Lewiston downtown shortly before the turn of the 20th century: Automobiles were extremely rare and the first electric trolleys, replacing horse-drawn trolleys, had just been introduced to the Twin Cities in 1894.
The population of Lewiston was 21,701, according to the “Maine Register, State Year-Book and Legislative Manual from May 1, 1895, to May 1, 1896.”
It has since grown by about 15,000. The last census in 2010 put the number at 36,592.
Worth noting: The Peck Building that now sits at the end of Lisbon Street on Main Street and serves as an L.L. Bean call center is missing in the top photo. It wasn’t built until 1899. For decades after that, the building housed Peck’s Department Store and was the retail anchor of downtown Lewiston.
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- A photo taken of Lisbon Street between 1895 and 1898 shows an electric trolley that was the public transportation in the area until the final track was abandoned in 1941.
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- This is Lisbon Street today. Cars fill the roadway once used by trolleys and buggies. Merchants and service providers are gone, replaced by others, while the shorter two-story wood-framed structures have made way for taller, three- and four-story buildings.
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