NORWAY — The owner of the 130-year-old L.F. Pike Store said some progress is being made in her attempt to save the historic structure.
Earlier this month, Lesley Dean held a “yard sale” of the remaining merchandise in the former men’s and boys’ clothing store. Although the sales were “good,” she said it was not all that she had hoped for.
This week, a sealant will be put on the original flat roof in hopes of keeping water from coming through the ceiling.
The roof buckled under the weight of snow around March 28, flattening the peaked metal roof that was installed above the flat original roof about 10 years ago to stop leaks. In June, the Deans took the crushed metal roof off the structure.
Dean, whose father, Art Gouin, owned the store from 1980-2003, and her family are trying to save the building, but financial and health problems are an obstacle. Town officials have had an engineer review the damage and say the structure is sound for the time being.
Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey-Whitman said this week that no action is anticipated at this time. The store is one of 70 historic buildings that fall under the protection of a demolition-delay ordinance that was unanimously approved at the annual town meeting in June.
Known as The Blue Store, the building is part of the Norway Downtown National Historic District and one of the few buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1894 that wiped out a large section of the downtown business district. It features a high false front for signage and was built in several sections.
The ordinance was requested by Norway Downtown, which has a long-term goal of protecting as much of the historic downtown as possible.
The ordinance allows a careful consideration — but not a denial — of the demolition of any historic building in the district.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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