Pilsbury Block: 200-210 Lisbon

Located at the corner of Lisbon and Pine is the Pilsbury Block. Erected in two stages (1870 and 1873), the Pilsbury Block is among Lewiston’s earliest surviving commercial buildings, and a rare example of a transitional Italiate-Romanesque revival work. The corner section of the block was completed in 1870 from plans by Captain Jesse T. Stevens. The mason work between buildings was handled by the firm of Watson & Wooden. The block has hosted a number of stores on its ground floor, and either storage or office space above. In 1873, a three-bayed addition was joined to the Lisbon Street elevation. Drawn by the short-lived Lewiston firm of Fassett & Stevens (Edward Fassett and William H. Stevens, not to be confused with the famous Portland firm of the same name), the addition exactly replicates the design of the original building, so that only with difficulty can today’s observer perceive the block as two units. This would have been an easier task for an observer in 1873, for the addition then housed two banks (The People’s Savings and Manufacturer’s National) and its ground story was faced with granite. The Pilsbury Block presently houses the recently built Lewiston Public Library. The picture on the right is the old Lewiston Public Library.