The restoration of the University of Southern Maine Art Gallery in Gorham has now fallen under scrutiny to determine whether the building should be stripped of its historical designation.

A Gorham resident, Adam Ogden, a historical researcher and a former public works director, has asked the Maine Historic Preservation Commission to strike the building from the National Register of Historic Places.

Ogden wrote in a letter on July 30 to Earle Shettleworth Jr., commission director, that he, as a private citizen, is requesting the 194-year-old landmark be removed from the register.

“The art gallery had been intact, but was ruined by the University of Southern Maine’s current alterations…,” Ogden wrote.

Beginning last summer, Ogden has aired concerns about the art gallery restoration.

Christopher Quint, university spokesman, rebuffed Ogden’s criticisms.

“We’re not redoing the building for him,” Quint said Monday. “The work needed to be done.”

Acknowledging his letter, Shettleworth wrote to Ogden on Aug. 4 that his office would soon initiate a review.

According to the historic preservation commission’s website, “The commission is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and protection of Maine’s significant cultural resources as directed by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.”

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Aug. 13, the Gorham Historic Preservation Committee will hear a report on the art gallery. Bruce Roullard, chairman of Gorham’s historic preservation committee and Town Council vice chairman, said Tuesday that he asked Noah Miner to analyze the university’s information, which Roullard requested, pertaining to the art gallery restoration.

Miner, a Gorham resident and engineer, will deliver his report at 5 p.m. in the Gorham Historic Preservation Committee meeting in Conference Room A at Gorham Municipal Center, 75 South St.

“Noah will give an overview,” Roullard said, and described it as a 10-15 minute report.

Roullard said the committee’s agenda on Thursday would also include drafts of a potential town historical ordinance and an update on the database of historical Gorham buildings.

The art gallery is one of several buildings in a campus historic district. Built in 1821, the art gallery first served as a religious meetinghouse. Later, it was converted to Gorham’s town house. Heirs of Toppan Robie, a Gorham benefactor, deeded the building for $1 in 1961 to Gorham State Teachers College, a forerunner of the university, after the town no longer needed it.

According to Ogden’s letter to Shettleworth, Greater Portland Landmarks nominated the art gallery that was listed in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Restoration work of the art gallery began in 2013. Quint said the university has spent in excess of $400,000 on the project.

“We do not want this de-listed,” Quint said. “It’s part of University of Southern Maine heritage, culture.”

A public outcry ensued last year after Ogden publicly criticized the university after the vintage clapboards had been stripped from the art gallery and tossed in the trash. After meetings with Shettleworth and preservationists, university officials scrapped plans for vinyl siding on the building.

Temporarily halted, work continued after university officials appeared to have reached an agreement with preservationists.

The majority of the art gallery’s large windows have been placed in storage. Several of the window openings have been closed in with newly constructed wooden shutters. A window on each side and two on the rear have been restored and re-installed.

Ogden’s criticism has included the university’s decision to store windows, the quality of the clapboard replacements and window shutter hardware, and the addition of column bases, deviating from originals. Ogden, who reviewed the art gallery project in April at the behest of Roullard, faulted materials used in the project as not preservation quality.

Quint on Monday defended the university’s restoration. He said the clapboards are “quality, quality wood;” shutter hardware is “period specific reproductions;” and that the base of the columns needed to be replaced because they were rotted. Quint said all windows would be restored as finances allowed.

The university in recent years has experienced much-publicized financial problems.

“We care about the building,” Quint said. “We did the best we could with the resources we had.”

It doesn’t appear USM would face any legal repercussions if the building were de-listed. Responding this week to two American Journal questions, Shettleworth said: “1. The University is not under any legal obligation to restore the building to federal historic guidelines, and 2. The University would not face any penalty if the building were to be de-listed from the National Register of Historic Places.”

But, the university, Quint said, is “pretty” confident that the art gallery would remain on the national register.

“We believe we’ve done everything to ensure it remains on the list,” Quint said. “If it’s de-listed, we’ll deal with it as it comes.”

Ogden, in an email to the American Journal on Aug. 6, explained his position.

“Please understand that my request to the state historic preservation officer is to ensure the acts of the university are public, the process open, and conducted responsibly,” he wrote.

The American Journal reported on July 17, 2014, that Shettleworth said the university’s architect had been invited to submit plans for work on the art gallery but didn’t.

Quint said Monday the university now has been in communication with Shettleworth “every step of the way.” Quint also said the university, which has undergone personnel changes, is taking steps to be more transparent with the town.

In April this year, the university sent a letter to Gorham Town Manager David Cole to update town officials about the art gallery project. Roullard said Tuesday that Quint contacted him concerning this week’s Gorham Historic Preservation Committee meeting.

A year ago, the town strengthened its bond with the university by adding Dahlia Lynn, associate provost for undergraduate education at the university, to the town’s historic preservation committee.

Following a Gorham resident’s request to de-list the restored University of Southern Maine Art Gallery from the national historic register, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission director says it will review the matter. Staff photos by Robert LowellThis photo shows column bases not depicted in a 2011 American Journal photo and four shuttered window openings on the side with one restored window. Most of the old windows in the 194-year old building are in storage. Staff photos by Robert Lowell