RUMFORD – The centennial of one of this town’s grand buildings will be celebrated during the area’s Christmas in the Valley events.

Hotel Harris, originally known as the Strathglass Building, is now owned by Jean and Arthur Muse of Rumford, and Aaron and Heidi Muse of Windham. Owners for only a year, the Muse families have succeeded in filling all the street level space and have made a number of major improvements to what is now a residential hotel.

Ninety percent of the 36 apartments are occupied, and the mezzanine level now houses a foster parenting agency known as Smart Care Child Services.

“It’s still a work in progress,” said Jean Muse.

Planned to mark the 100th birthday is an open house from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 2 and 3.

The Spanish-style decorated lobby will offer special music by local guitarist Denny Breau, from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday. Coffee, cider and doughnuts will be served throughout the two-day open house, as well.

The two businesses that flank the lobby, Island Indulgence and the Boiler Room at the Harris, are also planning special events.

The newly opened spa will offer demonstrations of the many services available throughout the two days, and the Boiler Room, which usually closes on Sundays, will be open for brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On Sunday, the Christmas in the Valley parade Santa Claus will end his trek in the hotel lobby where he will be available to have his picture taken with children sometime between 5 and 6 p.m. The parade starts in Dixfield at 4 p.m.

In honor of the hotel’s birthday, the Muses are encouraging people to submit memories and photographs of eras gone by. A $50 gift certificate will be awarded to the person who submits the most interesting, appropriate memory in January. Photos acquired will be put into a scrapbook that will be placed in the lobby for all to see.

Mail memories or photos to: Stories, P.O. Box 4000/PMB138, Windham, ME 04062.

History

The Strathglass Building, a classic beaux arts structure complete with massive Ionic columns and intricate frieze work, was built soon after the Oxford Paper Co. emerged in town by the Rumford Falls Power Co. The street-level space was occupied by E.K. Day and Co. and G.A. Peabody Co. department store. The upper levels were occupied by professional offices.

A fire in 1931 decimated the interior of the building and the decorative urns that once topped the cornice.

When it was renovated a year later, a fourth floor was added, and it became a hotel named after Jim Harris, manager of the Oxford Paper Mill. The original name, Strathglass, was taken from the ancestral home in Scotland of Hugh Chisholm, founder of the paper company.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and according to a book on historic buildings in Oxford County, is a “landmark of major architectural significance.”

Over the years, as the population of Rumford dropped, the success of the hotel diminished as well, until the 1970s when it became a residential hotel and the restaurants on the first floor and in the basement closed.

Muse believes the building represents the best of times in the town, and she thinks its new life will spark new business and success in the rest of the downtown area.

“It’s such a wonderful building. Our focus is to bring it into the 21st century,” she said.