For 175 years, the maze of buildings, guard towers and brick and mortar walls of the Maine State Prison has loomed over this town. Now residents want it gone forever.
With the state building a new prison in nearby Warren, residents want the old prison demolished and turned into a 31-acre recreational park for the town.
That was the consensus of a majority of residents who filled out a survey recently on the prison's future. The state Department of Corrections asked for the town's opinion because it must begin preparing its budget; clearing the site for the town would cost about $2.4 million, officials said.
Last year, the state hired Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. of Watertown, Mass., to study options for reusing the prison. In May, the consultant offered five proposals, ranging from spending $13 million to convert the prison into offices to a $20 million plan to create a senior citizen residential facility and small office complex.
Members of the town's Comprehensive Plan Committee toured the prison and analyzed the options. In June, the committee mailed 1,000 surveys to residents. Ninety-two percent of those who responded said they want the prison demolished and the land conveyed to the town for a gateway park.
The park would open up views from Route 1 to the ocean, and create an attractive site for festivals or town events.
'I think committee members are hopeful that whatever occurs on that site in the future won't be a blight on our community,' said Town Manager Val Blastow Jr.
State officials, whose options also include doing nothing with the prison, say they will seriously consider the town's request.
'Our goal all along has been to work with the town,' said Denise Lord, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections. 'They have been a wonderful host community.'
The Maine State Prison is a Route 1 landmark. Its store, filled with handcrafted wood products made by inmates, attracts thousands of visitors each year.
The prison has little historical value, however. The original prison, which opened in 1824, was destroyed in a fire. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1924.
Earle Shettleworth, director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, toured the prison this summer and said the prison does not meet the standards for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
'What we found was a 1924 complex with a lot of modern alterations,' Shettleworth said. 'We feel it does not have the architectural integrity to meet the register's criteria.'
The prisoners housed in Thomaston will be moved into the new $68.4 million prison in Warren by November 2001.