RawFaith Down

The pirate ship-esque RawFaith, docked off Portland for several months has sunk. For the somewhat sad story behind the ship (and photos) see The Bollard's feature on the ship and the man behind it.

photo: Sarah Bouchard

Oakdale, Pre I-295

Strange Maine has posted the next installment of the "The City has Ghost Streets" with some great old photos and the history of the Back Cove area where the highway now goes through.

By the completion of highway I-295 (November 1974), a massive project with city-wide ramifications, a swath of elevated expressway effectively separated Oakdale from Parkside and the remainder of downtown Portland. Parallel road-construction projects included Franklin Arterial, extending Preble Street onto the landfilled Marginal Way, extending State Street through Deering Oaks Park, and creating the Libbytown interchange at Libby’s Corner.

Portland Streetcar Map (1916)

What a Portland streetcar map would have looked line in 1916. via Right of Way, via wikipedia.

Old School Portland Encyclopedia

According to Portland Encyclopedia only three decades matter - 1960's - 80's.  Now primarily just a Facebook page, you can see some great old photos of the city and read peoples stories from a time before the internet and digital cameras. 

The Portland Encyclopedia is a work in progress. Someday we hope that it will be available in print as a reference guide, including street indexes and maps, as well as alphabetized entries and photographs.

The Building of the Civic Center

Here is a (kinda cheesy) slide show of the building of the Cumberland County Civic Center.

On June 23, 1972, the site for the proposed $5 million Cumberland County Sports & Convention Center was chosen from among three finalists; Gorham, a site on 20 acres in South Portland by the newly constructed Maine Mall, and the site on which it stands today in downtown Portland, nestled between Free and Spring Streets. The design for the structure was made public in November of 1974 by architect E. Crawley Cooper, and the site work began in early 1975.

tip: All Things Maine

Hell No on One! ~ Benefit Shows

Two shows at Empire Dine and Dance: Saturday 10/18, and an all ages show Sunday 10/19. Shows benefit Protect Maine Equality.

Featuring performances in whole or in part by members of:
Spencer and the School Spirit Mafia
Gypsy Tailwind
Lady Lamb the Beekeper
Jason Spooner
Kyle Gervais
The Rock and Roll Guru from WBLM
Chef Death Match
Kenya Hall
Lady Zen
The Number 9
As Fast As
The McCarthys
The Goodnight Process
Holy Boys Danger Club
Seymor (Billy Libby, Aren Sprinkle, Sean Morin)

Your tax bill, circa 1954

The Way Life Used to Be has dug up a Portland tax bulletin from 1954.

History of Eastern Waterfront

The Press Herald has posted the slide show done by the Planning Department on the waterfront around the Maine State Pier.

"This is an area that has great historical significance, but little remaining historical fabric," said Scott Hanson, a staffer in the city's historic preservation program. "It is truly open to redevelopment, but carries memories of about 400 years of Portland history."

Hanson presented a history of the site at the first forum two weeks ago. He used a slide show of about 100 historic images, starting with a map of Falmouth Neck in 1690 showing the first European settlement clustered around India and Fore streets.

The History of Portland's Park System

Derek Viger provides an in depth look at how our parks came to be.

Portland’s park system literally began from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1866. No formal parks existed before the Great Fire. The Evergreen Cemetery was the closest thing Portland had to a park. The Portland City Council purchased an area of burnt land, now bordered by Pearl, Franklin, Market, and Federal Sts. James P. Baxter called this purchase, "…one of the best exhibitions of wise enterprise which Portland has ever made." ... more