LEWISTON – Save for part of a stair tower and a pile of rubble, the iconic W.S. Libbey Mill is gone from the downtown cityscape.

Crews from Costello Dismantling Inc. have demolished the building and will be on hand next week to remove the remaining rubble.

“They’ll separate the brick from the wood and will begin carting it off-site next week,” said Norm Beauparlant, city director of budgets and purchasing. Salvaged wood will be taken to KTI Biofuels Inc. in Lewiston. The brick will be taken to the city’s gravel quarry, Beauparlant said.

Only the concrete floor of the old mill and part of the eastern foundation will remain, acting as a retaining wall.

“It will continue to look like an old building site, until the city determines what will happen there next,” Beauparlant said.

Developer Travis Soule has said he intends to redevelop the Cowan Mill – the remaining building on the site – and Winston Hotels Inc. plans to build a three-star or better hotel on the parking lot north of Veterans Park on Main Street.

The demolition project brings the mill’s long history to a close.

It was built in 1846, part of a two-building complex that used power from the Androscoggin River to make cotton, woolen and rubber-coated fabrics. The buildings were abandoned in 1991 and changed hands several times before they were purchased by the Miracle of the Living Waters, a nondenominational ministry.

The city eventually took ownership of the property, which carried an extensive debt of back taxes. The mill’s No. 2 building was damaged by two major fires and demolished in 2001. The historic cupola, which is featured on the city’s seal, was removed and remains in storage.