LEWISTON – Bates Mill No. 5, the massive, saw-tooth-roofed building at the corner of Lincoln and Main streets, was named to Maine Preservation’s list of most endangered historic buildings Friday.

It doesn’t mean the building’s demise is imminent, said Christopher Glass, president of Maine Preservation.

“It’s not as if any of the buildings on this list are threatened by bulldozers at this very moment,” Glass said. “What threatens them is a lack of resources for finding a creative use. There may be people in the community who know that they want to preserve an old building. But while there may be public support, there might not be money available.”

Other properties that made the 2007 list are the Gerald Hotel in Fairfield; the Taterstate Frozen Foods plant in Aroostook County; the Hubbard Cotton Store in Hiram; the Buck Memorial Library in Bucksport; and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Home and Jail in Ellsworth.

Since it began the program in 1996, the group has listed 75 properties as endangered. Six have been lost to demolition; 22 have been successfully redeveloped.

“It’s the most significant program we have to get the word out,” Glass said.

This is the first year Maine Preservation has given cash to owners of the properties. Each owner will get $500, which can be used for structural or other analysis.

“It’s not a lot, but we don’t have a lot of money,” Glass said. “If we had the endowments or the donations, we’d love to make it $5,000 – or $50,000.”

The Bates Mill building has more than 350,000 square feet of usable space. Local officials have talked about using it as a convention center for a number of years and city councilors named a group last month to study possible uses.

“The mill represents the perseverance and commitment of countless workers who demonstrated a strong work ethic for their families and their community,” said Mayor Larry Gilbert. “That work ethic is still strong in Lewiston today.”

The City Council included plans to knock the building down in its 2009 capital projects plan, however.

The building was designed by industrial architect Albert Kahn and opened in 1914 as a weave shed. The top floor, immediately under the distinctive roof, housed as many as 300 Jacquard looms during the Bates Co.’s heyday.

Allan Turgeon, who manages the city-owned mill building, led members on a tour after Friday’s presentation. The mill is still in remarkable shape for 93 years old, he said, with floors that will support several hundred pounds per square foot.

“It was built as an industrial building to last for all these years,” Turgeon said. “That’s what we are interested in doing now – building something that will last for 100 years.”