The Westin Portland Harborview

The Westin Portland Harborview is a historic hotel in Portland, Maine, United States.

The Westin Portland Harborview
Looking northwest from Congress Square Park in 2016
General information
Coordinates43°39′17.5″N 70°15′51″W
OpeningJune 15, 1927
ManagementWestin Hotels
Design and construction
Architect(s)Herbert W. Rhodes
DeveloperHenry P. Rines
Website
official website

History

The hotel was developed by the Rines family, Portland businessmen who owned Rines Brothers, a major local department store.[1] It was designed by Portland architect Herbert W. Rhodes[2] [3] and opened in 1927 as The Eastland, the largest hotel in New England.[4] Aviator Charles Lindbergh stayed at The Eastland after returning from his historic solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1946, the hotel gained attention when it refused to allow former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to stay with her dog, Fala, for the night.[5] She instead stayed at the Royal River Cabins in Yarmouth.[6]

In 1961, The Eastland was bought by the Dunfey family. In 1965, they made it a Sheraton Hotels franchise operation, and it was renamed the Sheraton-Eastland Motor Hotel. The hotel left Sheraton in 1974 and became the Eastland Motor Hotel. It was sold in 1980 and in 1983 was renamed the Sonesta Portland Hotel. It left Sonesta in January 1995 and was briefly renamed the Eastland Plaza Hotel, only to become the Radisson Eastland Hotel Portland six months later, in July 1995.[7] Following a 1997 sale of the property, the hotel left Radisson in December 1999 amid legal disputes[8] and was renamed the Eastland Hotel.[9] Following a foreclosure sale in 2000, its name was modified slightly to the Eastland Park Hotel.[10] It kept that name through a 2004 renovation until it closed in 2011. The hotel was completely gutted and rebuilt[11] as a modern business hotel and reopened as The Westin Portland Harborview on December 12, 2013.[12]

  • The Westin Portland Harborview
  • The hotel entrance when it operated as the Eastland Park Hotel, in November 2010
    The hotel entrance when it operated as the Eastland Park Hotel, in November 2010

See also

References
  1. Thompson, Frederic L. (2005). The Rines Family Legacy. pp. 15–17. ISBN 978-0-7385-3882-2.
  2. Thompson 2005, p. 128.
  3. Eastland Park Hotel Archives
  4. Bell, Tom (May 10, 2012). "Hotel's plan to develop plaza stirs controversy". The Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  5. Murphy, Edward D. (February 4, 2021). "Eastland's new owner to upgrade landmark". The Portland Press Herald. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  6. Hall, Alan M. Yarmouth. Arcadia. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-7385-0994-5. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  7. "Eastland Plaza Hotel Changing Hame Again". Sun Journal. Associated Press. March 22, 1995. p. 3. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  8. "Eastland Hotel Still Open Amid Uncertain Future". Sun Journal. Lewiston, Maine. December 8, 1999. p. A2. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  9. "Eastland Hotel in hands of receiver". Bangor Daily News. December 6, 1999. p. A4. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  10. "MaineToday.com - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel archives". Nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  11. Richardson, Whit (June 23, 2013). "Inside Portland's gutted Eastland Park Hotel, and the vision for its resurrection". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  12. "The Westin Portland Harborview Hotel". WCSH News. December 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
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