View source for Lewiston, Maine

{{Short description|City in Maine, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Lewiston, Maine
| settlement_type    = [[List of municipalities in Maine|City]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 290
| image_style              = border:1;
| perrow                   = 1/3/2/2/1
| caption_align            = center
 |image1 = Lewiston, Maine.jpg
 |caption1 = Skyline
 |image2 = Basilique_Saint-Pierre_et_Saint-Paul2.JPG
 |caption2 = [[Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (Lewiston, Maine)|Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul]]
 |image3 = Civil War Memorial, Kennedy Park, Lewiston, Maine detail.jpg
 |caption3 = Civil War Memorial
 |image4 = Lewiston City Hall, Maine.jpg
 |caption4 = City Hall
 |image5 = HathornHall2.jpg
 |caption5 = [[Bates College]]
 |image6 = LewistonME BatesMill 2.jpg
 |caption6 = [[Bates Mill]]
}}
| image_seal         = Seal_of_Lewiston,_Maine.svg
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = 
| shield_size        = 
| nickname           = {{hlist|"The Lew"<ref>{{Cite book|title=Faith By Their Works: The Progressive Tradition at Bates, 1855–1877|last=Larson|first=Wayde|publisher=Bates College|location=Lewiston, ME}}</ref>|"[[List of city nicknames in Maine|Little Canada]]"<ref name="Barrows">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lewistonmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/1190|title=Historic Lewiston|last=Barrows|first=Gridley|date=July 1, 1974|website=The Lewiston Historical Commission|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=January 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113201526/http://www.lewistonmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/1190|url-status=live}}</ref> |"Petit Canada"<ref name="Barrows" />}}
| motto              = {{nowrap|''Industria'' {{smaller|([[Latin]])}}<br/>{{smaller|"Industry"}}}}<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the City Seal|via=City of Lewiston, Maine|url=https://www.lewistonmaine.gov/422/History-of-the-City-Seal|last=Skinner|first=Ralph|publisher=WLAM|date=December 22, 1963|access-date=March 5, 2020|archive-date=January 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105023345/http://www.lewistonmaine.gov/422/History-of-the-City-Seal|url-status=live}}</ref>
| image_map          = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-width=300|frame-height=200|frame-align=center|zoom=9|title=Lewiston|type=shape-inverse|stroke-width=2|stroke-color=#5f5f5f|fill=#5f5f5f|id}}
| map_caption        = Interactive map of Lewiston
| pushpin_map        = Maine#USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Maine##Location in the United States
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| pushpin_label      = Lewiston
| coordinates        = {{Coord|44|06|02|N|70|12|55|W|region:US-ME_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Maine|County]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[List of cities in Maine|City]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Maine]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Androscoggin County|Androscoggin]]
| parts_type         = Village
| parts              = South&nbsp;Lewiston
| established_title  = Incorporated
| established_date   = 1795 (as ''Lewistown'')<br />1863 (as ''Lewiston'')
| seat_type          = 
| seat               = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[City council]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Carl Sheline
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_23.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=April 8, 2022|archive-date=January 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110213700/https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_23.txt|url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_total_sq_mi   = 35.54
| area_land_sq_mi    = 34.15
| area_water_sq_mi   = 1.39
| area_water_percent = 4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 66
| elevation_ft       = 217
| elevation_min_m    = 
| population_total   = 37121
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_density_km2 = 419.74
| population_density_sq_mi = 1087.13
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_blank1_title = [[Demonym]]
| population_blank1  = Lewistonion
| population_note    = 
| demographics2_info1 = English (78.4%)<br />French (14.4%)
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code]]
| postal_code        = 04240, 04241, 04243
| area_code          = [[Area code 207|207]]
| area_code_type     = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
| website            = {{URL|www.lewistonmaine.gov}}
| footnotes          = 
| p2                 = 
| elevation_max_m    = 
| timezone           = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset         = −5
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern Daylight Time Zone|EDT]]
| utc_offset_DST     = −4
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 23-38740
| area_total_km2     = 92.03
| area_land_km2      = 88.44
| area_water_km2     = 3.60
}}

'''Lewiston''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|uː|ᵻ|s|t|ən}};<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXbC2EFS08gC&pg=PA255|title=The French-Canadian Heritage in New England|last=Brault|first=Gerard J.|date=1986|publisher=UPNE|isbn=9780874513592|language=en|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=January 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106021727/https://books.google.com/books?id=gXbC2EFS08gC&pg=PA255|url-status=live}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|luistɔ̃|lang}}) is the [[List of municipalities in Maine|second-most populous city]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Maine]], with a population of 37,121 according to the [[2020 United States census]]. Located in [[Androscoggin County, Maine|Androscoggin County]], the city lies halfway between [[Augusta, Maine|Augusta]], the state [[List of capitals in the United States|capital]], and [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], the state's largest city. Lewiston forms one half of the [[Lewiston–Auburn]] [[metropolitan statistical area]], commonly referred to as "L/A" or "L-A."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bates.edu/about/lewiston-auburn-maine/|title=Lewiston and Auburn, Maine {{!}} About Bates {{!}} Bates College|website=www.bates.edu|date=June 30, 2009|access-date=2017-05-10|archive-date=May 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501150206/http://www.bates.edu/about/lewiston-auburn-maine/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city has undergone significant demographic transformation, particularly since the late 20th century. While English remains the predominant language, Lewiston is home to a substantial [[French-Canadian]] population. According to some sources, it has the [[New England French|largest French-speaking population in the United States by total number]], though [[French language in the United States|second to St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, by percentage of speakers]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-13/us-english-king-surprising-number-people-maine-also-speak-french|title=In Maine, a little French goes a long way|work=Public Radio International|access-date=2017-05-10|language=en-US|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232831/https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-13/us-english-king-surprising-number-people-maine-also-speak-french|url-status=live}}</ref> The city has been recognized for its [[Cost of living|low cost of living]], access to [[Health care|healthcare]], and low violent crime rate.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2017/04/24/news/lewiston-auburn/lewiston-is-one-the-best-places-to-retire-in-the-us-according-to-forbes/|title=Lewiston is one of the best places to retire in the US, according to Forbes|date=April 24, 2017|access-date=2017-04-25|archive-date=April 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426162321/http://bangordailynews.com/2017/04/24/news/lewiston-auburn/lewiston-is-one-the-best-places-to-retire-in-the-us-according-to-forbes/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2017/04/20/the-best-places-to-retire-in-2017/#247dfb8bf3ad|title=25 Best Places to Retire in 2017|website=[[Forbes]]|access-date=2017-04-25|archive-date=April 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425180948/https://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2017/04/20/the-best-places-to-retire-in-2017/#247dfb8bf3ad|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lewiston was first settled in 1760 and incorporated as Lewistown in 1795.<ref name="Coolidge">{{Cite book|title=A History and Description of New England|last1=Coolidge|first1=Austin J.|last2=Mansfield|first2=John B.|year=1859|publisher=A.J. Coolidge|location=Boston, Massachusetts|pages=188–191|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> The presence of the [[Androscoggin River]] and its waterfalls made the area attractive for manufacturing and [[Hydropower|hydroelectric]] development. The city's transformation from a farming community to an industrial center began in the mid-19th century when Boston textile magnate [[Benjamin Bates IV|Benjamin Bates]] established manufacturing operations there. This development attracted large numbers of [[Irish Americans|Irish]] and later [[French-Canadian]] immigrants; the population grew rapidly from 1,801 in 1840 to 21,701 in 1890.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hard Times, Hard Men: Maine and the Irish 1830-1860|last=Mundy|first=James H.|publisher=Harp Publications|year=1990|isbn=0-9626389-0-0|location=Auburn Public Library|pages=59}}</ref> In the [[1850 United States census|1850 census]], 23% of Lewiston's population was Irish-born.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hard Times, Hard Men: Maine and the Irish 1830-1860|last=Mundy|first=James H.|publisher=Harp Publications|year=1990|isbn=0-9626389-0-0|location=Auburn Public Library|pages=21}}</ref>

The city became an important educational center in 1855 when local preacher [[Oren Burbank Cheney]] founded the [[Bates College|Maine State Seminary]], which became the first [[Mixed-sex education|coeducational college in New England]] and one of the first institutions of higher learning to admit African American students before the [[Emancipation Proclamation]]. The town was renamed Lewiston and reincorporated as a city in 1863, with the seminary becoming [[Bates College]] the following year.

Notable institutions include the [[Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (Lewiston, Maine)|Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul]]—the only [[Basilicas in the Catholic Church|basilica]] in Maine—along with [[Bates College]] and four other colleges and universities. The city has 44 properties listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], the [[Androscoggin Bank Colisée]], and two major medical centers: [[Central Maine Medical Center]] and [[Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center (Maine)|Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center]].

Prior to European settlement, the region was inhabited by the [[Androscoggin people]], an [[Abenaki]] tribe for whom [[Androscoggin County, Maine|the county]] is named. European contact began in the 17th century, but disease and conflict led to the tribe's displacement by 1680.

