An excavator from Longchamps & Sons Inc. demolishes the former Murray/Holman house Tuesday at the corner of Ware and College streets in Lewiston. Bates College purchased it many years ago and used it for various things, including storing props for its theater. Area homeowners in the the Mountain Avenue Neighborhood Association met with Geoff Swift, vice president for finance and administration at Bates, earlier this year and were told the college decided to demolish the house across from Page Hall. He said the main reasons were that the interior was in very bad shape and even if they were to restore it, it’s a one-family home and no one at Bates has a family large enough to justify buying or renting it. And for a home that big, the grounds are too small for a large family, in their opinion. The plan is to raze it then landscape the lot. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Chris Fleming of Longchamps & Sons Inc. sprays water to help keep dust particles down during Tuesday’s demolition of the former Murray/Holman house at the corner of Ware and College streets in Lewiston. Bates College purchased it many years ago and used it for various things, including storing props for its theater. Area homeowners in the the Mountain Avenue Neighborhood Association met with Geoff Swift, vice president for finance and administration at Bates, earlier this year and were told the college decided to demolish the house across from Page Hall. He said the main reasons were that the interior was in very bad shape and even if they were to restore it, it’s a one-family home and no one at Bates has a family large enough to justify buying or renting it. And for a home that big, the grounds are too small for a large family, in their opinion. The plan is to raze it then landscape the lot. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal