Historic Portland Discussion

[Portlander]

Collection of Maine Historical Society

 

[NR2Portland]

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!

 

[markhb]

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.

 

[PlantArch]

When were the chess tables removed? It's still a wonderful cultural component in some of Manhattan's parks (Washington Square and Central). What do you say we get back to "thinking" again? These tables can also be used to eat your lunch with a friend (see attached suggestive photo for a new idea). I'm assuming they were removed to deter the presence of the homeless and general miscreant populations. In NYC there is or was, not a notable safety problem because it has police walking a beat with their nightsticks at hand. I'd put a little kiosk/station in Congress Square with a friendly officer from ten to ten every day. The better of the public must own this park again. And on weekends perhaps have local restaurants do surprise micro tastings. Commission a statue of Portland's original two iconic chefs alongside. Be creative. I'm dreading the upcoming new design ideas for the park. The winner will undoubtedly prioritize "art" (ego} first and how the people use it second, or third, or not at all. Remember Tracing the Fore? They were de facto saw blades sticking up from the grass.

View attachment 61839

Tracing the Fore could have been a successful art installation had the city bothered to maintain it but they didn't.