Portland's business district

[Patrick]

Just happened to be out and about today and took some pictures of Portland's cluster of taller buildings

 

[Portlander]

Some nice vantage points Patrick. Good seeing you yesterday, thanks!

 

[FrankLloydMike]

Some of those 1980s high-rises aren't the best examples of commercial architecture, but the overall scene is great. Monument Square is at least one of, if not the best urban public space in northern New England in my mind. The clustering of buildings around it works well, I think, and recent renovations to one of the high-rises and the library facing it show how easily some of the less-than-great facades on the square can be made more lively. The Old Port has a charm that speaks for itself, and while I'd be hesitant to change much at its core (such intact historic districts as this are too rare in this country), I agree with a lot of what you've said about developing its periphery. Nice shots.

 

[Patrick]

RIght on Mike, I think I agree 100%. While many of the buildings in Portland or any city may leave something to be desired architecturally, it is their collective effect that matters, and I think the close clustering and pedestrian way in front of Monument square do a pretty good job of creating a decent place. However, I think I can think of two public spaces that rival monument square, those being Tommy's park in the Old Port, and Church Street in Burlington, VT. I like monument square the best aesthetically, but those other places are a bit more lively. I think monument square would have been the best in its heyday, but today the place is still rebounding. Surely one of the best in the city all the same, though. And I wouldn't change anything about the Old Port other than its peripheral parking spaces, as you said. Thanks for your comments.

And great seeing you yesterday, Portlander, as well. (he's the reason these are posted).

 

[Portlander]

The Time and Temperature Building (Chapman 1924) and the Peoples United Building (Fidelity 1910) are still my two favorite structures. Being located side by side in the center of downtown has always given Portland a substantial and fairly cosmopolitan look for a city of our size.

My only regret was the limited design effort and choice of materials for the 2+ floor addition to the Time and Temp Bldg in 1963. It was hideous looking upon completion and I am thankful that the building's owner improved it considerably in the late eighties. It blends in with the rest of the building much better and I have talked to numerous Portlander's who did not realize the top floors were an actual addition.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

However, I think I can think of two public spaces that rival monument square, those being Tommy's park in the Old Port, and Church Street in Burlington, VT. I like monument square the best aesthetically, but those other places are a bit more lively. I think monument square would have been the best in its heyday, but today the place is still rebounding. Surely one of the best in the city all the same, though.

Is Tommy's Park that small park at Exchange and Middle streets? In visiting Portland, that's been one of my favorite spots. It definitely seems livelier than Monument Square, but it's also more at the center of the tourist spots there. I'd expect Monument Square to gain prominence as Bayside develops and it's more at the center of the developed part of the city. Having civic venues like the library and market there, plus the proposals in the peninsula transit study make it even stronger.

I like Church Street in Burlington and actually thought of it as I was writing my earlier post. As much as I like Church Street and as much as it bounds with a festival-like atmosphere at times, it has some serious drawbacks. Despite the street performers and cafes, it sometimes feels unserendipitous. I strongly dislike the piped in music and prevalence of chain stores that at times give it the feeling of a mall (albeit a very good, outdoor one). Perhaps in a similar way, I can't see even the impromptu demonstrations and performances that pop up in Market Square in Portsmouth and I presume in various squares in Portland. I could be wrong about that, though. My favorite places in Burlington by far are not on Church Street, and as much as I enjoy strolling down it for a bit, I think that speaks to something either about the physical space itself or the way it has been managed.

 

[Patrick]

The Time and Temperature Building (Chapman 1924) and the Peoples United Building (Fidelity 1910) are still my two favorite structures. Being located side by side in the center of downtown has always given Portland a substantial and fairly cosmopolitan look for a city of our size.

My only regret was the limited design effort and choice of materials for the 2+ floor addition to the Time and Temp Bldg in 1963. It was hideous looking upon completion and I am thankful that the building's owner improved it considerably in the late eighties. It blends in with the rest of the building much better and I have talked to numerous Portlander's who did not realize the top floors were an actual addition.

The Fidelity is my all time favorite, followed by One Portland Square. I like the look of one monument square now, but in a modern way. I never knew the top two floors of the Time and Temp building (also for those who don't know previously called the monument square building) were new until I saw an old picture a few years ago. Interesting stuff. The Fidelity would look even better if the building next to it was never torn down leaving that blank wall when the library was built.

