The Osgood Building is an historic commercial building at 129 Lisbon Street in
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous ci ...
. Built in 1893, it is one of few known surviving commercial works by local architect
Jefferson L. Coburn, and the only known use of imported English white brick in the state. 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 ...
in 1986.
Description and history
The Osgood Building is located on the west side of Lisbon Street, Lewiston's principal commercial thoroughfare, just north of its junction with Ash Street. It is a four-story masonry structure, built principally out of white brick imported from
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Its main facade is symmetrical, with groups of three bays flanking a central bay. These groupings are articulated by pilasters that rise the full height of the building, with decorative capitals between the first and second levels (where they form part of a band of decorative stone), and the cornice. The main entrance is recessed in the central bay in an archway built of red glazed brick. The storefronts to either side consist of a central larger window with smaller flanking windows, each set in segmented-arch openings, with cast frame elements that include a keystone above the larger window. This form is repeated, with slightly different styling, on the second and third levels. The fourth level is nine bays across, with smaller round-arch windows.
The block was built in 1893 for H.A. Osgood, a jeweler with a long-established business at this site. It was designed by
Jefferson L. Coburn & Sons, noted local architects who also designed the
First McGillicuddy Block, just south of this one. Coburn was particularly noted for his eclectic designs. The builder was E.R. Desjardins, an immigrant from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
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See also
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References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Buildings and structures in Lewiston, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Lewiston, Maine