LEWISTON — After several months under wraps, work is nearly finished on the $400,000 face-lift of the Kora Shrine Temple on Sabattus Street.
Members are working on plans for next year to raise more than $1 million to work on the interior of the iconic building, Past Potentate Barry Gates said Wednesday.
Gates said the decorative window fronts were nearly all replaced. They were cast in California and shipped to Maine for installation. They’re made of a material that doesn’t patch well, he said, and some were starting to crumble, creating a potential safety hazard.
Work began in the spring and included some brick repair. It was the first major repair to the facade in more than 100 years.
“It’s a dramatic change,” Gates said.
While that job is being finished, the temple’s 2,500 members are laying the groundwork now for a capital campaign next year, forming a new nonprofit to fundraise, he said.
The building needs a new roof and, potentially, a new heating system.
“There’s significant artwork inside the building … we want to make sure those are preserved,” Gates said.
The building was built at Main and Sabattus streets in 1909 for $100,000, all from member donations. When it was rededicated in 2009, members said it was one of the most ornate Shrine temples in the country.
“We ought to be able to raise the money to maintain it 100 years later,” Gates said. “We’re working really hard to make sure the building is around for another 100 years.”
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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- Zach Bilodeau scrubs masonry on the Kora Shrine Temple on Sabattus Street in Lewiston on Wednesday. The Connecticut-based exterior restoration company he works for, Joseph Gnazzo Co., is finishing up its almost five-month renovation on the terra cotta columns and decorative windows on the historical downtown building.
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