It didn't all come down as planned. See http://bangordailynews.com/2014/03/...ry-demolition-damages-fire-station-next-door/ for details.
Benson
Benson
Old Town Factory Demolition
- Thread starter Greg Nolan
- Start date
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
And so, the ol' factory will "rage against the dying of the light"...
A total of 11 bricks are in the mail now to three different buyers so the remaining nine will be sold in the auction at the Assembly. It seemed a bit silly to be packing bricks in bubble wrap but that should keep them from bouncing around in the cardboard boxes too much. Thank you all very much for your contributions to the organization,
Benson
Benson
The Assembly auction went well and there were several requests for additional copies of the pictures that went with the bricks. These are available at http://www.stroudwatercapital.biz/images/Old-Town-Area/OTC-factory.pdf but will take some time to download since it is 22 megabytes. Let me know if you have questions or need anything else. Thanks,
Benson
Benson
The factory may be down now but there is a small reminder available at the Kittery Trading Post as shown below. They moved the front door to match the location of the doors in their setting but it is an interesting display. You can also see a nice Molitor and 34 foot war canoe on the wall as well.
Benson
Benson
Attachments
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Very nice!
H.E. Pennypacker
LOVES Wooden Canoes
"Progress"... But that photo makes me so sad. I suppose the ghosts and the wooden daughters live on with all of us, but that grassy strip seems such a sterile, empty place, knowing what was there.
Mark Adams
all wood nut
That is indeed depressing. I have a 1964 catalog, the year of my birth. I look at it, and it just reenforces how sterile society has become, how plastic it all is. All that lovely wood that was used, all those boats with soul. Tupperware will never come close.
MGC
Scrapmaker
I think the first time my father took us there was in about 1966. Around that time he was fooling around with fixing up the Ideal that we used while I was growing up. Seeing the factory was a really big deal for a 12 year old kid. It was incredibly cool to see the boats being built. The folks that worked there seemed like wood/canoe gods. They were building these really amazing canoes in such an effortless way. We went back every few years when we were on our way to visit his folks. I also remember visiting EM White and recall to this day the time we stopped in there and saw all of their forms sitting in a big storage area...no longer needed. They were building glass boats. OT was also making glass boats, but at least there was still a wood shop where they were steaming and hammering and canvasing.
We kept going back there. My kids got to visit the factory with my father and then again with me after he was gone. I bought a few canoes, lot's of paddles, collected all of the catalogs..... what a great place. My father and I went there when I interviewed at U of M and when my son went to Bowdoin I think we were both equally excited to visit the factory.... My buddies and I stopped there on the way back from the Allagash....talk about a side trip, we were going back to Northern NY.
That aside, those were big hulking old pieced together buildings that had grown long in the tooth. If you are trying to complete in this day and age, turns, efficiency, overhead...those are the drivers...it's not real important how all of the gorgeous cedar dust smells. I have my memories. I no longer have a need to drive up through or down to Old Town. There is nothing left there to draw us back.
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Another part of the factory has been preserved and reassembled as shown below. The pictures at:
http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=27848&d=1393196614
http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=9866&d=1267223604 and
http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=22310&d=1343847025 show how this originally looked on the east side of the building.
Benson
http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=27848&d=1393196614
http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=9866&d=1267223604 and
http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=22310&d=1343847025 show how this originally looked on the east side of the building.
Benson
Attachments
The town has just announced plans to develop the site now as described at http://bangordailynews.com/2016/12/...final-redesign-of-old-canoe-factory-unveiled/ in a local paper.
Benson
Benson
