Portland is the largest city in Maine, the capital of Cumberland
County, located in the Northeast of the United States. The
population in the city limits is 66,194 (2010), while 518,117
(105th in population) live within the agglomeration, which is
about a third of the population of Maine. For 2013, it is one of
the five most attractive cities for living in America.
The city seal depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes and
Portland's motto, Resurgam (Latin for I will rise again),
referring to history (Portland was rebuilding after four
devastating fires).
Portland was known as Machigonne to the natives who originally lived
there. It was refounded by the English in 1632 as a town dedicated to
fishing and commerce called Casco. In 1658 its name was changed again,
this time to Falmouth. A monument located at the end of Congress Street
was created as a tribute to the four names that Portland has had.
In 1675, the town was completely destroyed by the Wampanoags during
King Philip's War. The community was rebuilt, but was attacked by the
same natives years later. On October 18, 1775, the town was again
destroyed, this time bombarded during the American War of Independence
by the British Royal Navy, under the command of Captain Henry Mowat.
After the war, a sector of Falmouth called The Neck ("the neck", in
English) was transformed into a commercial port and began to grow
rapidly as a maritime center. In 1786, the citizens of Falmouth formed a
separate city in that sector and called it Portland. Portland's economy
was affected by the Embargo Act of 1807 (prohibition of trade with the
British) and the Anglo-American War of 1812. In 1820 Maine became a
state and Portland was chosen as the capital. With the end of the
Embargo and the war, the city's economy recovered. In 1832 the capital
was transferred to Augusta.
Portland was the center of protests
against the Maine Act of 1851, culminating in the Portland Riots on June
2, 1855.
The great fire of July 4, 1866, started during the
Independence Day celebrations, destroyed much of the commercial
buildings, half of the churches, and hundreds of houses in the city.
About 10,000 people were affected. After the fire, Portland was rebuilt
using bricks, acquiring a Victorian appearance.
The quality and
style of architecture in Portland is due in large part to the work of
leading architects during the 19th century. Alexander Parris (1780–1852)
came to the city in about 1800, where he built a number of Federal-style
buildings, though some were destroyed in the fire of 1866. Charles A.
Alexander (1822–1882) created numerous designs for Victorian mansions.
Henry Rowe (1810–1870) specialized in houses with a Gothic appearance.
George M. Harding (1827–1910) designed several buildings in the Old
Port, as well as some residential ones. At the turn of the century,
Frederick A. Tompson (1857–1906) designed several residential buildings
in the city.
The most influential architects were Francis Fassett
(1823–1908) and John Calvin Stevens (1855–1940). Fassett was
commissioned to build Maine General Hospital (now a part of Maine
Medical Center), Williston West Church, some schools, commercial and
apartment buildings, private residences, and his own home on Pine
Street. . Between the years 1880 and 1930 Stevens worked with a wide
range of styles, of which the shingle and the colonial stand out.
The town's Victorian style, which was popular during the rebuilding
of the town, has been preserved thanks to the efforts of the local
government. In 1982 the area was included in the National Register of
Historic Places.
Since the 1990s, the Maine Institute of Art has
become a revitalizing force for downtown, attracting students from
across the country, and adopting the historic Porteous Building on
Congress Street as the location for its installations. The institute has
also maintained the Baxter Building, which was originally the city's
library, as a computer lab and photo studio.
Lately Portland has
experienced significant urban growth, albeit much more controlled than
that which occurred during the 1980s. Congress Street has become home to
several shops and places to eat, as a result of the expansion of the Art
Institute and the appearance of various condominiums. The Bayside and
Ocean Gateway sectors are undergoing an accelerated process of
urbanization.
Prominent buildings
The spire of the Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception (62.2 m) became an important element of the city's skyline
when completed in 1854. In 1859, Emmy Young, the government architect,
erected the Naval Hospital Building, one of his three local jobs as head
of the Architectural Bureau at the Treasury Department. Although the
Postal Service Building (1867), erected by Alfred Mallet in white
Vermont marble with a Corinthian portico, was demolished in 1965,
Portland retained the Neo-Renaissance Second Empire Granite Customs
Building, which he designed in 1872.
