The bunker lasted through the 90's, well after the tracks were removed. I think you can actually see a corner of it in this photo, gray corduroy-textured concrete directly below that fire escape. This appears to be during the demolition of DiMillo's, post-fire.
Sorry or not to beat a dead horse, but tonight there is a highly important high school basketball game at the civic center (I hate using "Cross..."). Cooper Flagg, the top high school player in the country and from Maine, is playing in perhaps his final game in Maine (and the civic center), though for a Florida high school team during his last year in high school (though he just turned 17). He's headed to Duke next fall. A few weeks ago, one of the best college girls' players in the nation (from Gorham), Mackenzie Holmes, playing for Indiana, was here to show her skillset too. We all know that our "hallowed" arena falls a bit short for showcasing national level sports. It also does not help to keep high school standouts in Maine. Portland is so close to Boston, and an easy ride on the train into North Station (Celtics). After tonight's game, Cooper and his team will be at the Expo tomorrow to play there, and perhaps a practice prior to learn and showcase his talents to the Maine Red Claws/Maine Celtics. Cooper is 6"9" and still growing, and a few months ago led a team comprised of Maine players that beat a team put together or approved by Le Bron James! There is a YouTube video of him shaking his head with a smile at what Cooper can do on the floor. Maine will probably never see anything like this again, or in our lifetimes. That said, imagine if the civic center remodel had been done with some foresight. I can hear it now: "Oh, there was no money for that TC." Wrong. There is always money for those who put in the effort, and that's not just with sweat but by being creative too. Watch tonight's game on Livestream, because something like this in sports in Maine will probably never happen again. NBA scouts from around the country will be watching, and perhaps many of Duke's alumni and players and even opponents too. Oh well.
My recollection was that the Cianchette Block was built on top of the old "bunker" single-level parking deck on that location, but after other comments here, looking at the building on Google maps and reading through the documents at the below link, I think my memory was/is a little fuzzy on this.
It was likely torn down.
That would be cool to see, although I’d like to see some pedestrian-only streets mixed in there too
It's a de facto fire sale now. The Boston to Brunswick spine (with its comfy train transportation) is a key attraction for these companies. As the Hardshore Distilling owner (mid 30s) said to me, "Portland is a suburb of Boston." He's from Brooklyn, so a two-hour drive is familiar (1:40:00 to Logan). And Portland's infrastructure is outstanding, with more workers on the way (migrants from NYC, etc.), so that will soon be less of a concern.
It's sad to think the Rock Row development is a flop. It was something to be excited over, but in a sense we all sort of knew not to hold our breaths. Just like the Portland Foreside development, or Midtown, or any number of things we've been disappointed by over the years.
I wonder if Suffolk is opening this new office to chase the Northeastern grad school projects on the former B&M site. Suffolk is a massive firm, and there aren't many local companies that have the bandwidth to take on such a big project in Portland.
www.suffolk.com
I believe this is part of the Libbytown Safety and Accessibility Project which has the potential to introduce solid bike infrastructure on Park and Congress.
Maybe they can take these from PWMHopefully a classy "Welcome to Portland" sign will be placed in the center of the rotary with a stuffed moose and a few lobster traps!
www.bangordailynews.com