 

[Patrick]

Is Tommy's Park that small park at Exchange and Middle streets? In visiting Portland, that's been one of my favorite spots. It definitely seems livelier than Monument Square, but it's also more at the center of the tourist spots there. I'd expect Monument Square to gain prominence as Bayside develops and it's more at the center of the developed part of the city. Having civic venues like the library and market there, plus the proposals in the peninsula transit study make it even stronger.

I like Church Street in Burlington and actually thought of it as I was writing my earlier post. As much as I like Church Street and as much as it bounds with a festival-like atmosphere at times, it has some serious drawbacks. Despite the street performers and cafes, it sometimes feels unserendipitous. I strongly dislike the piped in music and prevalence of chain stores that at times give it the feeling of a mall (albeit a very good, outdoor one). Perhaps in a similar way, I can't see even the impromptu demonstrations and performances that pop up in Market Square in Portsmouth and I presume in various squares in Portland. I could be wrong about that, though. My favorite places in Burlington by far are not on Church Street, and as much as I enjoy strolling down it for a bit, I think that speaks to something either about the physical space itself or the way it has been managed.

All very good points, and the same criticisms I hear over and over again. I like Church St because it is ped only, something I have thought might go well on Exchange St here in Portland. I spoke with a city planner a few weeks ago in Portland and he said he thought the intermed building (10 stories) would be the tallest in that neighborhood, so I don't think that place will be developing as I had hoped. But you're right as things fill in with new buildings in the area monument square is going to continue to be a prominent spot. Also, to answer your question, yes Tommy's park is where you said it was. In the winter, there are very few tourists, but the place is still very lively. And I think tourists do wonders for all places, because a place that is purely local can get a bit stale. Cosmopolitan centers always have thousands of people in them that don't live there. I know I am stating the obvious here, but just saying. That space was proposed for a building some time ago, and at one time the park across the street was a parking lot. (there are really two adjacent parks). I think Portland is awkward when it comes to defining public spaces because of city hall. most town halls front on a large open space, yet our looks down exchange street, and not even on center. There were plans to place it in Lincoln Park up the street, but that never happened and now that space is fenced in and sketchy.

 

[Patrick]

Also, I have to ask, where are your favorite spots in Burlington if not Church Street? The urbanity of the place is small and aside from Church Street the city is kind of sleepy. The boardwalk by the lake is nice in summer, but I came home for summers (went to UVM). When I was there they were building a nice new ten story condo facing the lake, which I had posted some pics of on here before there was a website malfunction causing all pics to be deleted. UVM's main campus is also a beautiful spot in Burlington.

Also, Portsmouth is a fun and nice city, for sure.

 

[FrankLloydMike]

I realized that when I said my favorite places in Burlington are not on Exchange Street, I was thinking more of the collections of bars, restaurants and shops on side streets. As an urban public space, Church Street is by far the best in Burlington. The lakefront is a bit too far from most of the activity to ever rival it, I think. I did see, however, that Burlington's lakefront old rail station is still intact. I know there is an intention to restore rail service to the city as part of the high-speed rail initiative, but I'm not sure sure if this station will be used. If this became a transit hub or something, maybe there would be a bit more activity down that way.

I agree that tourists are generally great for a city. What I mean by being more in the center of a tourist spot is just that it doesn't seem to be quite the public living room for Portlanders that Monument Square is or could be with the library on it and all. The siting of Portland's City Hall has struck me as odd. I've only ever been on a weekend, but the plaza out front and the office buildings nearby have all been dead. I know the Franklin Arterial cut that end of the city off, but I get the impression that even beforehand the City Hall was probably near the edge of the downtown. Manchester's City Hall has always puzzled me, too, in that it faces a side street rather than Elm. Market Street, which it faces, was cut off at Elm in the early 1990s to create a small pedestrian plaza/pocket park between City Hall and City Hall Plaza tower, which I think is pretty successful.

 

[Portlander]

FLM, you are correct in your view of the City Hall portion of Congress Street. Historically that section of downtown was set aside as Portland's "civic" area which led to the rebuilding of City Hall and the construction of the County and Federal Courthouses around the same time. In addition, Lincoln Park was part of that same plan to have a gathering place for meetings and recreation as well as a fire break after the 1866 disaster that basically leveled most of downtown.

Another important factor in that area not appearing as viable was due to Congress Street's "retail/shopping" corridor traditionally ended at Temple Street and transitioned over to government, publishing and insurance related businesses. Prior to 1975, the two blocks from Myrtle to Franklin was a little more commercially relevant with numerous structures including a church until they all eventually fell to the wrecking ball. The path clearing for Franklin Arterial did not remove any significant or historically valuable buildings at the Congress Street intersection unless it was your great grandparent's house, then you may disagree.

