Sunday, October 31, 2010

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Waterfront Development

Down off Commercial street, we have the Cumberland Cold Storage Building, someday this will be home to the Pierce Atwood law firm.. 

Friday, October 29, 2010

Around the Peninsula - October 29, 2010

Time for a quick Around the Peninsula feature...



  • Trader Joe's is opening today! This is the biggest thing to happen in Portland since Lady Gaga visited. Munjoy Hill News has been my go-to source on the Trader Joe's subject. The Press Herald also did a solid piece of investigative journalism / advertising of the new store yesterday.
  • This post over at the Maine Observer site takes a look at Portland's five architectural "wonders" (I added the quotations) that could disappear next." It's a good read.
  • From Away takes a look at the sacred Amato's original Italian sandwich. My review would be 'tasty.'

I could keep going, but I won't. I'd like to do these posts more often. If anyone has something that is extra newsworthy, feel free to let me know that it should be included in the next Around the Peninsula post.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Paint on the Wall

A mural going up on the side of Joe's Smokeshop, at Congress/Avon Streets. FMI, see Strange Maine.


This wall on Brown Street could perhaps using a mural also.Or maybe it looks good as-is?

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Flashback: October 2008 & 2009

Time for a quick look into the archives. Here is one from that park on North Street that overlooks the peninsula, from 2008:
Duck watchers at Deering Oaks in 2008:


Forward to 2009, this is the view  from the bench in the first picture above (click it to view full size):


And also in 2009 I spent a day making this:




Tuesday, October 26, 2010

It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw

Portland, Maine 04102 Greyhound Station at St. John and Congress Streets:


The Greyhound Station's sign guy/gal got creative/emo for the sign this month:


Thursday, October 21, 2010

Today is a Day

Looks like a U.F.O. (unidentified floating object) hovering over town:


The side of the Old Grand Trunk Railroad Building at the bottom of India Street:

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Monday, October 18, 2010

State Theater

The State Theater is finally open for business again. They had an open-house on Sunday, which was also an event for the Portland Music Foundation. It was great to see the renovations that have been made inside. The venue is truly a gem and it is amazing that it was closed for as long as it was (about 4 years I think). They already have a top-notch line-up of acts scheduled for the rest of this year and I look forward to the many concerts yet to to be announced. 

This is from the balcony section:


And a couple of pictures stitched together to show a portion of the lobby:

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Saturday Snapshots

The weekend is a good time to post random cell-phone pictures that make no attempt to be artsy.


Friday, October 15, 2010

Blog Action Day 2010

Today is Blog Action Day 2010. This year's theme is water.

You may have noticed the banner ad for this on the right hand column of this site for the last few weeks. I don't have anything particularly insightful to share about this topic, but I do know that Portland and the rest of Maine has great access to safe and clean water for human consumption. Unfortunately, people in some places do not have the access they deserve to safe water supplies, which is a basic human need, due to reasons beyond geography.

As noted on the Blog Action Day site, water is not just a "...human rights issue, It's an environmental issue, an animal welfare issue, a sustainability issue. Water is a global issue, deserving a global conversation." Feel free to sign the current petition to the United Nations concerning the issue of a improving water and water sanitation to to those who need it the most or get involved in one of the many water-related charities.

Untitled

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Junky

A few junk shots taken recently...

Tires 

Fridge

Dig Safe, Lucas

And a non-junk shot that was picked from flickr to be used on consumerist.com (owned by consumer reports) yesterday:



Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Landmarks

Firstly, in regards to my post from yesterday, the Press Herald published some relevant local news concerning the Time & Temp Building's electronic display. They report that it was off due to a technical problem and should be back on sometime today. Good news.

Near the Time and Temp Building, I like the sky in this shot:


Another Portland landmark gets a new coat of paint:


Monday, October 11, 2010

No Time and Temp?

The Time & Temperature Building's electronic display has been off for a few days. Anyone know about this? I hadn't heard about any plans to turn it off so I assume they may be doing repairs or something.


Picture of  a brick wall from the same vantage point as the above picture:

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Retail Watch

In addition to my random rumor that a roller rink will be moving into the old L.L.Bean outlet location on Congress Street, I would like to hypothesize that a Macy's location will be opening in the space for the holiday shopping season. This morning I spotted a Macy's truck parking a mere 100 feet from the empty retail space. What else would a Macy's truck be doing downtown? And I think Portland could use a few downtown department stores like there used to be long before I was born. 


In other retail news, Trader Joe's is opening October 29th per Munjoy Hill News.


Friday, October 8, 2010

Second Friday

The old portion of Maine Medical Center up on the West End:



Happy Teriyaki has a new name: Korea House. I always liked the adjective in the prior name, I think they should call it Happy Korea House. According to Portland Food Map, it is Portland's only restaurant to serve a full Korean menu.


A couple events of note:

  • The annual Black Frame Art Sale, benefiting the Bayside Neighborhood Association, is today at the Merrill Auditorium rehearsal hall. Preview starts at 3pm and the sale is from 5-8.
  • The Portland Fire Museum, 157 Spring Street, will be having an open house on Saturday from 10-3. Go here for some more info. I visited the place for the first time recently and recommend you do the same.





Thursday, October 7, 2010

Signs, Large & Small


A sign outside of the Museum of Art advertising the current exhibition, which is related to photography. I plan to check it out before they back it up in December. Did you know that the museum is free not only during First Fridays, but also every Friday from 5-9pm? 


And this is a small sign at Bull Moose, advertising a show at the State Theater which is opening up again soon. I give this advertisement a thumbs-up. Not sure who is doing their marketing or if it's in-house but I like the look of the ad.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Present and Future


Pictured above, the former L.L. Bean space on Congress Street. There are no solid plans that I know of for a new tenant (or tenants) as the space has only been vacant since the end of September. There is an Olympia Sports store directly to the right of where L.L. Bean was that may or may not be staying there for the long term now that the main tenant is gone.  I would like to see the building spruced-up by whoever it is that currently owns the buildings. I think they could even add a floor or two to the building.to bring in some more income.

As far as future uses for the ground floor space, I would like to start the random rumor that a roller rink will be moving in. Based on the success of Bayside Bowl, I think a roller rink may fit in here. It will include a bar, restaurant, concert stage, and arcade room. Every Friday will be roller disco night.

Below, a street scene nearby on Free Street:


Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Tracing the Fore No More

I wanted to get a shot of this Tracing the Fore art installation before it is taken out. There has been discussion over the last few years about this being the least-liked public art in Portland. The artist that created it will be coming back to town in a few weeks, according to this article, to discuss possible changes to the piece. I'm not a fan of it personally, but I'm not sure what would work best here. It will remain a median strip between a (nice cobblestone) road, which limits its use a bit. Any ideas, readers?


And a somewhat panoramic view of yesterday's photo, I think you can click it for a larger version.


Friday, October 1, 2010

Welcome to Bramhall

Welcome to Bramhall Station. This page on the city website has a ton of information about this particular fire department station.  For example, did you know that this station's Engine Company 6 was started in 1794?


Bramhall Hill sign:


Just down the street from the fire station, good advertising for this driver education company: