10 Historic Places to Visit in Greater Portland This Summer

It’s not too late to get out and enjoy summer in Maine! What are your plans for the last few weeks of Summer? Why not visit some of Greater Portland’s historic sites this year? Here are some suggestions:

1. Come visit us at the Portland Observatory! In 1807 Captain Lemuel Moody (1768-1846), ordered construction of this octagonal, 86-foot high tower on Munjoy Hill to serve as a communication station for Portland’s bustling harbor. It was a commercial venture designed to give a competitive edge to ship owners who paid Moody a subscription fee of $5.00 a year to alert them when their ships were arriving.

2. Everyone knows to visit Portland Headlight, probably the most well-known light house in Maine. But have you visited the children's garden or walked along the cliffs to visit the Ecology Project at Fort Williams? Fort Williams Park is open year-round from sunrise to sunset and maintained by the citizens of Cape Elizabeth for all to enjoy. While it’s gorgeous on a sunny day, it’s even a great place to visit on a cloudy or foggy summer day too.

3. On a hot summer evening take a stroll through Fort Preble (1808) to enjoy cool ocean breezes. Occupied during the War of 1812 and the Civil War, the fort was sold in 1952 to the State of Maine and is now the campus of Southern Maine Community College. Some of Fort Preble's original early 20th Century brick buildings (including officers' quarters, barracks and a fire station), along with perimeter casemates, remain and are in a good state of preservation. Don’t forget to walk out to Spring Point Ledge Light built near the fort in 1897.

4. You can use our self-guided interactive maps to explore Greater Portland anytime! Our online maps can be used to take a virtual tour from your computer, or you can use them on your phone as you walk around a local neighborhood.

5. Explore Fort Gorges! Named after Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Fort Gorges was built 1861-1868 by Ruben Smart and is modeled after Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Fort Gorges was planned and constructed as one of three forts in Portland Harbor in reaction to the threat of foreign naval powers, initially provoked by the War of 1812. The Friends of Fort Gorges group is actively building awareness and raising funds to preserve the fort.

6. Take a tour of Eastern Cemetery! Spirits Alive has also developed a virtual tour of the cemetery that you can view while lounging in your hammock or take with you when you visit the cemetery on your own whenever the gates are open between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

7. Sail on a historic schooner! Sailing on a windjammer is the perfect way to experience the beauty of the Maine coast, complete with lighthouses, seals, and seabirds. Windjammers Bagheera, Wendameen, or Timberwind were built in Maine and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

8. Pack a picnic basket - or better yet order lunch or dinner to go from a local business - and enjoy your meal in one of Portland’s historic parks. Catch a sunset from newly designated historic Fort Sumner park, watch the ducks play in Deering Oaks pond, or enjoy the stunning view from the Eastern Promenade.

9. Mackworth Island is the former home of James Phinney Baxter and of his son, Governor Percival Baxter, and was deeded to the State of Maine in 1943. Currently it is the site of the Baxter School for the Deaf. The island is a legislated bird sanctuary and is connected to Falmouth by a causeway at the mouth of the Presumpscot River. The island is open to visitors from dawn to dusk.

10. The Cumberland and Oxford Canal was opened in 1832 to connect the largest lakes of southern Maine with the seaport of Portland, Maine. The canal followed the Presumpscot River from Sebago Lake through the towns of Standish, Windham, Gorham, and Westbrook. The Canal diverged from the river at Westbrook to reach the navigable Fore River estuary and Portland Harbor.

    The Fore River Sanctuary is the site of the former Cumberland and Oxford Canal. You can walk along the remains of the towpath and see the repair basin, a man-made pond dug for the canal. The nature sanctuary is also the home of Jewell Falls, Portland’s only natural waterfall.

    You can also see elements of the canal and towpath in Gambo Preserve. Access the preserve from trail heads in Windham near Gambo Dam or from Gorham’s Shaw Park.

What’s Happening in Preservation at the State and National Level?

by Julie Ann Larry, Director of Advocacy

I hope that everyone is well this holiday season. I took a bit of a break over the Thanksgiving holiday away from the internet and phone service. It was much needed time off but now I am back at work and ready to engage in all the exciting new projects and policies that are in the works for 2021!

