Old Town Factory Demolition

Greg Nolan

enthusiast
I took the long way around to Bangor today (Wednesday, 2-12) and drove past the Old Town factory --

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The machine in the foreground of some of the pictures was not working today, but two others on the other side of the buildings were hard at it.
 
Can't help but wonder how many ton's of brass Tacks and Screws are falling from the cracks and crevasses of that old factory
 
Greg, are you or Benson, or both, possibly going to grab some bricks? Benson can chime in here but he said he would get some if possible.
 
My plan is still to get some bricks and bring them to the Assembly. The demolition company has not yet answered my message about getting some. I believe that they still have lots of requests for many things from a variety of people. The most interesting bricks to me are in the foundation under the oldest wooden part of the factory which hasn't been torn down yet. My guess is that there will still be a lot of bricks left on the ground after the demolition is finished so we may just need to be patient a bit longer.

Benson
 
I'm watching the same thing happen to some old mills down here. Quite an operation and not as wasteful as some would assume. They are salvaging the brick, steel, copper, old heart pine, and even grinding up the concrete for aggregate.
 
For what it is worth, idealrecycling.net is painted on the demonlition machines -- Ideal Recycling, Inc. is a scrap metal recycling outfit about 30 miles from Old Town.

Not so very long ago, C&D (construction and demolition) debris was indiscriminately used as fill, or was dumped in a landfill along with other waste. Environmental regulation prohibited the first practice (demolition debris typically contains asbestos, lead, and other noxious materials such as drywall, that contaminates water with sulfate and releases large amounts of hydrogen sulfide into the air when decomposing), and increased landfill tipping fees eliminated the second (landfills for municipal waste must now be built to prevent contamination of groundwater and air -- they are no longer just holes in the ground). So it now pays for demolition companies to remove as much reusable material as is practical, leaving a minimum of waste that must be disposed of by landfilling in C&D landfills designed to minimize pollution -- though not necessarily as stringently built as landfills for municipal waste.

I'm not familiar in any detail with Maine's solid waste and C&D regulations, and I don't know what is required when demolishing a site like the Old Town factory. In New York, there would not likely be many bricks left lying around -- they are often ground up to become a component of "clean" fill -- though painted bricks, like painted wood, can be difficult to deal with -- lead paint means that painted wood should not be burned; painted bricks should not become clean fill. Maine may not have quite the same requirements on some materials. The buildings containing steel, however, are the first to be taken down -- though I understand from Benson that some time was devoted to clearing out asbestos from all the buildings.
 
Woulda been cool to salvage the bricks with the mural and "OLD TOWN CANOE" and reassembled somewhere.

The painted name is actually on the older wooden part of the building and would not be easy to salvage. The big one on the front is about forty feet long and the smaller one on the side is about thirty feet so they would be difficult to display even if anyone did salvage them. I was allowed to buy the Office sign as shown at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?9672-Former-Old-Town-Canoe-Shop&p=59466#post59466 but it is much smaller.

painted bricks, like painted wood, can be difficult to deal with

Most of the bricks were not painted so they may become clean fill.

Benson
 
Well, that is a great sign you got!
When I looked at the photos, I said to myself "I want that Office Door"!
Too bad, I can't find something front the Cherstnut FActory up here.
 
Bricks

I have secured ten bricks from the addition nearest the oldest wooden part of the factory as shown below. These will be in the auction at the annual Assembly for anyone who wants them. My brother and I investigated removing the clapboards containing the Old Town Canoe name from the front and side of the building but found the paint to be in exceptionally poor condition. We decided that the results were not going to be worth the effort. The plan is to tear down the oldest wooden part of the factory this week.

Benson
 

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The oldest wooden part of the factory is down now as shown in the pictures below. The only part of that building still standing are the safes. (They had to build one in the basement to support the one in the office on the second floor.) The only structures left standing are the first brick addition and the last metal addition that was on the end of the longest brick buildings. I was able to get a few more bricks for the Assembly auction from the basement of the oldest wooden part.

Benson
 

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The safes are the only thing left standing now as shown below.

Benson
 

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Benson, would there be any way for someone, (like me!) to get a brick? There is no way I am going to be able to get to the assembly. I still need to get to my first! I'd love a brick.
 
Benson, would there be any way for someone, (like me!) to get a brick? There is no way I am going to be able to get to the assembly. I still need to get to my first! I'd love a brick.

Andre may need to open the Assembly auction up to on-line bidding this year to accommodate you and others. My brother shipped some to our sister in Arizona as shown below for about $12.35 in a flat rate postage box. It would have cost over $50 to send by regular mail. He has run out of name plates so you will need to add your own. I'll check with Andre and see how he wants to handle this. While waiting for Andre to respond it might be good to have an estimate of the level of interest. Please reply here or send me a private message to let me know how many people would like one if each required a $5 contribution to the WCHA and $12.35 in shipping for up to three bricks. (No brass tags will be included.) Thanks,

Benson
 

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There appears to be a general agreement with Annie and others that the best option is to sell 10 bricks mail order for $5 each plus a minimum of $12.35 shipping on a first come / first served basis and then ten more bricks will be available for Andre to auction or sell for the best return to the organization at the WCHA assembly. All proceeds will be for the benefit the WCHA. The goal is to make some money for the group and share bricks with people who want them while making sure that nobody feels that anyone is taking unfair advantage of them. I would love to just give them all away to my friends but I have more than twenty friends here and at the Assembly. The next step is to now take some pictures of the bricks, work out the shipping details, and post the results in this thread. Feel free to send a check to: Benson Gray, 20 Fox Run Road, Falmouth, Maine 04105 if you want one (or more) of the first ten. Thanks,

Benson
 
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