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Portlander
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Collection of Maine Historical Society
Historic Portland Discussion
- Thread starter Cosakita18
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Collection of Maine Historical Society
NR2Portland
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I know it wouldn’t be the most financially feasible at first, but bringing back the rail on Commercial St and putting a trolly/tram from Union Station (acting as a transportation hub) all the way to Yarmouth would be unreal!
Have stops along Commercial, over the currently abandoned rail bridge to East Deering (The Roux Campus having a stop on their campus would be exemplary for the region), Falmouth, Cumberland, and Yarmouth on the abandoned line along the 295 corridor. It could move work/student traffic in and out of Portland from the suburbs but would also 100% be a tourist attraction for the year-round tourism the city brings in!
Have stops along Commercial, over the currently abandoned rail bridge to East Deering (The Roux Campus having a stop on their campus would be exemplary for the region), Falmouth, Cumberland, and Yarmouth on the abandoned line along the 295 corridor. It could move work/student traffic in and out of Portland from the suburbs but would also 100% be a tourist attraction for the year-round tourism the city brings in!
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markhb
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If I were king of Portland, I would be trying to get rail-conducive industrial uses onto Presumpscot St. and get that line restarted! Eldredge Lumber is there, one would think they would be able to take rail shipments. Nappi and Cumberland & York Distributors used to be side-by-side out there, but rail does not appear to be relevant to Maine's beer distributors any longer.
Tracing the Fore could have been a successful art installation had the city bothered to maintain it but they didn't.
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Portlander
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Mark and I are not in this photo!
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markhb
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Wait, what are they doing?? Is way too tall, and is that LIMESTONE? Not red brick?? Completely out of place and all wrong for Portland.
What about the wind tunnel?? The shadow on the statue??
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markhb
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I don't think THIS will cause a wind tunnel, but if they were ever to build a similar abomination on the other side of Preble St. we would all be doomed!
DanielPWM19
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SOMETHING could have been successful as an art installation there, if properly maintained.
Tracing the Fore shrapnel metal and grass mounds was ugly AF and not designed to be easily maintainable - or appreciated and visitable by pedestrians. Weed whacking between those ugly POS's and uneven mounds was probably a PITA. You don't design shit and not get shit.
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markhb
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I never laid down to take an intoxicated nap on that median, but filling it with giant razor blades was a disaster waiting to happen.
But I digress. Had tracing the fore been properly installed and maintained it could have been beautiful. Unfortunately the plant material used was inappropriate and idiots with no clue decide it needs to be weed whacked, when in reality, had it been done properly, there should never have been a need for a weed whacker. I have worked in the urban design/landscape design/horticulture industry for 40 years. I know my "shit".
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markhb
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Full text of a post I trimmed in the Roux thread, following someone's posting of a pic of the old neon Burnham & Morrill sign....
I remember it well, and I agree! Portland's lack of inspired neon brings me down.
Examples from my youth, all gone now:
I remember it well, and I agree! Portland's lack of inspired neon brings me down.
Examples from my youth, all gone now:
- The Coca-Cola billboard overlooking Congress Square, mentioned in other threads
- The Rogers Jewelry awning signage, over the entrance to what is now (per GSV) Another Round board game cafe, next to Nosh (although there was dual signage, so I guess G.M. Pollock had taken over Rogers but kept the sign)
- The "rolling tire" sign on Merrill Transport on Forest Ave., which was moved to the cargo pier when the company pivoted away from trucking. I don't know if the sign was stored anywhere when Sprague took over the pier; if it survives, maybe it could be put on Merrill Auditorium to draw attention away from the new music hall!
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Portlander
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South Portland shipyards (New England Shipbuilding Corporation) where the Liberty ships were built during WW2 with the Grand Trunk wharves on the Portland side. How things have changed and not a tourist to be found!
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markhb
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This came up on Facebook for me. The timeframe is pretty narrow; the woman is standing on the Spring St. Garage, Canal Plaza and the Spring St. Arterial exist, but there is a visible billboard (recruiting for the Air Force), and those were banned as of 1/1/1978 (although it apparently took until 1984 for the last one to come down, upon further review). My recollection is that Donnelly Advertising, which owned most of the billboards that weren't strictly off-premise signage for a specific business, took theirs down quickly, although I was a kid so memory could be imprecise.
Interesting for the derelict warehouses still standing at the time.
www.facebook.com
Interesting for the derelict warehouses still standing at the time.
Stories From Maine
Portland, Maine. Undated. This image shows an unidentified woman enjoying the rooftop view of the waterfront area of Portland, with Fort Gorges in the the Harbor. #portlandmaine #rooftopviews...
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That photo with the gal was definitely taken from the top of the Spring Street garage and I'm going to guess around 1974 seeing that One Canal Plaza is completed. This would be prior to the Cumberland County Civic Center being built and the block of 5 story buildings being demolished at Spring and Center Streets to make way for the arena. The Spring Street Arterial was just wrapping up and you can see the modern round street light bulbs in both photos. Your "Air Force" billboard can be seen at the middle right portion of the lower photo and just to the right of the building that was home to Brian Boru for decades.
This came up on Facebook for me. The timeframe is pretty narrow; the woman is standing on the Spring St. Garage, Canal Plaza and the Spring St. Arterial exist, but there is a visible billboard (recruiting for the Air Force), and those were banned as of 1/1/1978 (although it apparently took until 1984 for the last one to come down, upon further review). My recollection is that Donnelly Advertising, which owned most of the billboards that weren't strictly off-premise signage for a specific business, took theirs down quickly, although I was a kid so memory could be imprecise.
Interesting for the derelict warehouses still standing at the time.
Stories From Maine
Portland, Maine. Undated. This image shows an unidentified woman enjoying the rooftop view of the waterfront area of Portland, with Fort Gorges in the the Harbor. #portlandmaine #rooftopviews...
Dr. StrangeHat
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And the same view today:
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Portlander
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Not sure what the light post and car have to do with the original photo with the woman on top of the garage? The round bulbs were along the sidewalks of Spring Street and the taller four disc lamps were in the center median. This photo is prior to construction starting on the Civic Center in 1975.
Good job knowing that ZZ Top was the first rock concert at the arena. We can compromise and date the original photo between 1974 and 1977 seeing her head and sweater may be blocking some vital clues.
Good job knowing that ZZ Top was the first rock concert at the arena. We can compromise and date the original photo between 1974 and 1977 seeing her head and sweater may be blocking some vital clues.