A later building, the
Franklin Tower, a 17-story apartment building built in 1969, is the
tallest (62.2 m) in Portland (and Maine). During a building boom in the
1980s, new buildings were erected on the peninsula, such as the 1983
Charles Shipman Payson Building[en] (part of the Portland Museum of Art
complex and Back Bay Tower, a 15-story residential building opened in
1990 .
Located near Monument Square at 477 Congress Street, known
locally as the Time and Temperature Building, in the Arts District, the
building is a landmark: on the roof of the 14-story building, there is a
huge board informing about the current temperature and time, and in
winter - also about employment located near the parking building. This
building houses several radio stations. In addition, ABC affiliate WMTW
currently has a television studio here, although it announced a move to
a new studio in Westbrook in October 2014.
Eastland Park Hotel is
a famous hotel built in 1927 and located in Downtown on High Street.
Photographer Todd Webb[en] has lived in Portland in recent years and has
taken many photographs of the city. Some of his work can be found at the
Evans Gallery in South Portland.
Neil S. Doe's house at 714
Congress St. - the house-museum of the US presidential candidate in the
1880 election and the US National Historic Landmark.
Portland is a regional center for journalism, broadcasting,
advertising agencies, web designers, photo studios, and film production.
The city has two daily newspapers: The Portland Press Herald/Maine
Sunday Telegram (1862) and The Portland Daily Sun. The Portland Press
Herald is published Monday through Saturday and The Maine Sunday
Telegram is published on Sundays. Both are published by MaineToday
Media, Inc., which also operates MaineToday.com Archived June 19, 2019
at the Wayback Machine and owns newspapers in Augusta and Waterville.
The Portland Daily Sun was founded in 2009 and is owned by The Conway
Daily Sun, based in North Conway, New Hampshire.
In addition,
Potland publishes The Portland Phoenix[en], a weekly newspaper owned by
the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which also owns the infotainment
website ThePhoenix.com Archived August 15, 2014 at the Wayback Machine
and bi-annual LGBT magazine Out In Maine.
Among other things,
Portland publishes The Portland Forecaster, a weekly newspaper; The
Bollard, a monthly magazine; The West End News Archived August 19, 2014
at the Wayback Machine, The Munjoy Hill Observer. Archived from the
original on July 17, 2014, The Baysider, The Waterfront, Portland
Magazine; and The Companion. Archived from the original on October 24,
2005, LGBT edition. Portland also publishes The Exception Magazine,
Maine's first online publication covering life in the state.
Portland's broadcast market is Mena's largest in both radio and
television. Numerous radio stations are available in Portland: WFNK
(classic hits), WJJB (sports), WTHT (country), WBQW (classical), WHXR
(rock), WHOM (contemporary music), WJBQ (Top 40), WCLZ (alternative
album music), WBLM (classic rock), WYNZ (Hits of the 60s and 70s), and
WCYY (contemporary rock). WMPG is a local non-commercial radio station
operated by the University of Southern Maine. MPBN is also located in
Portland.
Some local TV stations carry many national TV networks:
WCSH 6 (NBC), WMTW 8 (ABC), WGME 13 (CBS), WPFO 23 (Fox), WPME 35
(MyNetworkTV), and WPXT 51 (The CW). Portland does not have a license to
broadcast PBS, but MPBN's WCBB 10 in Augusta and WMEA-TV 26 in Biddeford
carry PBS.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total
area of 136.2 km², of which 54.9 km² is land and 81.3 km² is water.
Geographical location
Portland is a city in southern Cumberland
County and is located on Casco Bay, on the Atlantic Ocean. The port city
of Portland is located on a peninsula almost three miles long and one
mile wide at the mouth of the Fore River and Casco Bay, across from
South Portland, to which it is connected by a bridge. The city of
Portland also includes other islands in Casco Bay that are only
accessible by boat or ferry. Portland is the United States' port city
closest to Europe.
neighboring communities
All distances are
given as the crow flies between the official coordinates of the 2010
census locations.
