After our latest dig through the Bangor Daily News’ archives, we shared photographs of four old buildings and businesses in the Bangor area and asked if you know what they are today.
As promised, we’re delivering the answers.
1. The former Dunham-Hanson warehouse is now…
…Sea Dog Brewing Company. In the 1950s, Dunham-Hanson, a property management company, was housed in this building at 26 Front St., on the Bangor Waterfront. After that, the Viner Shoe Company was there. From 1985 until 1994, the building was empty, until 1995, when the Sea Dog Brewing Company opened — the Bangor area’s first craft brewery.
2. What was once the Belmont Hotel is now…
…Tea & Tarts. This building on State Street in downtown Bangor has housed countless businesses over the years, from candy shops in the early part of the 20th century, and bars and hotels like the Ritz Foley, the University Lunch and the Hotel Belmont and Cocktail Lounge. After an extensive renovation, in April 2019, Tea & Tarts — a tea house and eatery — opened.
3. The old Bangor Walmart is now…
…Lowe’s Home Improvement. Before it built its current location off Stillwater Avenue near the Bangor Mall, Bangor’s first Walmart was located on Springer Drive, opening in 1992 amid a flurry of development. Walmart had hoped to open a new, larger store off Stillwater in 2000, but after a nearly nine-year battle at both the local and state level, a new Walmart was finally built at its current location at 900 Stillwater Ave., opening in 2009. What’s in the old location? A Lowe’s Home Improvement.
4. The former Checkmate Steakhouse is now…
…the Eastern Maine Healthcare Mall. Though this hallway looks somewhat nondescript, the Checkmate Steakhouse was a popular Bangor restaurant throughout the 1970s and 80s. It was located in the Westgate Mall on Union Street, one of the first large mall-style developments in Bangor. The Checkmate closed in 1993, and three years later, in 1996, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (now Northern Light) took over Westgate. That building is now home to the Eastern Maine Healthcare Mall.
Read more stories and see more photos from the BDN archives here.
