvement grant must be in the historic district, and the renovations must not alter the original look of the structure.
The Goodalls have owned the building for 18 years. Kay Goodall ran a beauty salon in one half of the structure, and other enterprises have passed through over the years, including Wayne’s sports card shop and a clothing store. The space also served as the local Democratic campaign headquarters last fall.
Currently, it is occupied by Arsenault’s Satellite TV and Solace Home, Hearth and Hound, which is a wood-pellet stove shop.
Gail Geraghty, a volunteer with Norway Downtown Revitalization, said the building is unique because it is one of the most elaborate and unaltered examples of wooden commercial architecture in Norway. “A lot of buildings don’t survive fires over the century,” she said.
The Maine Downtown Center was created by the Legislature in 1999 to be a statewide resource for downtown revitalization efforts. It offers technical assistance and training to Maine Communities.
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