==History==
===Conception===
Prior to [[European colonization of the Americas|European colonization]], the region of Lewiston was inhabited by the [[Androscoggin people|Androscoggin]], an [[Abenaki]] people. During the 17th century, Androscoggin were among the first [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American tribes]] to make contact with European colonists in Maine. Relations soon deteriorated over colonial expansion, and conflicts with colonists and epidemics of infectious diseases devastated the Androscoggin, which responded by migrating to [[New France]] from 1669 onwards. By 1680, the Androscoggin had been completely driven out of Maine. The [[List of governors general of Canada#Governors general of New France, 1663–1760|governor of New France]], [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac|Louis de Buade]], allocated them two ''[[seigneur]]ies'' on the [[Saint Francis River (Canada–United States)|Saint Francis River]].<ref>Bruce G. Trigger (ed.): ''[[Handbook of North American Indians]]. Vol. 15. Northeast''. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 1978 {{ISBN|0-16-004575-4}}</ref>

===Colonial beginnings===
A grant comprising the area of Lewiston was given to Moses Little and Jonathan Bagley, members of the [[Pejepscot Proprietors]], on January 28, 1768, on the condition that fifty families live in the area before June 1, 1774. Bagley and Little named the new town Lewistown. Paul Hildreth was the first man to settle in Lewiston in the fall of 1770. By 1795, Lewiston was officially incorporated as a town.<ref name="Coolidge" /> At least four houses that have survived from this period are currently listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

King Avenue and Ralph Avenue were named after Ralph Luthor King, who owned the land near the fairgrounds. Elliott Avenue was named after his wife, Grace O. Elliott, whose son eventually built the family home at 40 Wellman Street.

===Industrial development and Benjamin Bates===

[[File:Benjamin E Bates founder of Bates College.jpg|thumb|Rail and textile tycoon [[Benjamin E. Bates|Benjamin Bates]]|238x238px]]
Lewiston was a slow but steadily growing farm town throughout its early history. By the early-to-mid-19th century, however, as [[water power]] was being honed, Lewiston's location on the Androscoggin River would prove to make it a perfect location for emerging industry.<ref name="Coolidge" /> In 1809, Michael Little built a large wooden sawmill next to the falls. Burned in 1814 by an [[arson]]ist, it was later rebuilt. In 1836, local entrepreneurs—predominantly the Little family and friends—formed the Androscoggin Falls [[Dam]], [[canal lock|Lock]] & [[Canal]] Company:<blockquote>...for the purpose of erecting and constructing dams, locks, canals, mills, works, machines, and buildings on their own lands and also manufacturing cotton, wool, iron, steel, and paper in the towns of Lewiston, [[Minot, Maine|Minot]], and Danville.<ref>Elder, Janus G. ''A History of Lewiston, Maine with a Genealogical Register of Early Families'' page 52.</ref></blockquote>

The sales of stock attracted [[Boston]] investors—including Thomas J. Hill, Lyman Nichols, George L. Ward and [[Alexander De Witt]]. De Witt convinced textile and rail [[Business magnate|tycoon]] [[Benjamin Bates IV|Benjamin Bates]], then-President of the [[Union Pacific Railroad]], to come to Lewiston and fund the emerging Lewiston Water Power Company. Soon after Bates arrived, the company created the first [[canal]] in the city. In the spring of 1850, some 400 Irish men recruited in and around Boston by construction contractor Patrick O'Donnell arrived in Lewiston and began work on the canal system.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hard Times, Hard Men: Maine and the Irish 1830-1860|last=Mundy|first=James H.|publisher=Harp Publications|year=1990|isbn=0-9626389-0-0|location=Auburn Public Library|pages=59}}</ref> Impressed with the labor force and "working spirit" of the Lewistonions, Bates founded the [[Bates Mill|Bates Manufacturing Company]], leading to the construction of 5 [[Mill (grinding)|mills]] starting with [[Bates Mill|Bates Mill No. 1]]. In August 1850, Maine Governor [[John Hubbard (Maine politician)|John Hubbard]] signed the incorporation act and the mill was completed 1852. Bates positioned the mill in Lewiston due to the location of the Lewiston Falls which provided the mill with power. Under Bates' supervision, during the Civil War, the mill produced textiles for the [[Union Army]]. His mills generated employment for thousands of Irish, Canadians, and immigrants from Europe. The mill was Maine's largest employer for three decades.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Maine_Emigration_and_Immigration|title=Maine Emigration and Immigration {{!}} Learn {{!}} FamilySearch.org|website=familysearch.org|access-date=January 11, 2016|archive-date=March 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301034654/https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Maine_Emigration_and_Immigration|url-status=live}}</ref>

This company began Lewiston's transformation from a small [[farming]] town into a textile manufacturing center on the model of [[Lowell, Massachusetts]].<ref name="Coolidge" /> The creation of the Bates manufacturing trusts saw rapid economic growth, positioning the city as the wealthiest city in Maine,<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=The Life of Benjamin E. Bates|last=Johnson|first=Chase|publisher=Adams Media|year=1980}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Bates College was named after Mansfield Man|last=Chase|first=Harry|publisher=National Resources Trust of Mansfield|location=Edmund Muskie Archives|page=5}}</ref> and created budding [[Wealth|affluent]] districts such as the [[Main Street–Frye Street Historic District]]. Although the odd-majority of the population was [[working class]], a distinctive [[upper class]] emerged at this time. The [[Bates Mill]] remained the largest employer in Lewiston from the 1850s to the mid-late 20th century.

[[File:SaintPeterPaulBasilicaLewiston.jpg|thumb|right|Saints Peter and Paul Basilica, one of only a few basilicas in New England, and the only one in Maine, on Ash Street]]

Railroad construction was key to the development of both Lewiston and its neighbor, Auburn. In 1849, the Androscoggin & Kennebec railroad, running through Lewiston and Auburn, connected these towns to Waterville and the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railway line between Portland, Maine, and Montreal, Quebec. The Androscoggin & Kennebec Railroad was constructed by Irish laborers, many of whom joined the Lewiston canal construction crews in 1850. The Irish laborers and their families lived in shanty-town neighborhoods called "patches".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hard Times, Hard Men|last=Mundy|first=James H.|publisher=Harp Publications|year=1990|isbn=0-9626389-0-0|location=Auburn Public Library|pages=60}}</ref> By 1854, one quarter of Lewiston's population was Irish, the highest concentration in any settlement in Maine.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hard Times, Hard Men|last=Mundy|first=James H.|publisher=Harp Publications|year=1990|isbn=0-9626389-0-0|location=Auburn Public Library|pages=59}}</ref> Subsequently, trains connected [[Quebec]] with Lewiston on a daily schedule. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the high demand for textiles helped Lewiston develop a strong industrial base through the Bates enterprise. In 1861, a flood of [[French-Canadian]] immigration into Maine began, spawned by industrial work opportunities in Maine cities with [[water power]] from waterfalls.<ref>{{Citation| last = Varney| first = George J.| title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Lewiston| place = Boston| publisher = Russell| year = 1886| url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/lewiston-me.htm| archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170505170556/http://history.rays-place.com/me/lewiston-me.htm| url-status = dead| archive-date = May 5, 2017| access-date = January 13, 2011}}</ref> This brought a significant influx of [[French-speaking Quebecer|Québécois]] millworkers who worked alongside Irish immigrants and Yankee mill girls. Lewiston's population boomed between 1840 and 1890 from 1,801 to 21,701. [[Canadiens]] settled in an area downtown that became known as Little Canada, and Lewiston's character has remained largely [[French American|Franco-American]] ever since. In 1855, a Maine preacher traveled from [[Parsonsfield, Maine|Parsonsfield]] to Lewiston to establish an institution of [[Higher education|higher learning]] in the city. In 1855, the [[Maine Legislature|Maine State Legislature]] was petitioned by Lewiston locals to found the [[Bates College|Maine State Seminary]]. The school opened in 1855, and educated the working class of Maine while also providing education for blacks and women at a time when other universities barred their entrance. At its founding, it became the first coeducational college in New England and one of the earliest proponents of [[abolitionism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bates.edu/150-years/months/september/maine-state-seminary-opens/|title=September 1857: The Maine State Seminary opens {{!}} 150 Years {{!}} Bates College|website=www.bates.edu|date=March 22, 2010|access-date=2016-02-21|archive-date=August 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824220605/http://www.bates.edu/150-years/months/september/maine-state-seminary-opens/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bates.edu/bates-history.xml |title=Bates College: A Brief History |access-date=2010-01-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528124020/http://www.bates.edu/bates-history.xml |archive-date=May 28, 2010 }}</ref><ref>Mary Caroline Crawford,[https://archive.org/details/collegegirlamer03crawgoog/page/n404 <!-- pg=284 quote=first woman college new england bates. --> The College Girl of America and the Institutions which make her what she is], (LC Page, Boston: 1904), pg. 284</ref>

During this time, in 1863, Lewiston was incorporated as a city. In 1872, St. Peter's church was built in Lewiston. This was the first French-Canadian national church in Maine. In 1864, the Maine State Seminary was renamed [[Bates College]] in honor of [[Benjamin Bates IV|Benjamin Bates]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bates.edu/150-years/history/|title=A Brief History {{!}} 150 Years {{!}} Bates College|website=www.bates.edu|date=March 22, 2010|access-date=2017-05-10|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820080301/http://www.bates.edu/150-years/history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1880, ''[[Le Messager (Maine)|Le Messager]]'', a French-language newspaper, began printing in Lewiston to serve its predominant ethnic population. The local [[Shriners|Kora Shrine]] was organized in 1891 and held its first meetings in a [[freemasonry|Masonic temple]] on Lisbon Street. This group would from 1908 to 1910 build the [[Kora Temple]] on Sabattus Street, the largest home of a [[Fraternal and service organisations|fraternal organization]] in the state. Architect [[George M. Coombs]] designed this [[Moors|Moorish]]-style structure.

City leaders decided to build a cathedral to which the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland]] could relocate. Construction of the [[Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (Lewiston, Maine)|Church of Saints Peter and Paul]] began in 1905 and ended in 1938, funded mostly through thousands of small donations from Lewiston residents. It is the largest Roman Catholic Church in Maine, and Lewiston's most prominent landmark. While the Diocese of Portland did not relocate to Lewiston, the church nevertheless became a [[basilica]] in 2004. It is one of the few American basilicas outside of a major metropolitan area.
{{wide image|Lewiston ME c1910 LOC pan 6a05744.jpg|1000px|Black and white photo of Lewiston factories {{circa|1910}}|alt=Lewiston factories c. 1910}}

===Lewiston-Auburn shoe strike===

{{main|1937 Lewiston–Auburn shoe strike}}
In 1937, one of the largest labor disputes in Maine history occurred in Lewiston and Auburn. The [[1937 Lewiston–Auburn shoe strike|Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike]] lasted from March to June and at its peak involved 4,000 to 5,000 workers on strike. After workers attempted to march across the Androscoggin River from Lewiston to Auburn, Governor [[Lewis Barrows]] sent in the [[Maine Army National Guard]]. Some labor leaders, among them CIO Secretary [[Powers Hapgood]], were imprisoned for months after a [[Maine Supreme Judicial Court]] judge issued an injunction seeking to end the strike.

===Textile investment===

[[File:Birds-eye View of Mills & Canal, Lewiston, ME.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bates Mill]] and canal {{circa|1915}}]]

After World War I, profits from the textile industry in New England mill towns such as Lewiston; [[Biddeford, Maine|Biddeford]]; [[Manchester, New Hampshire]]; [[Waterbury, Connecticut]]; and [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]], [[Haverhill, Massachusetts|Haverhill]], [[Lawrence, Massachusetts|Lawrence]] and [[Lowell, Massachusetts]] began to decline. Businesses began moving to the [[Southern United States|South]] due to lower costs of power from more modern technologies (Lewiston's [[water wheel]] technology gave way to [[hydroelectricity]], cheaper transportation—as most cotton and materials came from the South—and cheaper labor).

Starting in the late 1950s, many of Lewiston's textile mills began closing. This gradually led to a run-down and abandoned downtown area. Chain stores located downtown—[[F. W. Woolworth Company|Woolworth's]], [[W. T. Grant]], [[S. S. Kresge]], [[JC Penney]] and [[Sears Roebuck]]—shut their doors or moved to malls on the outskirts of Lewiston or Auburn. The city's flagship department store, the four-story B. Peck & Co., closed in 1982 after more than a century in business. As businesses and jobs began to leave the city, people followed. The population stopped increasing at its previous rate and began to slowly decline after 1970, then at a greater rate in the 1990s.<ref name="ci.lewiston.me.us">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ci.lewiston.me.us/history/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070619020331/http://ci.lewiston.me.us/history/|url-status=dead|title=History of Lewiston, Maine (municipal site)|archivedate=June 19, 2007}}</ref>

===Economic diversification and renaissance===
After a difficult economic period in the 1980s that saw high unemployment and downtown stagnation, several key events have led to economic and cultural growth, including the transformation of the historic [[Bates Mill|Bates Mill Complex]]. Because the city took over the complex in 1992 after back taxes went unpaid, years of taxpayer frustration in the city's need to maintain the {{convert|1.1|e6sqft|m2|adj=on}} behemoth led to two referendums (one non-binding vote, the other binding). Voters soundly supported the need to pursue redevelopment by maintaining the property and selling it to private developers. In 2001, the city sold three mill buildings to local developers. In 2003, Platz Associates sold the Bates Mill Complex, with the exception of Mill 5 and a small support building. For the next four years, a number of business enterprises expanded after Platz redeveloped the mill building.<ref name="ci.lewiston.me.us"/> The Bates Mill complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2010.

[[File:Lewiston Civil War Statue.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue in Kennedy Park, Lewiston, commemorating fallen soldiers in the Civil War]]

In May 2004, the city officials announced a plan for [[urban renewal]] near the downtown area. The plan was to demolish several blocks of 19th-century millworker housing, lay new streets with updated infrastructure, construct more owner-occupied, lower-density housing, and build a boulevard through one neighborhood using federal [[Community Development Block Grant]] funds provided over a period of ten years. Some residents of the affected neighborhoods felt that the plan was initially announced with little input from them. They formed a neighborhood group called "The Visible Community", which has since been actively involved in the planning process, and resulted in cooperation between neighbors and city officials to redesign [[Kennedy Park (Lewiston, Maine)|Kennedy Park]], including input on the location of new basketball courts, and feedback regarding creation of the largest all-concrete skate park in Maine.<ref name="Voyer2013">{{cite book|last=Voyer|first=Andrea M.|title=Strangers and Neighbors: Multiculturalism, Conflict, and Community in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZQf3AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA155|access-date=November 19, 2014|date=October 21, 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107657748|pages=155–}}</ref>

Downtown is home to a new headquarters for Oxford Networks, along with a $20-million upgrade in local fiber-optics, a new auto parts store, a campus of the for-profit [[Kaplan University]], the headquarters for [[Northeast Bank]], a parking garage, and the newly renovated [[Maine Supply Company Building|Maine Supply Co. building]], listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. That facility is now called the Business Service Center at [[Key Bank]] Plaza, and is home to the local [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, and an arrangement with a number of business service providers.

The area's renaissance has gained local, regional, and national recognition. In 2002 and again in 2006, the L-A area led the state in economic development activity, according to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development's list of business investments and expansions. In a 2006 [[KPMG International]] study measuring the cost of locating and maintaining a business, Lewiston ranked first among the New England communities analyzed, and finished 24th out of 49 U.S. communities analyzed.

Lewiston earned a 2007 [[All-America City Award]] designation by the [[National Civic League]]. The national competition "recognizes communities whose residents work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve measurable, uncommon results." 10 cities are selected as All-America Cities each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laitshappeninghere.com/?p=362|title=LEWISTON NAMED ALL-AMERICA CITY|publisher=Lewiston Auburn Maine It's Happening Here!|access-date=November 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031819/http://laitshappeninghere.com/?p=362|archive-date=November 29, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Somali and Bantu migration===
[[File:Hospital Square, Lewiston, ME.jpg|thumb|right|Hospital Square in {{circa|1910}}]]{{Main|History of the Somalis in Maine}}

In 1999, the United States government began preparations to resettle an estimated 12,000 refugees from [[Somalia]] to select cities throughout the United States. Most of the early arrivals in the United States settled in [[Clarkston, Georgia|Clarkston]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], a city adjacent to [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]. However, they were mostly assigned to low-rent, poverty-stricken inner-city areas, so many began to look to resettle elsewhere in the U.S.<ref name="Bates">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bates.edu/pix/PerceivedBarriers09Jan20.pdf|title=Perceived Barriers to Somali Immigrant Employment in Lewiston - A Supplement to Maine's Department of Labor Report|access-date=April 15, 2021|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026180004/http://abacus.bates.edu/pix/PerceivedBarriers09Jan20.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Empire Theatre, Lewiston, ME.jpg|thumb|right|Empire Theatre in 1907]]Word soon spread that Lewiston had free housing.<ref name="Jones">[https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2004/03/02_401.html "The New Yankees"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706140332/http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2004/03/02_401.html |date=July 6, 2008 }}, ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'', March/April 2004</ref> In 1999, ethnic [[Somalis]] subsequently began a secondary migration from other states to the former mill town, and after 2005, many [[Somali Bantus]], a separate ethnicity, followed suit.<ref name="Bates" />