While Greater Portland Landmarks works mostly at the local level, we also engage with state and federal legislation that will impact the historic preservation profession and our historic communities. While I was away there were several developments at the state and federal level.

In Maine this week was the release of the Governor’s Climate Action Plan. Greater Portland Landmarks and our preservation allies participated in the public workshops held by the Climate Council this spring and summer. Learn more about our advocacy on the Climate Action Plan and read our joint letter to the Council here. The plan’s goal is to ensure that Maine’s communities, industries, and people are resilient to the impacts of climate change and to reduce Maine’s Carbon Emissions 45% below 1990 levels by 2030. The plan has many important steps, but of special note are plans to help improve the efficiency of Maine’s existing housing stock.

Historic resources in Maine’s coastal and riverine communities are at risk from the impacts of climate change. Maine’s Climate Action Plan sets goals to reduce the state’s carbon emissions and make our communities more resilient.

One significant step will be to switch buildings to cleaner heating and cooling systems. About 60% of Maine households rely on heating oil as their primary home heating source — the highest percentage in the country. The plan calls for the installation of at least 100,000 new heat pumps in Maine by 2025. Did you know Greater Portland Landmarks’ headquarters, the Safford House, is heated by water-cooled, ducted heat pumps? Our system was installed nearly a decade ago, replacing an old oil-fired furnace.

If you are interested in the best practices you should follow when making your older home more energy efficient, check out Landmarks’ publication The Energy Efficient Old House. We also have other publications on sustainability and energy efficiency on our Resources webpage. Greater Portland Landmarks believes historic preservation and the green building movement are natural allies: the greenest building, as the saying goes, is the one that is already built! Greater Portland’s existing older buildings embody a heavy prior investment in resources and energy. Keeping them in use conserves that investment, and is recycling at its best!

As the Congress looks ahead to 2021, preservationists are advocating for legislation that will improve opportunities for affordable housing in historic buildings and address the vulnerability of our communities to the impacts of climate change.

The Motherhouse on Stevens Avenue in Portland is one of several projects in Maine that has been rehabilitated pairing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits. We are joining preservation advocates nationwide to make this paired funding process easier to increase affordable housing opportunities in our community.

At the federal level several issues remain under negotiation while the current Congress debates its final bills during the Lame-Duck session this month, or face uncertain futures as the new Biden administration takes shape. Last month Tom Cassidy, Vice President for Government Relations at the National Trust for Historic Preservation led a presentation to preservation advocates across the nation on the most pressing policy issues facing the preservation community in the months ahead. Potential areas of focus for the last days of the 116th Congress will likely be pandemic relief and extending government funding beyond next week’s December 11th deadline. Preservationist are presently advocating for improvements to the Historic Tax Credit (HTCs) that will aid in the pairing of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and the HTCs. The pairing of these two programs has benefited a number of affordable housing projects in Maine, including the rehabilitation of the Motherhouse on Stevens Avenue in Portland and the Southgate Mansion in Scarborough. In addition, preservationists are advocating for increased opportunities for small projects to take advantage of HTCs.

Landmarks is working to document and conserve coastal resources impacted by climate change.

The National Trust’s presentation also looked forward to likely priorities of the 117th Congress: Climate Change, Affordable Housing, and Racial Equity. Landmarks, like many historic preservation non-profits across the nation, has expanded its focus to address challenges in all three areas in recent years. We plan to continue to broaden our advocacy and education programming to reflect our ongoing research in these areas. If you missed our Staying Above Water presentations in October, I hope you’ll take some time to check out the fantastic speakers that joined us to discuss the reasons Maine is susceptible to the impacts of climate change, what those impacts might be, and how we can improve our resilience.

With your support, through donations and your individual advocacy, we are successfully able to advocate for the reuse of historic buildings to the benefit of the environment and our neighbors. Your support also allows us to advocate for sound policies at the local, state and national level that protect and enhance our important cultural resources. Thank you for supporting Greater Portland Landmarks this year!