The sidewalks were so congested that parents often struggled to navigate strollers amid the crowds. But by the early 1970s, many buildings had fallen into disrepair. In the name of urban renewal, the buildings and a large part of Westbrook's identity were bulldozed into oblivion. Thirty years later, many resident are still bitter about the loss of their downtown. Their feelings are coming to the surface in a petition drive to halt a city plan to sell the old Westbrook High School to the Westbrook Housing Authority.
Critics are skeptical of the authority's plan to renovate the school into housing for the elderly.
They question the need for more subsidized housing and worry about the authority's financial stability. Monday, the city council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. in the council chambers to consider the petition. It was designed by Francis H. Fassett, Maine's leading mid-19th century architect, and Frederick Augustus Thompson of Portland. Hundreds of Westbrook's sons and daughters walked through its hall and studied in its classrooms. During World War II, a lookout was posted in the steeple to scan the skies for airborne invaders from Germany.