The drive from Bangor to Augusta takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. On a sunny day it is very pretty, with low hills, distant mountains and some lakes here and there. For my drive I didn't see much of anything other than the highway. There was fog and heavy rain all the way.I got to my parents' house mid-morning and we had a nice visit. After lunch we went out to run errands and drive around town. On the east side of the Kennebec River along the riverfront we drove through an area that was the Augusta Arsenal.
The old Arsenal is a complex of eight granite block buildings, dating back to the 1820s. Today it is part of the Kennebec Arsenal Renovation. The buildings will be fixed up and will be part of a riverside recreation and tourist area -- planned are residences, a marina, a major hotel and lots of shops. After the military stopped using the arsenal buildings they housed patients of the Augusta's Insane Hospital, later known as the State Hospital. In recent years the arsenal building looked abandoned although I believe the state government used them for storage.
The location is on a beautiful part of the Kennebec River looking across to the State Capitol buildings. If this project goes as planned it will be a great benefit to the city, its visitors and residents. It will take unused land and make it a destination -- creating something from nothing.
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