The Androscoggin County commissioners have begun discussing whether to renovate or level the iconic Renaissance Revival courthouse building which has anchored the northwest corner of Court and Turner streets since 1857.

I think the commissioners’ deliberations should last about 2½ minutes and end with a resounding “yes” to keeping and improving the structure. My perspective is admittedly that of an historic preservationist, though I believe a decision to preserve makes good economic sense as well

Rearview Mirror

The courthouse currently houses not only the County Superior Court but Probate Court, Probate Register, Registry of Deeds, District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, and Commission administrative offices.

Discussions about what to do with the building, which began at a Commission workshop July 12, were prompted by an upcoming deadline for the use of $2.5 million in federal COVID relief funds allocated to the county that must be spent or forfeited by the end of fiscal 2024.

These funds, which had been tentatively earmarked for renovating the existing structure, will likely not suffice for that purpose. It will cost over $1 million to replace the windows, some over a century old, and additional millions to upgrade the HVAC system. There may be other problems that have not yet been identified, let alone priced.

The potential cost of improving the courthouse prompted Commission Chair Sally Christner to wonder aloud, “As a county, can we afford this building?” County budget committee member Jane Pentheny warned, “If we’re not careful, this could turn into a black hole that we just pour our money in.”

These concerns are understandable. The preservation of an old building is something of a black box. It’s hard to know what’s inside it till you open and examine it carefully, but the rewards of doing so are usually well worth the endeavor.

The loss of the present courthouse would certainly degrade the architectural beauty and diminish the historical aura of downtown Auburn.

Visually it’s hard to miss. The building’s vertical façade commands attention as one crosses the Longley Bridge from Lewiston into Auburn. Its bell tower, narrow arched windows and entryway, steep granite staircase, and tall Civil War soldier’s monument draw the eye ever skyward the closer the observer approaches, just as the Italian Renaissance palazzos it imitated sought to do.

Its designer, Gridley Bryant, was one of the most renowned 19th century New England architects of public buildings, his portfolio encompassing such landmarks as Boston’s Old City Hall, Boston City Hospital, and Bates College’s Hathorn Hall.

Together with the Auburn Hall (1865), Court Street Baptist Church (1869), Engine House (1879), Auburn Public Library (1904) and the commercial buildings flanking the first block of Main Street, the courthouse forms the core of Auburn’s historic downtown, comprising an instantly recognizable cityscape.

The courthouse has been listed on the National Historic Register since 1983. It’s pictured on the Wikipedia site for Auburn and the Androscoggin County home page. It is also prominently displayed on the City’s “Go Auburn” home page, along with a historically themed branding message designed to portray Auburn as a community that offers a bridge from the past to the future: “Nestled on the banks of the beautiful Androscoggin River, the City of Auburn is a thriving community, built upon a rich history of hard work, innovation, unity and pride.”

In the high-ceilinged, frescoed courtroom on the courthouse’s second floor, nearly every important criminal and civil trial in the county for over the past 166 years has played out, often to a crowded gallery, spinning compelling stories that could challenge the imaginations of Hollywood’s most talented writers. Portraits of the judges who have presided there encircle the room, silently observing the proceedings.

If the commissioners were to demolish and rebuild on the same or another site, I think it highly unlikely they could match the architectural distinction of the present building, and I’m even more skeptical they could save money.

If we assume hypothetically that a new building would occupy 100,000 square feet, cost $500 per square foot, and we add another 10% to demolish the existing structure, total project costs could easily run $50 million to $60 million dollars or more. Bonded out at 5% over 20 years, the annual price tag for servicing the bond would be about $5 million.

The county can, and probably should, commission a detailed engineering analysis of the building to determine the need for, and probable cost of, repairs and upgrades. I suspect, however, that the sticker for these would be a fraction of the cost of building anew.

In the calendar year 2021, according to the Commission’s annual audited report, $50,347 was spent on building repairs and $17,129 on improvements. That’s a pittance, given the age and size of the building.

If the county were to spend 10 times this sum annually over the next two decades, either by budgeting $500,000 to $600,000 a year to undertake major repairs, modernize utilities, and upgrade the building’s interior, or by bonding and completing these projects at the outset, the cost would amount to a fifth that of new construction.

While it’s true that older buildings tend to have increased “life cycle” costs (such as for heating and cooling) and that new construction usually incorporates greater conveniences (such as better handicapped accessibility), old buildings with good “bones” can be retrofitted. You don’t, as they used to say about cars (at a time when auto trade-ins were more frequent and smoking more socially acceptable), have to swap your older model for a new one just because the ash tray is full.

If properly done, a renovated Androscoggin County Courthouse can continue to be functionally serviceable, cost effective, historically authentic, and architecturally inspiring.

Elliott Epstein is a trial lawyer with Andrucki & King in Lewiston. His Rearview Mirror column, which has appeared in the Sun Journal for 16 years, analyzes current events in an historical context. He is also the author of “Lucifer’s Child,” a book about the notorious 1984 child murder of Angela Palmer. He may be contacted at epsteinel@yahoo.com