Hall of Mechanics

The brick and stone exterior of Mechanics' Hall (1859), which was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places this week.

Off the Rails

A bit of rail from an old trolley line visible on Spring Street. In addition to safe and efficient transportation around the peninsula, trolleys also used to connect cities and towns all around Maine.There's an immense amount of info and photos of the Portland trolley system (the Portland Railroad) here: https://narcissus1912.blogspot.com/2018/10/portland-railroad-history-of-public.html.

The Abyssinian

A glimpse of the Abyssinian Meeting House on Newbury Street, which was built in 1828 and is the third oldest standing African American meeting house in the United States. You can donate to the restoration efforts at http://www.abyme.org/.

Neal Dow House, Night

A nighttime view of the Neal Dow House at 714 Congress Street. It is a National Historic Landmark because of it's namesake. Neal Dow wore many hats: Mayor of Portland (1851–58), brigadier general in the American Civil War, an abolitionist, a leader of the temperance movement, and the Prohibition Party's presidential candidate in 1880. The building is currently home to the Maine Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

Summer at the Tate House

The Tate House, a landmark in Portland's Stroudwater Village since 1755, is open for tours from June to October each year. The house was originally built for George Tate, a "Royal Navy captain who ... oversaw the felling and shipment of trees for use as masts." 

Tour the Tombstones

From a stroll through the Eastern Cemetery last weekend. The Spirits Alive group does entertaining and informative tours of our oldest cemetery. 

Berlin Wall

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Like many cities, Portland has a small piece of the wall on permanent display. I was too young in 1989 to follow current events, so it has been interesting reading about that time in history in various articles this week. 

McLellan School Building

Pictured today is the former McLellan School on Neal Street in the West End. In the spirit of creative reuse, the building has been condominiums for many years now. If the family name of McLellan sounds familiar, you might find this site to be an interesting read. The family first settled in Portland in the 1700's, and Major Hugh McLellan became an important shipping magnate. And one Jacob McLellan was the mayor of Portland during part of the Civil War. Another prominent building which bears the family name is the McLellan-Sweat Mansion on the corner of High and Spring Streets, now part of the Portland Museum of Art, 

Turn the Corner

This often-photographed sign indicates the intersection of Winter and Spring Streets in the West End. Interestingly, a page on the nearby Portland Club's website tells us that these streets names are not related to the seasons. Instead, Spring Street is named for "a path leading to the town spring, which was located up in the West End" and Winter Street "immortalizes one of the town’s earliest settlers, John Winter."

Before and After: Thomas Brackett Reed House

Today's Before & After shot is of the Thomas Brackett Reed residence (1888), a National Historic Landmark, on the corner of Deering Street and State Street. Mr. Reed was a prominent political figure in his day and served two nonconsecutive terms as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Here is the house circa the early 1900's, image from the Library of Congress :

And here it is circa July 2012:

Bonus fact - President Theodore Roosevelt visited this location when he was visiting Portland in 1902.

Etheridge Foundry

Observant pedestrians in Portland have likely noticed these manhole covers that were made locally by Etheridge Foundry.

Below is a recent photo of the Etheridge Foundry headquarters, located on Ocean Avenue almost in Falmouth. I'm not sure how much business they do these days. I wasn't able to find any info about them on the internet other than their blurb on Manta.com: Etheridge Foundry & Machine Co in Portland, ME is a private company categorized under Manhole Covers Manufacturers. Our records show it was established in 1927 and incorporated in Maine

Places in Peril 2012

Greater Portland Landmarks recently announced their "Places in Peril List" for the year 2012. The list "Calls attention to character-defining, historically-significant properties that are in danger of being permanently lost of diminished."Here is a photo relating to each of the seven places on the list. 

Portland Company Complex, 58 Fore Street

House Island in Casco Bay. Photo taken from Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse in South Portland.

The Maine National Guard Armory in South Portland.

The Masonic Temple Grand Lodge at 415 Congress Street. I got to go on an open-house tour of the building a few years ago and it really is pretty amazing inside. 

