Brewers begin renovations on historic Bangor building
Orono Brewing Co. owners Heather and Abe Furth have begun renovation of 29 Franklin St. in Bangor, which they purchased in December.
Heather Furth told the Bangor Daily News they weren’t able to start renovations until last week, after longtime tenants Northeast Occupational Exchange moved to Mt. Hope Avenue in Bangor. The couple’s plan to renovate the upper floors into apartments and attract a commercial tenant for the ground level.
Earlier this year, the Bangor City Council agreed to include the three-story, 14,000-square-foot building in the Great Fire of 1911 Historic District, which means the owners can restore the facade with help from historic preservation tax credits. The building was constructed in 1912 by architect C. Parker Crowell. The fire destroyed half of the city's downtown, including 100 commercial blocks, seven churches and 245 houses.
Crowell was a founder in 1902 of Thomas & Crowell, an architectural firm in Bangor. Crowell led the firm for the next 54 years. When the Great Fire of 1911 took out most of downtown Bangor, Crowell and a subsequent partner designed many of the new buildings. Through subsequent partnerships, Crowell’s firm eventually became today’s WBRC Architects Engineers, which occupies a Crowell-designed building, according to a timeline on the firm’s website.
In 2016, the Furths and Orono Brewing Co. co-owner Mark Horton unveiled plans for a tasting room and small-batch test brewery at 26 State St. in Bangor’s downtown. The Furths purchased that building in 2015 and renovated the upper floors into loft-style apartments.
According to its website, Orono Brewing Co., which opened in 2014, now has locations at 61 Margin St. and 20 Main St. in Orono, and 26 State St. in Bangor.
The 61 Margin St. location was previously an owned by Lane Construction and was used to crush rock and make cement, according to Orono’s economic development page.
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