BANGOR, Maine — Fifty-five years ago on Wednesday, Dow Air Force Base in Bangor closed, leaving a sizable void in the community.
Local historian Tom McCord, an adjunct history professor at the University of Maine at Augusta, described how the Dow Air Force Base sprawled across 2,000 acres, creating a "mini-city."
Dow Air Force Base was home to a movie theater, small radio station, a rod and gun club, dining halls, enlisted men's clubs, a Merchants National Bank, and more.
The base with its amenities all closed by April 5, 1968.
"Bangor's cultural and community life changed, as 4000 to 5000 airmen sometimes assigned at the base coupled with 7000 to 8000 dependents to include their spouses and children," McCord said.
Stephen Bolduc, economic development officer with the City of Bangor said what that exodus meant for the city economically.
"Two thousand people fairly quickly left the area. Millions of dollars of economic benefit was then removed from the local economy," Bolduc explained.
The void he said, "was a devastating blow, and was a real crisis for the city to undertake."
The city had to decide on what to do with the 2,000 acres. Bolduc explained the city council took a calculated risk.
"[Bangor's] City Council was very bold and daring to decide to accept Dow Air Force Base and its facilities from the federal government, and began operating it."
They began converting housing and operating the Bangor International Airport, injecting new jobs locally.
Bolduc said the city took advantage of the space and still looking to the future to foster and attract new business to that area. He added the city is committed to supporting existing businesses and embracing new ones like a heating system business moving in soon.
"That's the direction that we will continue to go. The GE facility is an energy-related product as well. I think that's going to be the future of the commercial area around Bangor International Airport."
All of these initiatives are "major components to keep this economy in this region going."
Fifty-five years later, Bangor continues to be a major hub in northern and central Maine.