In October 2002, then-[[Mayor]] Laurier T. Raymond wrote an [[open letter]] addressed to leaders of the Somali community, predicting a negative impact on the city's social services and requesting that they discourage further relocation to Lewiston.<ref name="Jones" /> The letter angered many and prompted some community leaders and residents to speak out against the mayor, drawing national attention. Demonstrations were held in Lewiston, both by those who supported the immigrants' presence and those who opposed it.<ref name="Great">{{Cite web |url=http://www.amconmag.com/2002/2002_11_18/cover4.html |title=The Great Somali Welfare Hunt |access-date=June 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821172040/http://www.amconmag.com/2002/2002_11_18/cover4.html |archive-date=August 21, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In January 2003, about 32 members of a [[white nationalist]] group from Illinois demonstrated in Lewiston to denounce Somali immigrants.<ref name="AP2003">{{cite news|title=Maine Somalis Generate Dueling Protests Small white nationalist group is outnumbered by 4,000 who show up to rally against racism.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-12-na-somalis12-story.html|access-date=2 November 2016|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=12 January 2003|archive-date=November 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104022714/http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jan/12/nation/na-somalis12|url-status=live}}</ref> This prompted a simultaneous counter-demonstration on the campus of [[Bates College]] to demonstrate support of the Somali community.<ref name="AP2003" /> The rally repudiating the white nationalists attracted 4,000 attendees, including governor [[John Baldacci]], Senators [[Olympia Snowe]] and [[Susan Collins (politician)|Susan Collins]] and other officials.<ref name="AP2003" /> Mayor Raymond was reportedly out of town on vacation on the day of the protests.<ref name="AP2003" />

In August 2010, the ''[[Lewiston Sun Journal]]'' reported that Somali entrepreneurs had helped reinvigorate downtown Lewiston by opening shops in previously closed storefronts. Amicable relations were also reported by the local [[Franco-Americans|Franco-American]] merchants and the Somali storekeepers.<ref>[http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/897656 Somali stores bring people back to Lisbon Street] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831172051/http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/897656 |date=August 31, 2010 }} Lewiston Sun-Journal, August 30, 2010</ref>

Somali Bantu farmers have had a positive impact on Lewiston agriculture life. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-01/somali-refugees-build-future-farmers-maine|title=Somali refugees build a future as farmers — in Maine|website=The World from PRX|date=November 29, 2013 |access-date=December 8, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209001409/https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-01/somali-refugees-build-future-farmers-maine|url-status=live}}</ref> Since migrating to Maine farming has become a part of life to some Somali Bantus.

Somali-American players contributed to the [[Lewiston High School (Maine)|Lewiston High School]] boys soccer team's state championship wins in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2023<ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Champions and Runners-up in Soccer|url=https://www.mpa.cc/index.php/interscholastic-activities-and-committees/soccer/past-champions|website=Maine Principals Association|access-date=12 April 2018|archive-date=April 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413124713/https://www.mpa.cc/index.php/interscholastic-activities-and-committees/soccer/past-champions|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="PPH2017">{{cite news|last1=Vortherms|first1=Taylor|title=Boys' soccer: Lewiston earns Class A title with OT win over Portland|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/04/boys-soccer-lewiston-earns-class-a-title-with-ot-win-over-portland/|access-date=12 April 2018|newspaper=Portland Press Herald|date=4 November 2017|archive-date=April 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413043443/https://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/04/boys-soccer-lewiston-earns-class-a-title-with-ot-win-over-portland/|url-status=live}}</ref> under coach Mike McGraw.

===Spree shooting===
{{Main|2023 Lewiston shootings}}

On October 25, 2023, a [[Spree killer|spree shooting]] occurred at two locations in Lewiston. 18 people were killed, and 13 others were injured. The first [[mass shooting]] occurred at a bowling alley during a [[Youth sports|youth league]] event, while the second occurred minutes later at a pool hall. After a two-day manhunt, the shooter, 40-year-old Robert R. Card, was found dead on October 27 from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a recycling facility in [[Lisbon, Maine|Lisbon]] after his vehicle was located nearby the night of the shooting.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Curran |first1=Kathy |last2=Pescaro |first2=Mike |date=October 28, 2023 |title=Maine mass shooting suspect found dead, sources say |url=https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/maine-mass-shooting-suspect-found-dead-sources-say/3173562/ |access-date=October 28, 2023 |website=NBC Boston |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 28, 2023 |title=Maine Shootings: Update from The New York Times |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/27/us/maine-shooting-lewiston-manhunt |access-date=October 28, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was the deadliest [[mass shooting]] in the history of Maine.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspect-maine-mass-shooting-dead-senior-law-enforcement-sources-say-rcna122409|title=Suspect in Maine mass shooting is dead, senior law enforcement sources say|publisher=NBC News|last1=Helsel|first1=Phil|last2=Romero|first2=Dennis|date=October 27, 2023|accessdate=October 27, 2023}}</ref>

==National Register of Historic Places listings==
{{div col|colwidth=44em}}
* [[Androscoggin Mill Block]]
* [[Atkinson Building]]
* [[Bergin Block]]
* [[Bradford House (Lewiston, Maine)|Bradford House]]
* [[Captain Holland House]]
* [[College Block-Lisbon Block]]
* [[Continental Mill Housing]]
* [[Cowan Mill]]
* [[Dominican Block]]
* [[Dr. Louis J. Martel House]]
* [[Dr. Milton Wedgewood House]]
* [[First Callahan Building]]
* [[First McGillicuddy Block]]
* [[First National Bank (Lewiston, Maine)|First National Bank]]
* [[Grand Trunk Station (Lewiston)|Grand Trunk Railroad Station]]
* [[Hathorn Hall]], [[Bates College]]
* [[Healey Asylum]]
* [[Holland-Drew House]]
* [[James C. Lord House]]
* [[John D. Clifford House]]
* [[Jordan School]]
* [[Kora Temple]]
* [[Lewiston City Hall (Lewiston, Maine)|Lewiston City Hall]]
* [[Lewiston Public Library]]
* [[Lewiston Trust and Safe Deposit Company]]
* [[Lord Block]]
* [[Lower Lisbon Street Historic District]]
* [[Lyceum Hall]]
* [[Maine Supply Company Building]]
* [[Manufacturer's National Bank]]
* [[Marcotte Nursing Home]]
* [[Oak Street School (Lewiston, Maine)|Oak Street School]]
* [[Odd Fellows Block (Lewiston, Maine)|Odd Fellows Block]]
* [[Osgood Building]]
* [[Pilsbury Block]]
* [[Philip M. and Deborah N. Isaacson House]]
* [[Saint Mary's General Hospital]]
* [[Savings Bank Block]]
* [[Second Callahan Block]]
* [[Sen. William P. Frye House]]
* [[St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Lewiston, Maine)|St. Joseph's Catholic Church]]
* [[Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (Lewiston, Maine)|Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul]]
* [[Trinity Episcopal Church (Lewiston, Maine)|Trinity Episcopal Church]]
* [[US Post Office-Lewiston Maine]]
* [[Union Block (Lewiston, Maine)|Union Block]]
{{div col end}}

==Geography==
[[File:Kennedy Park, Lewiston, Maine.jpg|thumb|right|Kennedy Park in 2017]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|35.54|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|34.15|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|1.39|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=November 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112090031/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 12, 2012 }}</ref> Lewiston is drained by the [[Androscoggin River]], which forms its western border. The city is bordered by Auburn beyond the river, as well as the towns of [[Greene, Maine|Greene]], [[Sabattus, Maine|Sabattus]], and [[Lisbon, Maine|Lisbon]]. It is between [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], the state's largest city and cultural center, and the state capital of [[Augusta, Maine|Augusta]].

===Neighborhoods===

====Downtown====
Downtown Lewiston runs from Oxford Street up to Jefferson Street, and from Adams Avenue to Main Street. This is the city's most densely settled area, home to about half the population. It contains mostly housing, although on Lisbon Street and Main Street, it is entirely businesses. This neighborhood was once the commercial hub of the whole county, but with the city's economic decline, many downtown stores closed and the former mill housing became run-down, resulting in fallen land values. But like many post-industrial centers, there has followed a period of renovation and revitalization that continues today.

[[File:Kora Temple, Lewiston, Maine Shriners.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kora Temple]] Shrine]]
[[File:Holy Family Catholic Church, Lewiston, Maine.jpg|thumb|Holy Family Catholic Church]]

This neighborhood includes:
* Lisbon Street Business District
* Country Kitchen Bread Factory
* Tree Street Youth Center
* Lewiston City Hall
* Lewiston Public Library
* Bates Mill Complex
* The Root Cellar
* Kennedy Park
* The Public Theatre
* S.S. Peter and Paul Basilica
* [[Agora Grand Event Center]], formerly St. Patrick's Church
* [[St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Lewiston, Maine)|St. Joseph's Church]]
* [[Central Maine Medical Center]]
* Railroad Park
* [[Androscoggin Bank Colisée]]
* Webb's Market
* Farmers Market

====Webster Street neighborhood====
Consisting mostly of suburban mid-income housing, this neighborhood runs between Lisbon and Webster Streets, East Avenue, and Alfred Plourde Parkway. Schools that serve this neighborhood are Farwell Elementary, Martel Elementary, Lewiston Middle School, and Lewiston High School.

