The Odd Fellows Block is a historic commercial building at 182-190 Lisbon Street in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

. Built in 1876, it is an important early work of Lewiston architect

George M. Coombs George M. Coombs (November 27, 1851 – March 27, 1909) was an American architect in practice in Lewiston, Maine from 1874 to 1909. Life and career George Millard Coombs was born November 27, 1851, in Brunswick, Maine to John Matthews Coomb ...

, then in partnership with William H. Stevens. It is a significant local example of commercial Victorian Gothic architecture, which typified Lewiston's downtown of the period. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1986.

Description and history

The Odd Fellows Block is located on Lisbon Street, Lewiston's principal commercial downtown thoroughfare, between Ash and Pine Streets. It is a three-story masonry structure, built of brick with stone trim. The facade is irregularly arranged, its nine bays articulated in a 2-3-1-3 pattern by stone piers on the first floor, and paneled brick pilasters at the upper levels. The storefronts feature wood paneling above and below plate glass windows, and recessed entrances. The upper levels are separated by a stone stringcourse, and feature sash windows set in pointed-arch openings with alternating stone and brick voussoirs, and stone keystones. A wooden cornice projects at the top. The building was constructed in 1876, originally to house retail space on the ground floor, and meeting facilities of the local chapter of the

International Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...

(IOOF). The IOOF hall was used by a large number of local organizations as a meeting space. The building was designed by

, then early in his long and prolific career, in partnership with William H. Stevens, who died in 1880. Architecturally, the building is typical of Lewiston's commercial buildings of the period, and is one of the few to survive from that time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odd Fellows Block Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Buildings and structures in Lewiston, Maine Odd Fellows buildings in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Lewiston, Maine