Art Galleries & Museums

Androscoggin Historical Society

County Court Building, 2 Turner Street, Auburn, ME 04210-5978
207-784-0586 • www.rootsweb.com/~meandrhs • Michael Lord
E-mail: androhs@verizon.net 

The Androscoggin Historical Society preserves and disseminates the history of Androscoggin County. Since 1923, the Historical Society has been preserving and promoting the long, rich history of the county. The Clarence E. March Library has extensive holdings in local history and genealogy, and the Davis-Wagg Museum is filled with many artifacts of local historical interest, both open to the public free of charge (donations accepted). Hours are 9:00 a.m. – noon and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, closing earlier on Fridays in winter. They are wheelchair accessible.  P

Atrium Gallery

University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College
51 Westminster Street, Lewiston, ME 04240 • 207-753-6554
www.usm.maine.edu/lac/art • Robyn Holman, Director of Exhibitions
E-mail: holman@usm.maine.edu 

The Atrium Gallery presents year-round art exhibitions and special events for the community. The annual Area Artists Exhibition held in January and February features work by artists in Androscoggin, Franklin, or Oxford Counties. In collaboration with L/A Arts, the gallery hosts an annual “All Maine Invitational: L/A Arts Exhibit and Auction” in the spring, featuring paintings, prints, ceramics, jewelry, fiber arts, and furniture by 60 artists from around the state.  P

Bates College Museum of Art

Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell Street, Lewiston, ME 04240
www.bates.edu/acad/museum • E-mail: museum@bates.edu 
Marc Bessire • 207-786-6158

Located on the historic campus of Bates College, the Museum of Art is home to one of the region’s finest art collections, including the Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection. The Museum, housed in the Olin Arts Center, hosts ongoing exhibitions, special events, and showings of the permanent collection throughout the year.  P

Bates Dance
163 Wood Street, Lewiston, ME 04240
Laura Faure • 207-786-6381 (office & tickets)
www.batesdancefestival.org 

Each July and August the Bates Dance Festival presents a five-week performance series of internationally renowned contemporary dance artists on the Bates College campus. In addition, the Festival sponsors acclaimed dance and music training programs for teens, adults and local disadvantaged youth; produces outreach projects that engage community members of all ages in the art making experience; and supports the creation of new works by established and emerging artists.

Franco-American Heritage Center
at St. Mary’s

PO Box 1627, Corner of Oxford & Cedar Streets
Lewiston, ME 04241-1627 • Rita Dube • 207 -783-1515

The Franco-American Heritage Center at St. Mary’s was established in November 2000 to preserve and promote all aspects of the Franco-American heritage, including culture, history, and language. Its mission is to transform and restore the building and allow St. Mary’s to continue to enrich the lives of the people of Lewiston-Auburn and elsewhere by preserving the community’s rich French history. This is an active and thriving center with a combination of uses including a museum, a performance hall, a function hall, and a learning center. It is a true asset to the community as well as a multi-cultural, multi-purpose community facility: a magnificent structure of historical value, a gem in the heart of what is affectionately known as “Little Canada,” where children learn from it, adults grow from it, ancestors will be honored by it, and the community shares great pride in it. This center contributes to the area educationally, academically, economically, socially, and culturally.  P

Franco-American Heritage Collection

Lewiston-Auburn College
51 Westminster Street, Lewiston, ME 04240 • www.usm.maine.edu/lac/franco • boisvert@usm.maine.edu 
Donat Boisvert • 207-753-6545

In keeping with its educational, research, and community service mission, the Collection is designed to promote interest in and study of the Franco-American culture and history. A significant collection of documents, photographs, artifacts, and audiovisual material relating to the Franco-American community is housed in the facility.  Hours are Mondays and Wednesdays 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Thursdays 8:00 a.m. to Noon.   P

Museum L-A

Focuses upon the history of the Twin Cities during the Industrial Revolution, when textile mill, shoe mills, railroads, the canal system, and a flow of immigrants from French Canada and Europe transformed Lewiston and Auburn from a quiet rural hamlet into a vibrant prosperous city, practically overnight.

The current exhibition, “Lewiston—A Century and a Half of Textile Manufacturing,” tells the story of Bates Manufacturing from its inception in 1852 until its demise in 2001, as well as that of W.S. Libbey and other local textile enterprises. A spinning frame, a Jacquard loom, and other equipment Bates used to create its famous bedspreads are on display, together with examples of the company’s fashionable products and alluring ads.  P

Washburn-Norlands Living History Center

290 Norlands Road, Livermore, ME 04253 • 207-897-4366
www.norlands.org   • E-mail: norlands@norland.org 

Located on 445 acres of the former estate of the Washburn family, the site is a working farm and museum featuring a beautifully restored Victorian country home, farmer’s cottage, granite library, white-steepled church, one-room schoolhouse, and a large barn full of animals. The Norlands seeks to preserve the heritage of 19th-century rural life through innovative and entertaining hands-on programs for all ages. The Norlands thrives on the generosity of its members, donors, and volunteers. Public hours vary please call for more information.  G P $