====Pond Road neighborhood====
This neighborhood is bounded by the triangle formed by Pond Road, Randall Road, and Sabattus Street (Route 126). This neighborhood is mostly mid-income suburban residential. McMahon Elementary, Lewiston Middle School, and Lewiston High School serve the area.

===Climate===
Lewiston has a [[humid continental climate]], with very significant temperature variation throughout the year. Summers are usually short, warm, and humid, while winters tend to be very cold, long, and snowy. Lewiston averages {{convert|74|in|cm}} of snow annually, although this number varies greatly from winter to winter. Snow tends to be the dominant form of precipitation between late November and late March, although [[freezing rain]], [[ice pellets|sleet]], and [[rain]] can also occur in the winter when large low pressure systems track directly over or west of the city. Summer in Lewiston typically consists of pleasant temperatures, although high humidity can make the temperature feel more uncomfortable at times. Severe summertime storms, such as [[tornado]]es and [[tropical cyclone]]s are rare, but not unheard of.

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Lewiston, Maine (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893&ndash;2006)
|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 64
|Feb record high F = 65
|Mar record high F = 85
|Apr record high F = 91
|May record high F = 101
|Jun record high F = 99
|Jul record high F = 102
|Aug record high F = 100
|Sep record high F = 97
|Oct record high F = 90
|Nov record high F = 75
|Dec record high F = 67

|Jan high F = 28.4
|Feb high F = 31.6
|Mar high F = 40.3
|Apr high F = 52.9
|May high F = 65.3
|Jun high F = 74.1
|Jul high F = 79.9
|Aug high F = 79.2
|Sep high F = 70.3
|Oct high F = 57.6
|Nov high F = 45.0
|Dec high F = 34.2
|year high F = 54.9
|Jan mean F = 20.0
|Feb mean F = 22.6
|Mar mean F = 31.4
|Apr mean F = 43.9
|May mean F = 55.6
|Jun mean F = 64.9
|Jul mean F = 70.8
|Aug mean F = 69.8
|Sep mean F = 61.3
|Oct mean F = 49.4
|Nov mean F = 38.2
|Dec mean F = 27.3
|year mean F = 46.3
|Jan low F = 11.6
|Feb low F = 13.7
|Mar low F = 22.6
|Apr low F = 34.8
|May low F = 46.0
|Jun low F = 55.8
|Jul low F = 61.8
|Aug low F = 60.4
|Sep low F = 52.2
|Oct low F = 41.2
|Nov low F = 31.4
|Dec low F = 20.4
|year low F = 37.7

|Jan record low F = -28
|Feb record low F = -28
|Mar record low F = -18
|Apr record low F = 5
|May record low F = 26
|Jun record low F = 34
|Jul record low F = 44
|Aug record low F = 37
|Sep record low F = 28
|Oct record low F = 20
|Nov record low F = 2
|Dec record low F = -27

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.28
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.24
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.53
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.04
|May precipitation inch = 3.18
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.28
|Jul precipitation inch = 3.51
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.36
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.74
|Oct precipitation inch = 4.90
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.94
|Dec precipitation inch = 4.18
|year precipitation inch = 45.18
|Jan snow inch = 19.4
|Feb snow inch = 17.3
|Mar snow inch = 12.3
|Apr snow inch = 2.9
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 1.6
|Dec snow inch = 11.6
|year snow inch = 65.1
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 10.0
|Feb precipitation days = 8.2
|Mar precipitation days = 10.3
|Apr precipitation days = 9.9
|May precipitation days = 11.5
|Jun precipitation days = 11.5
|Jul precipitation days = 10.7
|Aug precipitation days = 9.8
|Sep precipitation days = 8.7
|Oct precipitation days = 9.4
|Nov precipitation days = 9.3
|Dec precipitation days = 10.9
|year precipitation days = 120.2
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 6.4
|Feb snow days = 5.7
|Mar snow days = 4.6
|Apr snow days = 0.8
|May snow days = 0.1
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.9
|Dec snow days = 5.0
|year snow days = 23.4
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name=NCEI>{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00174566&format=pdf
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| title = Station: Lewiston, ME
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020)
| access-date = May 22, 2021
| archive-date = May 22, 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210522121547/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00174566&format=pdf
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name = XMACIS2>{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS2
|access-date = June 14, 2023
|archive-date = August 15, 2019
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190815183401/http://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|url-status = live
}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| 1790 = 532
| 1800 = 948
| 1810 = 1038
| 1820 = 1312
| 1830 = 1549
| 1840 = 1801
| 1850 = 3584
| 1860 = 7424
| 1870 = 13600
| 1880 = 19083
| 1890 = 21701
| 1900 = 23761
| 1910 = 26247
| 1920 = 31791
| 1930 = 34948
| 1940 = 38598
| 1950 = 40974
| 1960 = 40804
| 1970 = 41779
| 1980 = 40481
| 1990 = 39757
| 2000 = 35690
| 2010 = 36592
| 2020 = 37121
| estyear = 2022
| estimate = 38493
| footnote = sources:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.library.umaine.edu/census/townsearch.asp|title=Fogler Library - Maine Census Population Totals - Database Search Results for Minor Civil Divisions|access-date=December 8, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929135907/http://www.library.umaine.edu/census/townsearch.asp|archive-date=September 29, 2011 }}, accessed December 2007.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=lewiston&_state=04000US23&_county=lewiston&_cityTown=lewiston&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph|title=Lewiston city, Maine - Population Finder - American FactFinder<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=January 10, 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212053032/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=lewiston&_state=04000US23&_county=lewiston&_cityTown=lewiston&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Lewiston city, Maine – racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / ethnicity <small>(''NH = non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Lewiston city, Maine|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=160XX00US2338740&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=October 26, 2023|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026180010/https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALSF12000.P004?q=160XX00US2338740|url-status=live}}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lewiston city, Maine|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US2338740&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=October 26, 2023|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026180010/https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2010.P2?g=160XX00US2338740|url-status=live}}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lewiston city, Maine|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US2338740&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=October 26, 2023|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026180012/https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P2?g=160XX00US2338740|url-status=live}}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|33,896
|31,273
|style='background: #ffffe6; |28,621
|94.97%
|85.46%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |77.10%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|361
|3,129
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,108
|1.01%
|8.55%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.76%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|100
|141
|style='background: #ffffe6; |143
|0.28%
|0.39%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.39%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|299
|384
|style='background: #ffffe6; |431
|0.84%
|1.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.16%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|10
|14
|style='background: #ffffe6; |27
|0.03%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Some Other Race]] alone (NH)
|30
|53
|style='background: #ffffe6; |173
|0.08%
|0.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.47%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or multi-racial]] (NH)
|546
|868
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,700
|1.53%
|2.37%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.58%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|448
|730
|style='background: #ffffe6; |918
|1.26%
|1.99%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.47%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''35,690'''
|'''36,592'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''37,121'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

As of the 2020 [[census]], there were 37,121 people residing in the city. At the 2010 [[census]], there were 36,592 people, 15,267 households, and 8,622 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1071.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 16,731 housing units at an average density of {{convert|489.9|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. In 2020, the racial makeup of the city including Hispanics in the racial categories was 77.9% White, 13.9% Black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.4% Native American, and 1.0% some other race. 5.5% were of two or more races.<ref name="2020census">{{cite web | publisher=United States Census Bureau | title=Explore Census Data | website=Explore Census Data | url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US2338740&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1 | access-date=2023-06-13 | archive-date=June 13, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613103120/https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US2338740&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1 | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2010, the racial makeup of the city was 86.6% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 8.7% Black, 0.4% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|American Indian]] and Alaska Native, 1.0% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 2.0% [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] (of any race), 0.6% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|some other race]], and 2.6% from two or more races.<ref name="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=American FactFinder|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212055711/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2020|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=November 23, 2012}}</ref>

In 2010, there were 15,267 households, of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.5% were non-families. Of all households, 34.4% were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90.

