SACO ME

SACO ME

Thornton Academy

Built - 1989

The city of Saco is located in southwestern Maine at the mouth of the Saco River. Due to its proximity to the river, the city thrived as a lumbering, iron works and cotton mill area until its decline in the later 1800s but has since developed into a thriving and prosperous city due to diversified manufacturing outlets which now include automotive parts, shoes, industrial and medical gases and electronic components.

Saco is alo known as the city that houses the famous school - Thornton Academy which educates most of the high schoolers in the city as well as private pay students from the surrounding region.

On the grounds of the Thornton Academy sits the local bandstand which was built in 1990 during the "Main Street, Maine" project which was a statewide rejuvenation of selected main streets in the state. Thornton Academy had the space available and offered it to the city for the bandstand which was erected by the local Rotary Club who also has maintained it each year. The "Gazebo" is a wonderful addition to Thornton's campus but has seen very little use over the years mainly due to the acousitics not being that good due to the structure's proximity to Route 31 and all of the noise generated from the thoroughfare. Also, the Thornton Academy musical groups have been too large for the bandstand to accommodate so it has sat idly by just serving as a campus landmark. However, the bandstand has been widely used for picture-taking or wedding parties and other activities and has been used on occasion by the city of Saco for concerts around a half dozen times or more.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:

Nancy Trip, Alumni Director