Those parcels of land, which are now a private parking venture is one of the last sections of downtown zoned for high rise construction (215 ft + 35 ft rooftop ornamental/mechanical). Patrick will correct me if I am a few feet off! As you may know, there have been numerous proposals over the past 30 years ranging from 300+ towers to hotels, convention centers and even a new 10,000 seat arena. Any new development in that area will considerably improve the streetscape visually and add some much needed activity to the eastern anchor of Congress Street. We will continue to wait with our fingers crossed

 

[Patrick]

Yep, that area is a little back-waterish, for sure. The Lincoln park area is, too. Had the City Hall been built to face the park, both areas would have benefited. I kind of like the view corridor leading up Exchange, our most aesthetically appeal in my opinion, to City Hall, but it is slightly off center, which is borderline annoying. Annapolis, MD has a good example of a view corridor leading to a prominent structure. Most older cities do (Burlington included). Portland just missed the mark, and in that sense is truly organic, with no real planned footprint. Congress Street used to be called "Back Street" because there was basically nothing there. The City has grown out from the waterfront, due to its historical prominence in our economy, and the lively stretch of Congress, as Portlander said, stems from the retail era. That era never really much influenced the City Hall stretch. And Franklin Arterial doesn't do much, either. The site referenced above is actually only zoned for 190 foot buildings, with a 40' cap for HVAC stuff. The other tall areas along the Congress spine are zoned slightly higher, at 210' with 40' caps. The City's idea was to take the blanket cap of 125' that previously applied to most of downtown, and lower it in the Old Port while making up for that lowering by adding to the Congress Street spine. That idea, however, is misguided because there are very few parcels along Congress that can actually absorb any new structure (whereas the Old Port and surrounding areas have plenty of peripheral parking spaces), and now Congress is an historic district, so demolition is not feasible, either. Really, what looks like a height "increase" is really a height "decrease" in effect. Land is so expensive in the Old Port that an investor would be silly to buy if he or she couldn't recoup the costs by taller development.

 

[Patrick]

And I think you are right about Burlington, but with the new Aquarium (new being relative phrase) and the board walk (something Portland could benefit from along its Central Waterfront Zone), and new condos, several hotels, waterviews that blow Downtown Portland's out of the water (due to the hill), at least in the Old Port area (East End Portland has better views, in my opinion), that neighborhood just might be number two in Burlington. The large park on the hill sort of discontinues the urban fabric, but there are a few lakeside restaurants and a marine down there that draw a lot of people, too. But yeah I basically agree with your points.

 

[Portlander]

I love Burlington, but I'll take ocean views any day over lake views. And Sebago Lake is just a short drive from Portland if I need that fix. Burlington reminds me of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with more of an emphasis on college town over resort town. Both populations mirror each other and they both serve as regional mini-hubs. Oh yeah, they are both on a lake!

 

[Patrick]

I agree that ocean view is better, but you can't see the ocean from Downtown Portland. And where you can see the harbor, it has an industrial feel not present in Burlington. The East End view is way better, but you can't see it from downtown like you can see the lake in Burlington, that's all I meant. I'd like to see the water in Portland be a boardwalk with less industrial feel. The industry can be there, but I think it should be organized different to allow for more public access and more views. Portland's biggest asset is its waterfront, yet it is used for parking.

 

[Portlander]

Patrick, I agree with the difficulty to see the water from most of downtown due to it's density and the concentration of finger piers instead of wharfs along the central part of the waterfront. The best views downtown are at the end of Compass Park/Maine State Pier, Di'millo's, and Oceangate Park at the cruise ship terminal.

I also send visitors to the top of the new Oceangate parking garage but that is cheating due to not being street level! Views from the East End are simply marvelous from any angle.

 

[Portlander]

Patrick or Corey, it's time to freshen these photos up now that the trees have leaves and the grass areas are green. Totally different look from the stark winter shots : )

 

[Corey]

Portland is indeed even more attractive with leaves on the trees. The city really comes alive after each winter.

I won't hijack this thread, I post every day @ http://www.portlanddailyphoto.com/. You should post some more photos around town, Patrick. It's always nice to see other people's views of the city.

 

[John_French]

Great photo of the old ferry terminal Corey. Sad it is sitting there now with no public access. This area of the waterfront was more active back when the "clay docks" were still there, behind where the gas utility operation is now.