The median age in the city was 37.4 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

===Native language===
Survey Year 2000 Source:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apps.mla.org/map_data_results%26state_id%3D23%26county_id%3D%26mode%3D%26zip%3D%26place_id%3D38740%26cty_id%3D%26a%3D%26ea%3D%26order%3D%26ll%3Dall|title=Data Center Results|website=apps.mla.org|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-date=September 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902021352/https://apps.mla.org/map_data_results%26state_id%3D23%26county_id%3D%26mode%3D%26zip%3D%26place_id%3D38740%26cty_id%3D%26a%3D%26ea%3D%26order%3D%26ll%3Dall|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Language
! Population
! Percentage (%)
|-
| [[English Language|English]]
| 24,250
| 72.51%
|-
| [[French Language|French]]
| 8,620
| 25.77%
|-
| [[Spanish Language|Spanish]]
| 280
| 0.83%
|-
| Other languages
| 293
| 0.88%
|}

===Voter registration===
{| class=wikitable
! colspan = 6 | Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January 2015<ref>{{cite web |title = Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of January 7, 2015 |publisher = Maine Bureau of Corporations |url = http://maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/data/r-e-active.pdf |access-date = June 18, 2015 |archive-date = September 25, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190925052309/https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/data/r-e-active.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Total Voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
| [[Maine Democratic Party|Democratic]]
| align = center | 10,400
| align = center | 42.11%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
| Unenrolled
| align = center | 8,636
| align = center | 34.97%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
| [[Maine Republican Party|Republican]]
| align = center | 4,307
| align = center | 17.44%
|-
| {{party color cell|Green Party (United States)}}
| [[Maine Green Independent Party|Green Independent]]
| align = center | 1,351
| align = center | 5.47%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! align = center | 24,694
! align = center | 100%
|}

==Politics==
{{see also|List of mayors of Lewiston, Maine}}
{| border = "2"
|+ Lewiston city vote<br/> by party in presidential elections
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
! [[Third party (United States)|Third Parties]]
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=December 27, 2020|archive-date=October 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013104910/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''55.30%''' ''9,616''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|41.59% ''7,232''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|3.11% ''540''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[2016 United States presidential election|2016]]<ref name="auto"/>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''48.96%''' ''8,222''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|43.69% ''7,336''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|7.35% ''1,185''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[2012 United States presidential election|2012]]<ref name="auto"/>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''60.61%''' ''9,624''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|36.50% ''5,796''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|2.89% ''459''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]<ref name="auto"/>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''62.84%''' ''10,629''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|35.24% ''5,961''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|1.92% ''324''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|[[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]<ref name="auto"/>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''61.73%''' ''11,021''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|36.53% ''6,523''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|1.74% ''311''
|-
|}

==Economy==
===Large businesses===
* [[Central Maine Medical Center]]: Founded by Edward H. Hill in the mid-1860s CMMC (Central Maine Medical Center) is downtown at High Street. The campus includes several large parking facilities, a [[LifeFlight of Maine]] helipad. In recent years the hospital has created the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute, and the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing. The hospital has approximately 250 beds, and approximately 300 physicians. It is a Level III trauma center. Central Maine Medical Center is the flagship hospital of Central Maine Medical Family. The organization runs two other hospitals, one in [[Bridgton, Maine|Bridgton]] and another in [[Rumford, Maine|Rumford]]. It also operates CMMC College of Nursing and Health Professions; and many affiliated long-term care facilities, clinics and practices throughout central and western Maine. The current president of the hospital chain is Dr. Steven G. Littleson. The Central Maine Medical Family is a block away from the hospital on Bates Street in the Lowell Square Building, a refurbished textile factory. CMMC recently underwent major renovations to their emergency department.[[File:Sun-Journal office, Lewiston, Maine.jpg|thumb|right|''The Lewiston Sun Journal'' on Park Street]]
* Country Kitchen Bakery: Country Kitchen is downtown between Lisbon and Park streets. Owned by Georgia-based [[Flowers Foods]], Country Kitchen currently services all of the United States. It operates a second factory a few hundred feet away between Canal and Lincoln streets.
* [[Walmart]] Distribution Center: Walmart currently operates a {{convert|485000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} warehousing facility in Lewiston. It is the state's largest facility, and is one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) from exit 80 on I-95 on Alfred A. Plourde Parkway. The facility is responsible for food distribution to all New England Walmarts.
* ''[[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)|Sun Journal]]'': The Sun Journal is a daily newspaper that is headquartered on Park Street. It operates several different offices throughout Central and Western Maine. In Androscoggin County it prints the City Edition, news about the Lewiston-Auburn area. They also print the Oxford County, Franklin County, and State Editions. It is the third largest newspaper in the state.
* Modula - System Logistics: An engineering and manufacturing company which designs and builds automated storage equipment used in distribution centers around the country.
* [[Sazerac Company]], the owner of Boston Brands of Maine, purchased the White Rock bottling plant in Lewiston on Saratoga Street where they run a 24/7 production of the popular [[Fireball Cinnamon Whisky|Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/02/17/maker-of-fireball-cinnamon-whisky-moving-to-24-7-production-in-lewiston-adding-46-jobs/|title=Maker of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky moving to 24/7 production in Lewiston, adding 46 jobs|last=Journal|first=Kathryn SkeltonSun|date=2020-02-17|website=Lewiston Sun Journal|access-date=2020-04-01|archive-date=April 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420110951/https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/02/17/maker-of-fireball-cinnamon-whisky-moving-to-24-7-production-in-lewiston-adding-46-jobs/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Lisbon Street===
* Downtown Lisbon Street: Lisbon Street is the commercial and government center of Lewiston. In its downtown section, it features many law offices, the city library, the district court, Senator [[Susan Collins (politician)|Susan Collins]]' office, several stores created by and for the Somali community, and a variety of restaurants and shops. Downtown Lisbon Street is also home to the Emerge Film Festival as well as Art Walks on the last Friday of each month during summer.
* Upper Lisbon Street: Past downtown features several malls, including the Lewiston Promenade Mall and the Lewiston Mall. There are also many chain restaurants, some car dealerships, and many other private businesses.

===Main Street===
[[File:Lewiston Home 1.jpg|thumb|right|A home in Lewiston, off Main-street]]
[[U.S. Route 202 in Maine|U.S. Route 202]] and Maine State Routes [[Maine State Route 11|11]] and [[Maine State Route 100|100]] are co-signed along Main Street.

* Downtown Main Street: Main Street starts near the downtown area at the Governor James B. Longley Memorial Bridge, which crosses from Auburn. Crossing into Lewiston, one passes Veterans Memorial Park, a large park on the waterfront that commemorates all veterans. Next is a small hydro-plant that was used to power the textile mills on Canal Street. After the canal bridge there is the downtown section of Main Street. It features the [[L.L. Bean]] Call Center in the Peck Building, a [[TD Bank, N.A.|TD Bank]] branch, the former St. Joseph's Church, Central Maine Medical Center, in addition to many other businesses.
* Upper Main Street: Past downtown there are several businesses and several chain stores and restaurants, but it is mostly residential. The street is lined with large 19th-century [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] mansions, some of which remain houses and some which have been converted into doctors' offices.

===Top employers===
According to Lewiston's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ci.lewiston.me.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5489|title=City of Lewiston ACFR}}</ref> the top employers in the city are:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of Employees
|-
|1
| [[Central Maine Medical Center]]
|2,135
|-
|2
| [[Covenant Health Systems|Sisters of Charity Health Systems]]
|1,169
|-
|3
| [[TD Bank, N.A.|TD Bank]]
|989
|-
|4
| [[Bates College]]
|947
|-
|5
| [[Wal-Mart Stores]]
|622
|-
|6
| [[McKesson Corporation|McKesson]]
|380
|-
|7
| [[Lepage Bakeries]]
|375
|-
|8
| [[Sazerac Company|Sazerac/Boston Brands of Maine]]
|279
|-
|9
| Androscoggin Home Health
|273
|-
|10
| State of Maine
|250
|}

==Arts and culture==
===Library===
* The [[Lewiston Public Library]] has played a major role in the emerging culture of Lewiston. It was renovated and expanded in 1996. The library is downtown on the corner of Lisbon Street and Pine Street and has over 150,000 items in its collection. Recently, it opened the [[Marsden Hartley]] Cultural Center, holding various community events such as concerts, lectures, and film festivals.
[[File:BatesCollegeMuseum2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bates College Museum of Art]]]]

===Museums===
* Museum L-A: Museum L-A is a museum in a former textile factory building. It honors the people who worked and lived in this community. At [[Museum L-A]] visitors can walk through a simulated production line, then view exhibits covering the textile, shoe, and brick industries that once thrived in Lewiston and Auburn. The museum is in Bates Mill Number 4 in the Bates Mill Complex. In June 2009 the museum acquired Camden Mill and plans on moving to those facilities once it is refurbished.
* The [[Bates College Museum of Art]] features a wide variety of art. The art students at this school create much of this city's art life.
* The Atrium Gallery: at the [[University of Southern Maine]] campus in Lewiston. This Museum features a wide variety of art.

===The Franco Center===
The Franco Center opened in 2000 in what was formerly St. Mary's Parish. The performing arts center programs events for both Franco-American related performances as well as other cultural displays, such as the center's Piano and Celtic Series. The diverse programming of the venue hosts both local and international performers. The center also hosts events and serves as a museum of the city's Franco-American past with historical artifacts and documentation on display as well as a small library.

===The Public Theatre===
Lewiston also features The Public Theatre, which puts on different plays throughout the year with about six to eight productions per season. It is downtown on Maple St. It was on Park street. It features all types of plays, with actors from all over the world. Its offices are in Auburn at the Great Falls Plaza.

