About
Facility Rental
Host Your Next Event in a Space That Inspires
From intimate gatherings to large receptions, Maine MILL offers distinctive event spaces surrounded by art, history, and innovation. Whether you’re planning a corporate meeting, nonprofit reception, celebration, or special occasion, our flexible venues provide a memorable backdrop in the heart of Lewiston. Explore our rental options below, and let us help make your event one to remember.
Barriault Learning Center
Perfect for meetings, workshops, receptions, and educational events.
Availability
7 days a week
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
After-hours rentals available (additional personnel fees apply)
Capacity
Up to 50 guests seated
Up to 75 guests standing
Rental Rate
$1,125
Nonprofit Rate: $800
Rental Includes
Three-hour rental (2-hour event, plus 30 minutes for setup and 30 minutes for breakdown)
Museum admission for guests
Private reception room adjacent to the Special Exhibit Gallery (second floor)
Optional Add-On
Guided museum tour led by a museum staff member: $100
IAM Union Design Lab
An intimate setting ideal for receptions, meetings, and networking events.
Availability
7 days a week
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
After-hours rentals available (additional personnel fees apply)
Capacity
Up to 30 guests seated
Up to 60 guests standing
Rental Rate
$900
Nonprofit Rate: $675
Rental Includes
Three-hour rental (includes staff personnel, plus 30 minutes for setup and 30 minutes for breakdown)
Museum admission for guests
Private reception space adjacent to the Permanent Collection (first floor)
Optional Add-On
Guided museum tour led by a museum staff member: $100
Bates Welcome Center
Enjoy an event surrounded by Maine MILL’s Permanent Collection.
Availability
Monday & Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Wednesday – Sunday: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Capacity
Up to 60 guests seated
Up to 150 guests standing
Rental Rate
$2,000
Nonprofit Rate: $1,500
Additional personnel fees apply
Rental Includes
Three-hour rental (2-hour event, plus 30 minutes for setup and 30 minutes for breakdown)
Optional
Guided museum tour available upon request
Entire Museum
Create an unforgettable experience with exclusive access to Maine MILL.
Availability
Monday & Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Wednesday – Sunday: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Capacity
Up to 120 guests seated (60 chairs provided)
Up to 300 guests standing
Rental Rate
$3,000
Nonprofit Rate: $2,000
Additional personnel fees apply
Rental Includes
Four-hour rental (3-hour event, plus 30 minutes for setup and 30 minutes for breakdown)
Optional
Guided museum tour available upon request
Weddings & Special Occasions
Planning a wedding, gala, or other special event? Full-day museum rentals are available for select occasions.
To learn more about full-day availability, pricing, and customization options, please contact us at info@mainemill.org
Our Values
Discovery
We spark curiosity, inspire creativity, and encourage lifelong learning. Using heritage and history, we create opportunities to see things in a different light, rethink the world, and learn something new—about our past, present, or each other—to fuel future ingenuity.
Community
We are committed to being a cultural hub, a conversation generator, an economic driver, a place of education and action where everyone is welcome and ideas are born. We are where meaningful connections are made and a more unified and engaged community rallies.
Inclusivity
We believe everyone has the right to respect and representation. We welcome and embrace similarities, differences, and perspectives, and offer a safe and supportive environment where everyone—visitors and staff—can find a reflection of self.
Accessibility
We are continuously working to improve the museum experience and remove barriers to access and opportunity. All visitors can learn from, engage in, and be inspired by the stories we tell, and can connect the past to the present in meaningful ways, regardless of background, age, culture, race, or ability.
Our Story
Once a bustling industrial and manufacturing center for the state of Maine, Lewiston-Auburn experienced a post-industrial decline that led to the closure of the area’s defining manufacturing mills and related trades. Community members, realizing the historic value in the machinery and artifacts left behind, started salvaging what they could. These items created the foundation of our collection. Housing and preserving them created the need for our museum.
Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor was founded in 1996 as Museum L-A (Lewiston-Auburn). Over time, there was a recognized need to tell not only the story of the textile mill workers, but also the workers from the shoe and brick industries that built the Lewiston-Auburn area as well. With that, both our collection and mission grew.
From there, we evolved from a single-focus subject of textile mills to a dedicated public museum celebrating the industrial heritage of Lewiston and Auburn. More recently, the museum has refocused our efforts through our collecting priorities, temporary exhibits, and programming to reflect a broader and more inclusive history of the entire region with an emphasis on Central Maine.
In 2022, Museum L-A rebranded as Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor to broaden the museum’s appeal and speak to diverse audiences. The rebrand was part of a capital campaign to fund construction of a new museum on a 2.5-acre riverfront site in downtown Lewiston, across from Simard-Payne Park.
Maine MILL renovated and added onto the former Camden Yarns Mill, which the museum took over ownership of in 2009. In June 2026, the museum opened in the new location at 1 Beech Street. The facility features large spaces for the permanent collection and temporary galleries, a classroom, design lab, event and community spaces, and more.
Our ambition is to become a cultural hub that drives curiosity, encourages lifelong learning, and creates a stronger, more unified community. We want to be a key contributor to and catalyst for civic, cultural, and economic revitalization in our community, region, and state.