To spot the Pilsbury Block, look for a bold, three-story red brick building with rounded corners and rows of tall arched windows right at the corner of Lisbon and Pine Streets.
Alright, you’re gazing at the legendary Pilsbury Block-the sturdy brick wonder that’s been holding its ground since 1870! Imagine the street bustling with horse-drawn wagons, the air filled with chatter and maybe the clink of coins as Lewiston’s merchants did business here. George H. Pilsbury dreamed up this structure when this corner of Lisbon Street was the pulsing heart of the city’s commerce, and with the help of Jesse T. Stevens (an engineer who never missed a detail), the grand rounded corner took shape. Now, if you let your eyes wander upward, you’ll spot those majestic arched windows and the fancy corbelled brickwork lining the top-a nod to the Italianate and Romanesque styles that were stylish back then. Just three years after it opened, this building got a big extension as Lewiston boomed, handled by the architecture super-team Fassett & Stevens. Over the years, the tenants may have changed, but the Pilsbury Block stubbornly stayed put, surviving fires, fashions, and flying rumors of secret tunnels (no word on hidden treasure-yet)! Today, it’s home to part of the Lewiston Public Library, and if you listen closely, maybe you’ll hear an echo or two of the past.
