The Dingley Building, formerly the Oak Street School, is a historic municipal building at 36 Oak Street in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

. Built in 1890, it is a distinctive local example of

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

architecture, designed by local architect George M. Coombs. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976. It now houses the Lewiston school system's administrative offices.

Description and history

The Dingley Building stands near the eastern edge of Lewiston's commercial downtown area, on a lot bounded by Middle, Oak, and Bates Streets. It is a two-story masonry structure, built of red brick with stone trim. It is covered by a tall hip roof, and is set on a raised basement, from which it is separated by a stone beltcourse. The main entrance is recessed in a large round-arch opening, which shelters the stairs providing access. The entrance is set in a projecting gabled section, from which a turret rises at the left corner, topped by an open

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

and a convex circular roof. Windows in the projecting section above the entrance are set in round-arch openings, in a group of four on the second level, and in a Palladian-style group of three in the gable. The school building was designed by architect George M. Coombs and was built in 1890.Dingley Building, Oak Street School, Lewiston
Maine Memory Network. The name was changed to the Dingley Building in 1899 in honor of Nelson Dingley, Jr., a former

governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

and longtime congressman from Maine's second district. It was later used as an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, then the headquarters for the Lewiston Board of Education. It remains the central office for the school district today. The Lewiston Historical Commission also meets in the building. A lightning bolt struck the Dingley Building in June 2008, causing no injuries, but resulting in moderate damage to the wooden tower as well as utilities.Max Mogensen
Lightning strikes Dingley building
''Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal'', July 1, 2008.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Schools in Lewiston–Auburn, Maine School buildings completed in 1890 National Register of Historic Places in Lewiston, Maine 1890 establishments in Maine Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Maine Educational buildings in Lewiston, Maine

Description and history

See also

References