North: Falmouth, 7 miles
East: Long Island
in Casco Bay, 2.4 miles
South: South Portland, 7 miles
West:
Westbrook, 18.8 km
Portland is divided into neighborhoods. These include:
Arts
District with galleries, theaters, museums and the Maine College of Art.
Back Cove is an urban area bordering the Portland Estuary Basin.
North Deering the northernmost part of the city, in North Deering most
of the historic buildings have been preserved, since North Deering was
mostly spared from the fires.
East Deering the easternmost part of
town, East Deering is home to Payson Park and the Longfellow Arboretum.
Deering Highlands was built on a hill in the 19th century.
Libbytown
a neighborhood in southern Portland, Interstate 295 runs through
Libbytown.
Nasons Corner originally belonged to the Town of Deering,
was incorporated into Portland in 1899 along with Deering.
Rosemont,
located between Oakdale, Nasons Corner, Libbytown and Deering Center, is
one of the non-peninsula areas of Portland.
Oakdale Oakdale is the
home of the University of Southern Maine campus
East Bayside, located
on the Estuary Basin Back Cove, was Portland's second seaport in the
19th century.
Originally a separate town, Deering Center was
incorporated into Portland in 1899.
Munjoy Hill with the Portland
Observatory
Old Port is known for its cobbled streets, boutiques,
restaurants and bars.
Saint John Valley is a district established in
2008 between Libbyton, Parkside and the West End.
Stroudwater is the
southwesternmost borough of Portland, where Portland (Maine) Airport is
located.
Portland Financial District, where many banks such as Key
Bank, Bank of America, or TD Commerce Bank are based.
West End is
home to some of Portland's historic buildings, including Mercy Hospital
Islands: Portland also includes some of the islands in Casco Bay, e.g.
B.: Little Diamond Island, Great Diamond Island and Peaks Island.
Portland is nationally known for being home to major insurance
companies and banks (Portland Financial District), but especially for
its old port, which attracts many tourists, and for the famous
lighthouse, the Portland Head Light.
Traffic
Portland has an
international airport and several train stations. Portland also had a
streetcar service from 1863 to 1941.
In 1873 the Boston and Maine
Railroad was extended from South Berwick to Portland and in 1875 the
Portland and Rochester Railroad was completed. Also the Portland and
Ogdensburg Railway in the same year.
Public facilities
The
40-bed Maine General Hospital opened in 1874, the Maine Eye and Ear
Infirmary in 1890, and the Children's Hospital in 1908. A merger of
these three facilities to form the Maine Medical Center occurred in
1951. The Catholic Diocese of Portland opened Queens Hospital in 1918
for victims of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic. It was run by the Sisters
of Mercy and hence later renamed the Mercy Hospital.
graveyards
There are 16 cemeteries in the City of Portland area, with the ♁smallest
containing only 21 dead from the War of 1812. However, burials hardly
ever take place in most of these cemeteries. A total of around 300
burials take place annually in just two of the cemeteries, on Evergreen
and Forest City.
Eleven elementary schools, four middle schools and five high schools
are available to students.
Portland also has campuses for the
University of Southern Maine, the private University of New England and
the Maine College of Art. Founded in 1882 as an adjunct to the Museum of
Art, the Maine College of Art is the oldest art education institution in
Maine.
The Portland Public Library has five locations throughout
the city.
personalities
Portland is the birthplace of writers
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Stephen King, composer John Knowles
Paine, investment banker Edson Mitchell and actress Anna Kendrick. King
has consistently integrated Portland into his works by allowing parts of
the action of his books to take place there.
trivia
Portland
has voted to legalize the cannabis trade, as had previously happened in
Washington and Colorado under similar conditions.
The eponymous
city of Portland, Oregon was founded by Francis Pettygrove of Portland,
Maine, who named the city after his hometown.