PORTLAND
Landmarks honors MECA for preservation of building
Greater Portland Landmarks has given a Preservation Honor Award to the Maine College of Art for the preservation and adaptive reuse of the historic Miller Building (1904 and 1911), formerly the Porteous Mitchell & Braun department store, as a center of excellence for art education. MECA’s building, at 522 Congress St., anchors Portland’s Arts District.
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, the building is a significant example of an architect-designed turn-of-the-century department store, which combines the horizontal windows of the Chicago style with Beaux-Arts decoration. Architect Penn Varney of Lynn, Mass., conceived the original scheme for the six-bay facade seen today.
MECA acquired the building in 1993, and since then Portland architect Richard Renner has guided preservation and design projects, including constructing the central stairway to link the five floors of the building, and uncovering the large windows on the Congress Street facade and restoring their original details.
MECA president Don Tuski accepted the award. Landmarks also recognized former MECA president Roger Gilmore and architect Renner.
BOOTHBAY HARBOR
Contemporary Maine art on display in ArtinME
ArtinME, a statewide juried exhibition, continues through Nov. 19 at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation Gallery, 1 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor.
The exhibition offers a perspective of contemporary Maine art in painting, drawing and sculpture.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday through October, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in November.
Lois Dodd, Nancy Wissemann and John Wissemann judged the show. Admission is free.
WALDOBORO
New members join board at Heartwood Theater Co.
As Heartwood Regional Theater Company enters its ninth season, many changes are under way among the board of directors. After eight years, founding board president Susan Goodwillie Stedman is stepping down.
The new board president is Kate Josephs. She joined the Heartwood board in 2009. She spent most of her career in venture capital and community development finance in New York City and in Maine, and has experience with private sector and nonprofit entities. She also performs at the Waldo Theater and with Heartwood.
Three new board members have joined: Pamela Gormley, Nina Tilander and Wendy Ross Eichler. Gormley is executive director of Skidompha Library. Tilander is a professional fundraiser. Ross worked for many years with the United States Information Agency as a correspondent, news and feature writer, editor and broadcaster in U.S. government public information programs in Washington, D.C., and overseas.
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