Auction for Bollinger Center draws no bids

An auction listing for the former home of Lewiston’s Civic Theatre received more than 15,000 online views in the month the property was on the market.

But the sale ended Tuesday without any bidders for the Anne Bollinger Performing Arts Center, which had a minimum bid of $67,000, said Carol Maurer, the city of Lewiston’s public information officer.

The Lewiston City Council will discuss what to do with the more than 100-year-old vacant structure at a Nov. 6 meeting, she said.

“We’ll have the best interest of the taxpayers in mind,” Maurer said.

Situated on a Normal Hill bluff overlooking the Clearwater River, the building debuted in 1907 as a Methodist church, became home to the Civic Theatre in 1972 and was being sold as is.

The property at 805 Sixth Ave. has no ongoing expenses for the city. It was disconnected from utilities and covered under the city’s general insurance policy, Maurer said.

Two tours of the Bollinger Building were conducted for prospective buyers during the online auction that ran from 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18 through 3 p.m. Tuesday, she said.

A total of three people took the tours, including two individuals who represented a single potential buyer, Maurer said.

The minimum bid was based on what Lewiston officials estimated the city had spent on the building since the city became its owner in 2017.  

What will happen to the Bollinger Building has been unclear for more than five years. The discovery of a failing truss supporting the roof in 2016 prompted the city to list the building as condemned. The Civic Theatre organization didn’t have money to make repairs, so it was turned over to the city in 2017.

The city completed a project in January 2018 that stabilized the roof truss with temporary columns, repaired major leaks and covered the windows and stained glass. The building is no longer listed as condemned, but is still considered unsafe.

Yet in spite of water damage, a number of the building’s features have survived decades of use and are in relatively good shape.

Among them are leaded stained glass windows, hardwood floors, perhaps from old-growth trees, and a chandelier that can be raised and lowered with a winch.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.