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Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Lewiston, Maine, c.1940.
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Construction, Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
Franco-American Collection
St. Peter's Church under construction in Lewiston, Maine.
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Carving, Church of Sts. Peter & Paul, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
Postcard of a carving to be installed in a niche in the Church of Sts. Peter & Paul, Lewiston, Maine.
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Sts. Peter and Paul Basillica Contstruction Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
Sts. Peter & Paul's Church under construction, Lewiston, Maine, July, 1935.
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Lower Church, Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
Franco-American Collection
Site of St. Peter's Church in June, 1934. The lower church is known as the crypt.
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Construction, Sts. Peter and Paul, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
The early stages of the construction of the Saints Peter and Paul Church in Lewiston, Maine, taken September 25, 1934
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Construction, Sts. Peter & Paul Church Lewiston, Maine Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
St. Peter's Church under construction.
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Demolition of first Sts. Peter's Church, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
Workers at the site of the original Saint Peter's Church on Bartlett Street in Lewiston run from the scene as they attempt to remove the cross and more of the building came down than was expected.
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First Sts. Peter's Church, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
The original St. Peter's Church at Ash and Bartlett streets in Lewiston. The church served the Franco-American community, which outgrew it by 1905. The building was was demolished and the new church, Sts. Peter and Paul, was not completed until the mid 1930s. MMN: The photo is from "Cent ans de vie paroissiale SS. Pierre et Paul de Lewiston" (1970, p. 56).
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Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Lewiston, Maine Photograph
The Franco-American Collection
Photographic print of postcard showing Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Lewiston, Maine. Undated. Author: A.A. Woodworth
By the 1860s, three massive textile mills had risen along Lewiston's upper canal to take advantage of the area's abundant hydropower. A sudden demand for factory workers caused mill owners to look north to recruit French-Canadian laborers. As a result, Lewiston's population nearly doubled within a decade. These immigrants sought a spiritual leader of their own and in 1871 a French Catholic parish, St. Peter's, was established. Within a decade, the Dominican order from France began staffing the parish, now called St. Peter and St. Paul. As the congregation continued to grow, the original church was deemed inadequate and plans began by the turn of the century for a grand French style cathedral church. The resulting church, named a minor basilica in 2004, became the largest parish in the state, larger than some entire dioceses in other parts of the country. The famous facade of St. Peter and Paul Basilica has been used as the cover of city reports, for promotion of cultural events, for economic development efforts, and as a backdrop for political campaigns. Its history provides insight into the Franco-American community of Lewiston, but also into the struggles among ethnic groups for accommodation within the Roman Catholic Church in Maine.
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