Augusta, Maine

[Portlander]

Felt that Maine's state capital was worthy of its own thread. Due to its more central location it was chosen as the head of state government in 1827 over Portland which held the title upon Maine becoming a state in 1820. Current population is now estimated at 19,000. Photos are screenshots from a new "Infinite Destinations" video and I recommend that all urban enthusiasts take the time and check out the entire catalog because the quality of the videos are excellent.

 

[Portlander]

A very attractive state capitol building in my opinion.

 

[Portlander]

 

[Portlander]

Looking down Water Street.

 

[Portlander]

The 9 story Key Plaza office building dominates the Augusta skyline and was completed in 1988. It now houses the state offices for Health and Human Services and I think the Key Bank branch and drive thru has been permanently closed which is disappointing seeing the plaza was named for the bank.

 

[Portlander]

Relatively new Capital Judicial Center building on the top left which I think is an attractive addition to the downtown area. The landmark Olde Federal Building on the lower left was completed in 1890 and was Augusta's Post Office for over a century.

 

[Portlander]

Old Fort Western is located across the Kennebec River from downtown Augusta. It was built in 1754 and I would not survive a week in that environment and would be on the first stagecoach to Portland!

 

[markhb]

The 9 story Key Plaza office building dominates the Augusta skyline and was completed in 1988. It now houses the state offices for Health and Human Services and I think the Key Bank branch and drive thru has been permanently closed which is disappointing seeing the plaza was named for the bank.

I recall Key Bank saying they were proud to be making a contribution to the revival of Water Street at the time; ISTR they had a pretty decent office presence in the building originally, in addition to the branch.

And alas, Water Street indeed does not appear in a search of Key locations in Augusta.

(Also, I believe that Key Plaza building replaced an earlier one which had been the original HQ of Depositor's Trust Corp., the bank Key bought which brought them into Maine initially.)

 

[MrDee12345]

I haven't really explored Augusta in years (ever?), but Mainers always talk about how "bad" it is.

Is it "bad" or is it just "Maine bad."

 

[Portlander]

Because it is the third smallest State Capital (Pierre and Montpelier) I think it gets overlooked on the national level and Mainers just except it for what it is which is a mid sized (for Maine) river town that is prone to flooding when the Kennebec melts. The downtown proper is limited in scope due to geography (river and elevation issues) with no ability to expand. But it does have a 5100 seat arena that previously hosted Elvis, Pearl Jam, Phish, The Grateful Dead and The Beach Boys, a full service convention center, 110' office building downtown, EAS to Boston along with government employment stability which is isn't too shabby for a city of only 19,000. Its really not that bad in my opinion so I would give it a "meh" rating.

 

[Dr. StrangeHat]

I've always been a fan of Key Bank Plaza in Augusta. When I first started getting into architecture and development around Maine, I was surprised to discover it even existed. I was only 8-9 years old when it was built. It has always stood out to me as an example of Augusta's potential to have a downtown skyline. Obviously there isn't a ton of space to grow there, but even building into the hillside and on top of the hill (like the newer Kennebec County Courthouse) would create a genuine skyline.

I think a lot of impressions of Augusta stem from the fact that the primary gateway into the city is from I-95 via Western Ave, which is a strip mall paradise. It feels decidedly suburban instead of urban, and a lot of the building stock looks old and tired. Some redevelopment along Western Ave, especially as you get closer to the capital building, would go a long way to making it feel more like a proper city and less like an afterthought.

 

[markhb]

As a suburbanist, Western Ave. doesn't bother me. What does stick out to me is that I've never seen anything you could call the "nice" part of town to live in. Anything residential I've ever seen in Augusta is either a trailer park, or it reminds me of the Hill c. 1990. I am certainly open to being proven wrong, but it seems to me that what might once have been the higher-class area was State St., and everything there is now either owned by the state (including the Blaine House of course), or else it's the offices of some lobbying firm or organization.

 

[nomc]

There is a development in the planning process for the K-Mart lot that includes a 120 room hotel, 50 unit apartment building, and two retail buildings. As far as I can tell there aren't any plans or renderings at this point, but I didn't do an extensive search.

Water St does have a ways to go - and there is plenty of potential - but it has made some good progress between Cushnoc and a few quality restaurants. There is a group that has been working to renovate the Colonial Theater for quite some time - if they can pull that off it will bring some life to that end of the street.

 

[GIL]

I've always been a fan of Key Bank Plaza in Augusta. When I first started getting into architecture and development around Maine, I was surprised to discover it even existed. I was only 8-9 years old when it was built. It has always stood out to me as an example of Augusta's potential to have a downtown skyline. Obviously there isn't a ton of space to grow there, but even building into the hillside and on top of the hill (like the newer Kennebec County Courthouse) would create a genuine skyline.

I think a lot of impressions of Augusta stem from the fact that the primary gateway into the city is from I-95 via Western Ave, which is a strip mall paradise. It feels decidedly suburban instead of urban, and a lot of the building stock looks old and tired. Some redevelopment along Western Ave, especially as you get closer to the capital building, would go a long way to making it feel more like a proper city and less like an afterthought.

The most important architectural feature of the Augusta skyline is the copper dome of the State House. That feels appropriate — and it’s outside of the downtown district, fortunately, so it can hopefully retain that pride as the city starts to grow again.

The Key Bank building has good height and looks great from Memorial Bridge, but still doesn’t compare to the elevation of the Winthrop Street Hill.

There is so much opportunity for infill multi-family housing + revitalized commercial space along the Western Avenue spine — especially near the Turnpike which also offers crucial visibility for new development. In that way, this is not u like the South Portland Maine Mall / West End.

 

[DanielPWM19]

The most important architectural feature of the Augusta skyline is the copper dome of the State House. That feels appropriate — and it’s outside of the downtown district, fortunately, so it can hopefully retain that pride as the city starts to grow again.

The Key Bank building has good height and looks great from Memorial Bridge, but still doesn’t compare to the elevation of the Winthrop Street Hill.

There is so much opportunity for infill multi-family housing + revitalized commercial space along the Western Avenue spine — especially near the Turnpike which also offers crucial visibility for new development. In that way, this is not u like the South Portland Maine Mall / West End.

Redfern could have a field day up in Augusta building some in-fill and adding density.