Portland
The natural beauty of Casco Bay and its islands, authentic historic architecture, and an excellent natural harbor make Portland, Maine, a vital commercial center and attractive tourist destination.
 
The city is the economic and cultural heart of Maine, with 230,000 people - one quarter of the state’s population - residing in the greater Portland area.
Portland is defined by its rich array of 19th- and early 20th-century streetscapes and neighborhoods. The city flourished as a Colonial seaport, then as a commercial and transportation hub, firmly entrenched in trans-Atlantic trade. Portlanders expressed their pride and prosperity in the city’s architecture — the Federal Period McLellan House (1800) and its neighbor the Greek Revival Clapp House (1832), the Italianate Morse-Libby House (a.k.a. Victoria Mansion, 1857-60), and the gambrel-roofed brick warehouses that line the waterfront’s Commercial Street, to name a few.
In 1866, the city suffered the devastating Great Fire, but rebuilding was swift and optimistic. The city’s motto, “resurgam” (I shall rise), is reflected in the state-of-the-art Victorian brick buildings that replaced the devastation. An affluent middle class took advantage of commercial prosperity and talented local architects to develop residences in the latest styles, including Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Shingle Style, and Arts and Crafts. The city created an impressive public park system, with advice from the Olmsted Brothers landscape design firm that by the early 20th-century included Deering Oaks, Baxter Boulevard, and the Eastern and Western Promenades.
Portland’s tradition of civic engagement came to the fore in 1961, when its magnificent Union Station (1888) fell to the wrecking ball for the development of strip shopping center. This event, part of the Urban Renewal trend that swept the country during the 1960s, galvanized concerned citizens and community leaders to form Greater Portland Landmarks, which was officially incorporated in 1964.
During this period artists and entrepreneurs began to revitalize Portland’s Old Port area, whose commercial brick buildings had deteriorated and decayed and become largely abandoned. Today, the Old Port is the focal point of an active business district, shopping and entertainment center, and tourist destination. Built before the automobile, Portland’s streets and brick sidewalks reflect a vital street life of commerce and social interaction. The city is experienced best on foot - a pedestrian can walk the entire east-to-west length of the peninsula in less than an hour, enjoying the lively rhythm created by building details, such as granite and brick facades, handsome cornices, and windows and sidewalk storefronts.