Discover why Portland
is such a great City
to live-in, visit and love.
The business, financial, retail, arts and entertainment capital center
of Maine's universe, per capita, Portland has one of the biggest and
most active Gay and Lesbian populations in the east coast.
Consistently ranked nationally as one of the best small cities to call
home, Portland
has emerged as one of the most diverse and exciting cities in the
nation.
Downtown
Arts District and Old Port
East End
Munjoy Hill and Eastern Prom
West End
Downtown
Arts District and Old Port
With almost everything within walking (hiking or biking) distance,
downtown Portland can be divided into several distinctively different,
but equally pleasurable areas. And at every turn, Portland is a
welcoming fun experience for
everyone.
One of the few working waterfronts left in the United States,
seamlessly
connected by brick streets and charming buildings is Portland’s Old Port
.
One of the most successful revitalized warehouse districts in the
country - it's a must-see for shopping, dining, arts and
entertainment and people watching.
Center for Maine History 207.774.1822
489 Congress Street
Designed in the grande French Hotel de Ville style; houses Merrill
Auditorium and the 1912 Kotzschmar organ.
For more info, click here
Maine College of Art Porteous Building
522 Congress Street:
A dynamic college of art and design
where nationally recognized faculty, interdisciplinary programs, and
state-of-the-art facilities create an educational experience that gives
fresh vision to Maine's extraordinary legacy in the visual arts.
The College gallery, the Institute of Contemporary Art at
MECA, has been hailed as one of the finest art spaces in the Northeast.
FMI for the
exhibition of leading edge contemporary art.
First Parish Unitarian
Universalist Church 207.773.5747
425 Congress Street
This historical landmark is
the oldest stone building
in the state of Maine.
Open for services and by appointment.
Longfellow House 207.772.1807
487 Congress Street
Childhood home of famed
19th Century poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
built in 1786.
Open June - October
and Christmas holiday
Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow Statue Longfellow Square
Bronze statue of poet by native sculptor Franklin Simmons.
Victoria Mansion
207.772.4841
109 Danforth Street
Guided tours of Victoria Mansion, one of the High Victorian period's
greatest
houses, enable the visitor to see the mansion's interior, which is still
over 90 per cent original, and are scheduled from May through the end of
October.
Victoria
Mansion is lavishly
decorated for the holidays by professional designers, decorators,
and florists, making this a festive
time of year to plan a tour.
Open through December 31st.
For more info. click here
John Ford Statue
On the eastern edge of the Old
Port District, you'll find a square called Gorham Corner (a sign reads
HERE SETTLED IRISH IMMIGRANTS IN 1840) with a bronze likeness of film
director John Ford, a Portland native, smoking a pipe atop a mound of
beach stones. Born Sean Aloysius O'Feeney in 1895, Ford went on to
direct classics like
The Quiet Man and The Grapes of Wrath.
Portland Museum of Art 207.775.6148
7 Congress Square
Fine & decorative arts from the 18th century to the present housed in an
award winning building designed by I.M. Pei & Partners. Works by Winslow
Homer, John Singer Sargent, and Andrew Wyeth.
Merrill Auditorium
(207)
20 Myrtle
Street 20 Myrtle Street,
A
1900 seat performing arts facility located in the Arts District.
The Auditorium was originally built in 1912 to replace two former halls
both destroyed by fire. What was then known as City Hall
Auditorium was
a classic example of colonial style, boasting porticos and columns,
a deep court and large wings.
They host a wide range of programming,
from the Portland Symphony Orchestra, PCA Great Performances and the
Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ, to popular music concerts and Broadway
shows.
Portland Stage Company (207) 774-0465 25A Forest Avenue
Maine’s largest fully professional, non-profit theater, is committed to
providing the finest productions for audiences in a broad region of Northern New
England.
Portland Observatory
138 Congress Street
It's not a lighthouse! (And it has nothing to do with astronomy.) The
Portland Observatory (1807) is the only extant maritime signal station
in the United States, and thus a unique architectural icon of maritime
shipping and the "Golden Age of Sail." The Portland Observatory was
added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and has been
recommended for National Historic Landmark status.
The Eastern Prom
This waterfront trail built along an old rail corridor offers
spectacular harbor and ocean views and is a popular spot for walking,
running, bicycling, and rollerblading. Benches, picnic tables are
located along the route and
at East End Beach .
There are parallel paved and stone dust trails along the water. The
mostly flat slope has a small rise near the Water Treatment plant, and
another near Tukey's Bridge, where it connects
to the Back Cove Trail.
The plume of smoke is from a passing train from
The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad and
Museum featuring magnificent views of Portland's
working waterfront aboard antique
rail cars pulled by hard-working steam and diesel locomotives.
Of Special Interest
The St. Lawrence Arts
& Community Center
76 Congress Street
Owned and operated by the
non-profit corporation Friends of the St. Lawrence Church created in
1996 to restore the historic St. Lawrence Church
and return it to use to its community.
The Friends have a 3-part mission: Arts and Culture: creating an
affordable and accessible venue for diverse offerings of performance
arts - theater, dance, music, film, meetings and workshops; Neighborhood
and Community and Historic Preservation.
Deering Oaks Park is
the largest of Portland, Maine's 25 public parks.
Located just west of downtown Portland, the 51-acre park is bordered by
Deering Avenue on the west, Forest Avenue on the east, Park Avenue on
the south, and Interstate 295 on the north. State Street goes right
through the park.
Deering Oaks Park is
great for picnics, walking or jogging, relaxing, and sporting
activities. There are large, open grassy knolls and tall hardwood trees,
many of them more than
200 years old, creating a high canopy over parts of the park.
Portland Head Light Fort WIlliams Park
South Portland
When ever you see pictures of Portland, this landmark, actually in
South
Portland, is what you see.
There is a large park with
plenty of space
for a picnic.
