Tuesday, June 30, 2009

As Fast As

A humorous poster for local band As Fast As, which is regrouping for a new album and a show in July. Click image to view bigger size.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Guitar

For something different, here are some guitars along the wall at Buckdancer's Choice in Portland.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

An Unfitting Tribute


There is a rock/monument/reminder in front of the new Marriott on the Eastern Waterfront, across from Ocean Gateway. It serves as a notice that the house which Henry Wadsworth Longellow was born and raised in once stood on this site. Per the Vigorous North, the house was demolished long ago to make way for industrial buildings, which were then demolished for this development and a parking garage.


A view towards the waterfront

And on the other side


Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Congress Street Eats

In the foreground we have Wild Burritos and just a few doors up a small group of people congregate outside of the new Otto's Pizza. I welcome Otto's and wish them well in their prime location, which should attract plenty of late-night diners who don't want a sit-down diner.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Looking In


Taking a look inside the old public market building, which is being renovated into office space for a local company.

To quote myself from my flickr comment on this photo:

"It's definitely a plus that is'a local company moving in, but it is sad that such a fine building wasn't able to remain a public market. The combination of not making a profit, being kind of out of the way for tourists, and the nighborhood it borders (homeless shelter, lower income housing, etc) did it in.

The good news is that public market house, right in monument square, is doing great and expanding to the 2nd floor at the moment!"

Friday, June 19, 2009

Dangerous

Here are a few shots of the previously mentioned demolition of the old USM dorms on Congress Street. The back wings of the building are being demolished and the part of the building on Congress Street will be rehabed into retail spaces and apartments.








Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Churchy

Immanuel Baptist Church on High Street. The structure reminds me a bit of the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Restaurant Grace


This is a not-so-perfectly framed shot of the old Chestnut Street Church with the City Hall dome in the background. The church was purchased a few years ago after its congregation moved out, and will soon open as a restaurant, known as Grace. They have a blog here and here are some great shots of the interior by a professional photographer. I dig the circular bar in the middle. I applaud this creative reuse of a beautiful structure.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Library Renovations


Work continues on the library renovation, see here for an earlier post highlighting the (excellent) updates to the front of the building. The picture above makes it look like they are building a moat around the building!


Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Redfern House



Here are a few photos from an open-house I attended this morning. The house is the Redfern House and is on track to be LEED certified with a 'Gold' rating. An added bonus for this project (in my book) is that it is built in the city of Portland (off of Ocean Avenue) where as most LEED homes built in this state are in rural areas and the gains in sustainability of the house are erased due to long commutes and related expenses.




These sliding pieces move like barn doors and act to cool the house by covering the windows/patio doors in the summer and move to let more sun into the house in the winter for heat.


A small footprint by today's standards, but still a perfectly large house with the kitchen/dining room and living room downstairs and bedrooms upstairs.

From their site:

The Redfern House is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home of roughly 1760 square feet. It will feature thoughtful spaces and attractive finishes, making it extremely comfortable and livable. And it has been designed and built to be healthy, extremely efficient, highly durable, and ecologically responsible.



The house uses no fossil fuels and even has a no-turf yard (think of all the pesticides used on the average yard and the costs and environmental impacts of mowing every few weeks in the summer).

The house is connected to the electrical grid, and has two power meters, as seen below. One measures the electricity coming in and one measures the electricity going out. Most of the year the house will produce more electricity than it takes in so the power company will pay (issue credits) to the owners for their power put into the grid. I couldn't get a good view of the solar panels but they are on the roof of the house, by the way.



Public tours will also be offered by the architect Chris Briley and ReVision Energy on Thursday, June 16th at 5:30 and 6:15pm. RSVP by sending an email to info@theredfernhouse.com



Friday, June 12, 2009

Preble Sunset


Seems like whenever I walk past Preble Street there is a beautiful sunset.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Like a painting

The 'S' on this sign has been burnt out for a while. I think it adds charm to the hotel. Brush effect from here.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

U Car Share

I wrote up a little review of my experience yesterday with U Car Share at my other blog, Walk Around Portland. Here are a few pictures from that post because I am feeling lazy today!






Tuesday, June 9, 2009

645 Congress


Formerly a University of Southern Maine dormitory (and a hotel of some sort before that), the building at 645 is slated to become a great looking development mixing retail and residential aspects.

Here are a few shots as it stands today:


Also note that the trash all over the place is from tearing this section down

Check out the development's site here: http://www.645congress.com/ for some renderings of what the project will look like when it is finished in Fall 2009.




Block of Lancaster

Lancaster Block, at 474 Congress Street, is one of 219 properties or districts in Cumberland County that are listed on the national register of historic places.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Monday in June

Per the lack of pictures posted over the weekend, I was in Boston for a Sox game and such. I need to get caught up with my Portland pictures now.

Here's a couple quick skyline views


Bayside in the forground and the ocean in the back.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Wide

A faux wide angle shot of the Maine Bank and Trust Building (center) in Monument Square. This photo was made from three photographs stitched together, and is how I will take really wide photos until I get the money for a 10-2omm lens.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Sidewalk People


I should get up to the Hill more often. Here are some Portland People in front of the North Star Cafe on the left and The Snug on the right:

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Well Read




Photo taken inside of Longfellow Books, in Monument Square. I assume the store is named after Portland-born Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Thus concludes today's history lesson.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Walk Around Portland

Today I am semi-officially announcing a new blogging effort, Walk Around Portland. I am to discuss all things pedestrian, bicyclist, and non-vehicular around Portland and hope that a few people find it worth visiting on a regular basis. I have a few posts up, so check it out.



www.walkaroundportland.com