Keywords: Basilicas
Item 18385
Contributed by: Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries Date: 2005 Location: Lewiston Media: Brass
Item 9679
Front entrances of Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Lewiston, ca. 1970
Contributed by: Lewiston Public Library Date: circa 1970 Location: Lewiston Media: Phototransparency
Exhibit
Like many cities in France, Lewiston and Auburn's skylines are dominated by a cathedral-like structure, St. Peter and Paul Church. Now designated a basilica by the Vatican, it stands as a symbol of French Catholic contributions to the State of Maine.
Exhibit
Lewiston, Maine's second largest city, was long looked upon by many as a mill town with grimy smoke stacks, crowded tenements, low-paying jobs, sleazy clubs and little by way of refinement, except for Bates College. Yet, a noted Québec historian, Robert Rumilly, described it as "the French Athens of New England."
