Look for a massive, striking brick building with two tall, pointy spires topped by crosses-it stands commandingly beside the road and is hard to miss!
Welcome to the Agora Grand Event Center! As you stand here, imagine you’re about to enter one of Maine’s most breathtaking buildings. These two spires, stretching up to 220 feet, aren’t just showing off-this former church is the second-tallest building in the whole state! It all began way back in 1887, when Bishop Healy himself placed the first stone. Picture the sounds of hammers and chisels, the hopes and dreams of a growing town.
For over a century, this was St. Patrick’s Church, a marvel of Gothic beauty built with brick and rockfaced granite, proudly sitting above the city, gazing over the park. Its beautiful windows, granite trim, and arched doorways made it not just an architectural wonder but a spiritual home for generations. Back in 1896, people called it “unsurpassed,” with enough space for 1,000 souls to gather, and two spires soaring above everyone’s heads.
But every great place has its mysteries. Deep in the basement, behind cold stone walls, there was a crypt, where the church’s original priest, Monsignor Thomas Wallace, was entombed for over a century! When the last Mass was held in 2009, the church closed-only to rise again in 2016, thanks to Andrew Knight, who turned it into this stunning event center. He even got married here, making his own wedding its very first!
Perhaps the spookiest detail: the crypt became a hotel room-the only one in a former church crypt in the world! How’s that for a place to rest your head? Now, whenever you walk by the Agora Grand, you’re walking past more than a building; you’re passing by decades of faith, laughter, mystery, and maybe even a friendly ghost or two.