Grand Trunk Office Building, 1 India Street.

Abyssinian Meeting House (left), 73 Newbury Street.

Eastern Cemetery on Congress Street, near the foot of Munjoy Hill.

You can read all about these seven places and their significance here at the Greater Portland Landmarks website. 

Before and After: JFK on Park Avenue

The scene as of September 2012. The HP Hood plant is just to the right of this photo.

Senator John F. Kennedy heading into Portland on September 2nd, 1960. Here is the text of the speech he gave in town later that day. Photo via Portland Maine History 1786-Present Facebook group. 

Cumberland and Oxford Canal

This stone monument just off of outer Congress Street in Stroudwater Village marks the beginning of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal, a Maine Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. 

Wikipedia sums up the canal nicely:

"The Cumberland and Oxford Canal was opened in 1832 to connect the largest lakes of southern Maine with the seaport of Portland, Maine. The canal followed the Presumpscot River from Sebago Lake through the towns of Standish, Windham, Gorham, and Westbrook. The Canal diverged from the river at Westbrook to reach the navigable Fore River estuary and Portland Harbor. The canal required 27 locks to reach Sebago Lake at an elevation of 267 feet (81 m) above sea level."

Unfortunately for the canal, a satisfactory railroad network was built not long after that rendered the canal obsolete.This photo shows the beginning of the canal, as it connects into the Fore River:

And here's the view in the opposite direction of some of the homes in Stroudwater Village (your monitor is working correctly, I just played around with colors on this photo):

Widgery Wharf

Some more photos down on Widgery Wharf, which is a charming name for a wharf. Per this Daily Sun article from last year, about a photographer who had been documenting the working waterfront, Widgery Wharf's pilings date back to 1774.

Working / Living Waterfront:

The Abyssinian Meeting House

Work continues on the Abyssinian Meeting House on Newbury Street. I last took a photo of the building in March 2009 and it appears that a lot of work has been done since then. The Abyssinian is an historic structure, built in 1828. It was the cultural center for free African Americans in Southern Maine (and the third African American meeting house in the country) back in the day and is an important stop on the Portland Freedom Trail. Check out the house's official site here. 

Also, as you've noticed from the widget on the right side of this page and from posts on other local blogs, it is time for the 2011 Portland Phoenix Best-of poll nominations. This blog was nominated last year, which was a great honor. I'm not concerned about winning, but I would be grateful to be a nominee once more. Nominate your favorite local things here!

Portland, Casco, Machigonne & Falmouth

This obelisk monument where Congress Street ends at the Eastern Promenade commemorates the present and past names of the city as far back as the 1600's.

As noted on Wikipedia, the original name of the  city was Machigonne, which was the name given by local Abenaki Native Americans. The next settlement in 1633 led to the new name of Casco, which is also the name of the local bay and a town near Sebago Lake. In 1658 the name was changed to Falmouth and in 1786 the name Portland was given.

Portland History - Lincoln Park Wind Mill

Read the Rock:

Once again, note the lack of comprehensive posts this week due to being on vacation. I created this week's post earlier this week and am trying the "scheduled posts" setting on blogger.

Custom House from the Ocean

Another photo with one of my favorite buildings, the good old Custom House on Commercial Street. An interesting read about the building can be found here.

"Located near Portland's waterfront, the U.S. Custom House is a testament to the city's maritime history. It was built to accommodate the city's growing customs business, which, by 1866, was collecting $900,000 annually in customs duties - making Portland one of the most significant seaports in the country."

Other news:

I'm sure everyone has seen the new pressherald.com by now. According to the Press Herald, the new site has received "...almost 100 percent positive feedback." I wonder what the actual percent of positive feedback is? Sounds like biased reporting. (I think the site is a great improvement).

Maine Historical Society

I checked out the Maine Historical Society's open house this past weekend, and here are some photos in and around their new research library:




It has a very neat section in the research library which is 3 levels tall. This is taken from the middle level, which overlooks the main research hall.