Poland Spring House Submitted photo

The Poland Spring Preservation Society will present a special viewing of the 1975 Poland Spring House Fire Film at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the All Souls Chapel in Poland.

On July 3, 1975, the grand hotel known as the Poland Spring House burned to the ground. James Aikman, former news director for WMTW-News 8 stood on the porch of the adjacent Riccar Inn (now known as the Presidential Inn) while broadcasting live during the evening’s late news as the flames moved through firewalls, one after another, and the walls of the five-story building were quickly consumed.

According to the Sun Journal, “Firemen, many of them volunteers, responded quickly, but the historic building burned to the ground in a couple of hours as an estimated 3,000 stunned spectators watched.”

WMTW-News 8 was located on the grounds of the Poland Spring resort in 1975 and edited the live broadcast into a documentary for the Poland Spring Preservation Society, which was founded by Jim Aikman.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 per person. Proceeds of the film’s screening benefit the Poland Spring Preservation Society. The Poland Spring Preservation Society All Souls Chapel is located at 37 Preservation Way, Poland.

The Poland Spring Preservation Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the unique historical architecture of the Maine State Building and the All Souls Chapel, one-of-a-kind structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Maine State Building was constructed for the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, and returned to Maine by the Ricker family of Poland Spring, who had won an award for the purity of their Poland Water at the exposition. It is one of only five buildings and the only State Building remaining from the fair. The All Souls Chapel opened in 1912 under the vision of Sadie Ricker for members of the staff at Poland Spring as well as the surrounding community.