===Events===
====Emerge Film Festival====
The Emerge Film Festival was first held in June 2014 in downtown Lewiston and Auburn. In 2019 the festival was held at Rinck Advertising and the Franco Center.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Schedule {{!}} Emerge Film Festival|url=http://emergefilmfestival.org/schedule|website=emergefilmfestival.org|access-date=2020-05-04|archive-date=February 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217114155/http://emergefilmfestival.org/schedule|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

====The Great Falls Balloon Festival====
The [[Great Falls Balloon Festival]] is an event that is held one weekend in August every year. The Festival includes launching of balloons, games, and carnival rides. The launch sites take place at several open parks on the Lewiston-Auburn Androscoggin Riverfront. People come from all around the country and Canada to see the festivities.

====Festival Franco====
Formerly known as Festival de Joie, Festival FrancoFun is held annually at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée and is a celebration of the city's Franco-American heritage. The festival features performances from [[French-Canadian]] musicians as well as native [[Cuisine of Quebec|French-Canadian food]].

====Liberty Festival====
Held on July 4 of each year, the festival is the name given to the fireworks event over the Great Falls of the [[Androscoggin River]] in between the twin cities. The fireworks are launched in West Pitch Park in Auburn. Major viewpoints of the fireworks are Veterans Park, railroad Park and Great Falls Plaza in Auburn.

====Patrick Dempsey Challenge====
Lewiston hosts the annual Dempsey Challenge, which began in 2009. The event, hosted by Lewiston-native [[Patrick Dempsey]], in a run/walk and cycling fundraiser for cancer research. In its opening year the event raised over one million dollars. The event has attracted famous athletes from all around including participants in the [[Tour de France]]. All the proceeds go to the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope at the Central Maine Medical Center.

==Sports and recreation==
===The Androscoggin Bank Colisée===

The center of sports in Lewiston is the [[Androscoggin Bank Colisée]] (formerly known as the Central Maine Civic Center). The [[Lewiston Maineiacs]], the only American team to have played in the [[Quebec Major Junior Hockey League]], played their first season in 2003–2004 and dissolved the team after the 2010–2011 season. The Colisée is also the home to the state Class A and Class B high school hockey championships each year. The city as a whole is known for its strong passion for the game of hockey, likely related to its [[French American]] heritage. Two Lewiston schools, Lewiston High School and [[St. Dominic Regional High School]] (now in Auburn), combine for over half of the state class A high school hockey championships in the state's history. During the 2013–2014 American Hockey League season, the [[Portland Pirates]] played their first 12 home games at the Colisée while the [[Cumberland County Civic Center]] is being renovated.

The junior [[Maine Nordiques (junior hockey)|Maine Nordiques]] of the [[North American Hockey League]] have played their home games at the Colisée since 2019.

===Ali vs. Liston rematch===
[[File:Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston.jpg|thumb|alt=Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston|Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston]]
In May 1965, Lewiston became the venue for a [[Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II|heavyweight title rematch]] between [[Muhammad Ali]] and [[Sonny Liston]]; Ali had defeated Liston in a controversial fight in [[Miami Beach, Florida]], in February 1964, and the [[World Boxing Council]] was demanding an immediate rematch, which was against [[World Boxing Association]] rules (the WBA eventually stripped Ali of his title). The rematch was originally planned to be held in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], but was halted by [[Massachusetts]] boxing authorities due to licensing issues. Promoters were eventually able to frame a lucrative deal moving the fight to the Colisée in Lewiston. As the venue held less than 3,700 spectators, only 2,434 fans were present, setting an all-time record for the lowest attendance for a [[List of heavyweight boxing champions|heavyweight championship]] match. The fight was the scene of the famous photograph of Ali standing over Liston taunting him with his glove.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1152502/1/index.htm | work=CNN | title=Most Popular | access-date=June 1, 2011 | archive-date=August 22, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822080438/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1152502/1/index.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> Ali won by first-round knockout.

In May 2025, a statue of Ali would be unveiled in Lewiston 60 years after the fight took place.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wmtw.com/article/lewiston-maine-muhammad-ali-statue-installed/64928702|title=Maine's Muhammad Ali statue unveiled in Lewiston|first1=Jamie|last1=Azulay|first2=Connor|last2=Clement|publisher=WMTW|date=May 31, 2025|accessdate=August 4, 2025}}</ref>

===Lewiston Twins (1891–1930) ===
Lewiston was home to [[minor league baseball]]. Beginning in 1891, Lewiston was home to the [[Lewiston Twins]] and other teams, who played in various seasons through 1930. Lewiston teams played as members of the [[New England League]] (1891–1896, 1901), [[Maine State League]] (1907), [[Atlantic Association]] (1908) and New England League (1914–1915, 1919, 1926–1930). [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] member [[Jesse Burkett]] managed the Lewiston Twins in 1928 and 1929. Between 1901 and 1919, Lewiston teams played home games at A.A.A. Park. Beginning in 1926, the Lewiston Twins played home games at Lewiston Athletic Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=burket001jes|title=Jesse Burkett Minor Leagues Statistics & History|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308141613/https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=burket001jes|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/430656953/|title=The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts on April 21, 1914 · 7|website=Newspapers.com|date=April 21, 1914|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209132623/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/430656953/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1460|title=AAA Park in Lewiston, ME history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-date=January 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131030005/https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1460|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1461|title=Lewiston Athletic Park in Lewiston, ME history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-date=February 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208235751/https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1461|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Maine Nordiques (1973–1977)===
The [[Maine Nordiques]] were a professional hockey team that operated in the former [[North American Hockey League (1973–77)|North American Hockey League]] from 1973 to 1977. They were based at the Central Maine Youth Center in Lewiston. The Nordiques served as a farm club for the [[Quebec Nordiques]] of the [[World Hockey Association]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Maine Nordiques Statistics and History | publisher = hockeyDB.com | url = http://www.hockeydb.com/stte/maine-nordiques-6717.html | access-date = December 23, 2014 | archive-date = May 22, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140522181306/http://www.hockeydb.com/stte/maine-nordiques-6717.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Lewiston Maineiacs===
The [[Lewiston Maineiacs]] were a [[junior ice hockey|major junior hockey]] team that played in the [[Quebec Major Junior Hockey League]] (QMJHL). The Maineiacs moved to Lewiston in 2003 from [[Sherbrooke]], Quebec, and were the only team in the QMJHL in the United States. They played their home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. In 2006–2007, the Maineiacs won the [[Jean Rougeau Trophy]] for having the best record in the QMJHL, won the [[President's Cup (QMJHL)|President's Cup]] as QMJHL playoff champion, and represented the league at the [[2007 Memorial Cup]]. Several Maineiacs alumni have played in the [[National Hockey League]], including [[Jaroslav Halák]], [[Jonathan Bernier]], [[David Perron]] and [[Alexandre Picard (ice hockey)|Alexandre Picard]]. The Maineiacs were disbanded in 2011.

===Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques===
The [[Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques]] were a [[Junior ice hockey#Tier III|Tier III junior ice hockey]] team that played in the [[North American 3 Hockey League]]. During the 2018–2019 season the team recorded a 50–5 record, winning the NA3HL regular season championship and the Coastal Division championship. The team also made it to the Fraser Cup finals this season, losing a close game to the [[Texas Brahmas]] 2–1. The team ceased operations after the 2019–2020 season.

===Maine Nordiques (2019–present)===
{{main|Maine Nordiques (junior hockey)}}

The Maine Nordiques are a [[Junior ice hockey#Tier II|Tier II junior ice hockey]] team in the [[North American Hockey League]]'s East Division. They started play during the 2019–2020 season at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée.<ref>{{cite web |title=NAHL team in Lewiston, Maine approved for the 2019-20 season |url=http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=26277 |website=NAHL.com |date=February 28, 2019 |access-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-date=January 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125192522/http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=26277 |url-status=live }}</ref> The team is coached by Nolan Howe, grandson of [[Gordie Howe]] and son of [[Mark Howe]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fournier |first1=Nathan |title=Maine Nordiques name Howe as first Head Coach |url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/03/25/junior-hockey-nolan-howe-will-be-maine-nordiques-first-nahl-coach-staff-added-throughout-the-organization/ |website=SunJournal.com |date=March 25, 2019 |access-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-date=August 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826182618/https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/03/25/junior-hockey-nolan-howe-will-be-maine-nordiques-first-nahl-coach-staff-added-throughout-the-organization/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:Hathorn Hall (extended).jpg|thumb|right|[[Bates College]] in central Lewiston|289x289px]]
Lewiston's public education system consists of five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school with a regional technical center that serves multiple school districts. The district is home to relatively new buildings constructed for Farwell Elementary School and Pettingill School, now replaced with the 600 student capacity Geiger Elementary School. In 2019, Martel and Longley combined into Robert V. Connors Elementary School and houses around 650 students pre-k to 6.

===Colleges and universities===
* [[Maine College of Health Professions]]
* [[Bates College]]
* [[University of Southern Maine]] – Lewiston/Auburn Campus
* [[Central Maine Community College]] – Auburn

===Public schools===
[[Lewiston Public Schools]] operates public schools.
* [[Lewiston High School (Maine)|Lewiston High School]] (9–12) 1,446 students
* Lewiston Regional Technical Center (9–12)
* [[Lewiston Middle School]] (7–8)
* Farwell Elementary School (K–6)
* Raymond A Geiger Elementary School (K–6)
* Robert V. Connors Elementary School (K–6)
* Montello School (K–6)
* Thomas J McMahon Elementary School (K–6)

===Private schools===
* The Discovery School (PK-12)
* [[Saint-Dominic Academy]]
* Vineyard Christian School (PK-12)

===Charter Schools===
* Acadia Academy (PK-6)

==Media==
===Newspapers===
* The ''[[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)|Sun Journal]]'' prints a daily newspaper in four different editions statewide. The Sun Journal was the recipient of the 2008 New England Daily Newspaper of the Year and the 2009 Maine Press Association Newspaper of the Year.
* ''Lewiston Evening Journal'' ran from 1866 to 1989.
* ''The Twin City Times'' is a free weekly newspaper printed in Auburn. It is publicly available in Lewiston as well. It features local news and short articles.

===Radio===
Five radio stations are licensed to serve the city of Lewiston. These stations are:
* [[WARX]]/93.9, airing a non-commercial religious format. It is the former sister station of WCOU, now WIGY.
* [[WIGY (AM)|WIGY]]/1240, airing an adult contemporary format simulcasting [[WEZR (AM)|WEZR]].
* [[WFNK]] 107.5, which is branded as ''107.5 Frank FM'' and airs a [[classic hits]] format that is targeted primarily at [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] area listeners.
* [[WLAM]] 1470, which airs a standards format branded as ''The Memories Station''.
* [[WRBC]] 91.5, which is the [[college radio]] station of [[Bates College]].

{{Lewiston-Auburn Radio}}

===Television===
Lewiston is part of the [[Template:Portland Maine TV|Portland television market]], and receives all major channels in that market. [[WGME-TV]] and [[WCSH]] both have local bureaus in the city, and are across the street from each other on Main Street.{{citation needed |reason=No source given for their location. |date=January 2019}}

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
====Public transportation====
The city of Lewiston uses the Citylink or Purple Bus system. Passengers use Citylink in collaboration with Auburn and Lisbon.

The downtown shuttle runs through the downtown of both Lewiston and Auburn. It maintains only one line that goes into Lisbon. The Citylink services on average approximately 235,000 people a year.

====Roadways and major routes====
* [[Interstate 95 in Maine|Interstate 95 / Maine Turnpike]]: Formerly [[Falmouth Spur|Interstate 495]], runs through Lewiston. Exit 80 serves the city via Alfred Plourde Parkway in the Industrial Park. I-95 provides a connection to [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] being 40 minutes away, [[Bangor, Maine|Bangor]] about 90 minutes away, and [[Boston]], about two hours away from the Lewiston Exit.
* [[U.S. Route 202 in Maine|U.S. Route 202]] / Maine State Routes [[Maine State Route 11|11]] and [[Maine State Route 100|100]]: These three routes run through Lewiston along Main Street. It runs straight through the center of downtown to the business parks outside town, and the northern Lewiston suburbs. Connects Lewiston to [[Auburn, Maine|Auburn]] and [[Greene, Maine|Greene]]. Provides fast transportation to [[Augusta, Maine|Augusta]] and Kennebec Valley.
* [[Maine State Route 196]]: Starts in Lewiston at U.S. Route 202, Main Street. In Lewiston it is Canal Street, which turns into Lisbon Street. This route connects Lewiston to Lisbon, and provides easy access to the towns of [[Topsham, Maine|Topsham]] and Brunswick. This route ends on [[U.S. Route 1 in Maine|U.S. Route 1]] in the City of [[Brunswick, Maine|Brunswick]]. It connects to Interstate 295 in Topsham.
* [[Maine State Route 126]]: Starts in Lewiston at US Route 202, Main Street. In Lewiston it is Sabattus Street and connects Lewiston to the town of [[Sabattus, Maine|Sabattus]].

====Bridges====
* Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge: Built in 1973 to commemorate the veterans of the [[Vietnam War]]. It connects Lewiston to Auburn. It provides fast transportation from Russell Street, and Main Street to Auburn's Mt. Auburn Ave, and shopping centers on Center Street and the Mall Area.
* Governor James B. Longley Memorial Bridge: Connects Main Street in downtown Lewiston to Court Street in Downtown Auburn. Named after Lewiston resident and Governor of Maine [[James B. Longley]].
* Bernard Lown Peace Bridge: Connects Little Canada and New Auburn. Starts in Lewiston as Cedar Street and starts in Auburn as Broad Street. Commemorates former Lewiston resident and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] recipient [[Bernard Lown]].

====Airports and bus station====

* [[Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport]]: The official airport of the two cities. It currently provides general aviation facilities. Although the city is serviced by an airport, most people use the [[Portland International Jetport]] for commercial flights in and out of the state.
* Oak Street Bus Station: [[Greyhound Lines]] operates a bus line out of Lewiston. The bus lines go as far as Bangor and Boston. From those two destinations more travel opportunities are available.
* [[Concord Coach Lines]] – Great Falls Plaza/[[Bates College]]: Provides bus direct transportation to Logan International Airport and South Station in Boston, with multiple trips daily.

===Hydroelectric Energy Generation===
* In outer Lewiston at the end of Switzerland Road there is the Gulf Island hydroelectric dam operated by Brookfield White Pine Hydro and Central Maine Power Company. It generates electricity via the waterflow of the Androscoggin River. Its nameplate capacity is 19.2MW
* Further down the river is the Deer Rips hydroelectric dam, also operated by Brookfield White Pine Hydro and Central Maine Power Company. Its nameplate capacity is 10.1MW
* Further down the river is the Charles E. Monty hydroelectric dam, also operated by Brookfield White Pine Hydro and Central Maine Power Company. Its nameplate capacity is 28.4MW

==Notable people==
{{Main|List of people from Lewiston, Maine}}

==In popular culture==
* The ''[[Farmers' Almanac]]'' is printed in Lewiston.
* Lewiston is the setting for the fictitious ''[[Kingdom Hospital]]'', featured in the thirteen-episode miniseries developed by horror writer [[Stephen King]] and based on a [[Denmark|Danish]] mini-series, ''[[The Kingdom (miniseries)|The Kingdom]]''. In 1999 when King was struck by a car while walking in [[Lovell, Maine|Lovell]], he was flown by helicopter and treated at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. In the mini-series, the hospital is built on the site of a textile mill which made military uniforms during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], which the [[Bates Mill]] and other Lewiston textile factories actually did. King attended elementary school in the nearby town of [[Durham, Maine|Durham]] and high school in the neighboring town of [[Lisbon Falls, Maine|Lisbon Falls]].
* Twins [[Francis Edgar Stanley]] and [[Freelan O. Stanley]] invented the photographic dry plate process, that they used in their studio on Lisbon Street in the late 19th century. They later sold the patent to a company that became [[Eastman Kodak]]. They eventually went on to invent the [[Stanley Steamer]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |chapter=Historical review of the city of Lewiston |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t88g8z55k&seq=27 |title=Leading business men of Lewiston, Augusta and vicinity |year=1889 |location=Boston |publisher= Mercantile Publishing Company |via=[[HathiTrust]] }}
* Elder, Janus G., ''A History of Lewiston, Maine with a Genealogical Register of Early Families.'' Heritage Books, Inc., 1989
* Hodgkin, Douglas I., ''Lewiston Memories: A Bicentennial Pictorial.'' Jostens Printing & Publishing, 1994
* Finnegan, William, ''Letter from Maine: New in Town, the Somalis of Lewiston.'' The New Yorker, December 11, 2006
* Hodgkin, Douglas I., ''Frontier to Industrial City:Lewiston Town Politics 1768–1863''. Just Write Books, Topsham, ME, 2008
* Richard, Mark Paul. ''Loyal but French: The Negotiation of Identity by French-Canadian Descendants in the United States'' (2008) on acculturation in Lewiston since 1860

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Lewiston (Maine)}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.ci.lewiston.me.us/}}
* Downtown Lewiston Association [http://www.downtownlewiston.com/ Downtown Lewiston Maine]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Lewiston |short=x}}

{{Androscoggin County, Maine}}
{{Greater Portland, Maine}}
{{MELargestCities}}
{{Maine}}
{{Androscoggin River}}
{{Northeast Megalopolis}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Lewiston, Maine| ]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1770]]
[[Category:Cities in Androscoggin County, Maine]]
[[Category:1770 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay]]
[[Category:Cities in Maine]]