Portland, Maine

Portland has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb, closely bordering on Dfa), with cold, snowy, and often prolonged winters, and warm, relatively short summers. The monthly average high temperature ranges from roughly 30 °F (−1 °C) in January to around 80 °F (27 °C) in July. Daily high temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on only four days per year on average, while cold-season lows of 0 °F (−18 °C) or below are reached on 10 nights per year on average.[24] The area can be affected by severe nor'easters during winter, with high winds and snowfall totals often measuring over a foot. Annual liquid precipitation (rain) averages 47.2 in (1,200 mm) and is plentiful year-round, but with a slightly drier summer. Annual frozen precipitation (snow) averages 69 in (175 cm) in the city. However, neighborhoods away from the immediate coast average slightly more, as the warmer ocean waters and onshore flow can cause snow to transition to sleet or rain along the coast. In Southern Maine, winter-season snowstorms can be intense from November through early April, while warm-season thunderstorms are somewhat less frequent than in the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeastern U.S. (although their frequency has increased in recent years).[25] Direct strikes by hurricanes or tropical storms are rare, partially due to the normally cooler Atlantic waters off the Maine coast (which usually weaken tropical systems), but primarily because most tropical systems approaching or reaching 40 degrees North latitude recurve (due to the Coriolis force) and track east out to sea well south of the Portland area. Extreme temperatures range from −39 °F (−39 °C) on February 16, 1943, to 103 °F (39 °C) on July 4, 1911, and August 2, 1975.[24] The hardiness zones are 5b and 6a.

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Portland is becoming increasingly affected by global warming and the rise of sea levels. The coast is one of the fastest-warming saltwater bodies and is predicted to see an increase to about 10-17 inches by 2030, in comparison to the levels in 2000. This is a major threat to the residents and ocean life around the area.[30] In 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a report that showed sea level in Portland could rise by six inches by 2050, two feet by 2060 and two to six feet by 2100.[31]

Portland Maine looking east to downtown

Townhouses in the West End, completed 1835

Portland is organized into neighborhoods generally recognized by residents,[32] but they have no legal or political authority. In many cases, city signs identify neighborhoods or intersections (which are often called corners). Most city neighborhoods have a local association[33] which usually maintains ongoing relations of varying degrees with the city government on issues affecting the neighborhood.

On March 8, 1899, Portland annexed the neighboring city of Deering.[34] Deering neighborhoods now comprise the northern and eastern sections of the city before the merger. Portland's Deering High School was formerly the public high school for Deering.

Portland's neighborhoods include the Arts District, Bayside, Bradley's Corner, Cliff Island, Cushing's Island, Deering Center, Deering Highlands, Downtown, East Deering, East Bayside, East End, Eastern Cemetery, Great Diamond Island, Highlands, Kennedy Park, Libbytown,[35] Little Diamond Island, Lunt's Corner, Morrill's Corner, Munjoy Hill, Nason's Corner, North Deering, Oakdale, the Old Port, Parkside, Peaks Island, Riverton Park, Rosemont, Stroudwater, West End, and Woodford's Corner.

From the early 2000s onward, many of Portland's neighborhoods have faced gentrification, causing many local residents to be "priced out" of their neighborhoods. In 2015, the Portland Press Herald published a series of articles documenting the "super-tight apartment market" and the trauma caused by evictions and steep jumps in monthly rent.[36] Also in that year, city landlords raised rents by an average of 17.4%, which was the second-largest jump in the country.[37]

As of the census[40] of 2010, there were 66,194 people, 30,725 households, and 13,324 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,106.2/sq mi (1,199.3/km²). There were 33,836 housing units at an average density of 1,587.8/sq mi (613.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.0% White (83.6% non-Hispanic White alone), down from 96.6% in 1990,[41] 7.1% African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.0% of the population. 40.7% of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher.

There were 30,725 households, of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.7% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 56.6% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.88.

The median age in the city was 36.7 years. 17.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 33.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Map of Portland's poverty rate and accessibility to public transit and grocery stores

As of the census of 2000, there were 64,250 people, 29,714 households, and 13,549 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,029.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,169.6/km²). There were 31,862 housing units at an average density of 1,502.2 per square mile (580.0/km²).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Portland's immediate metropolitan area ranked 147th in the nation in 2000 with a population of 243,537, while the Portland/South Portland/Biddeford metropolitan area included 487,568 total inhabitants. This has increased to an estimated 513,102 inhabitants (and the largest metro area in Northern New England) as of 2007.[42] Much of this increase in population has been due to growth in the city's southern and western suburbs.

The racial makeup of the city was 91.27% White, 2.59% African American, 0.47% Native American, 3.08% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.52% of the population.

The largest ancestries include: British (including Scottish, Welsh, and English) (21.2%), Irish (19.2%), French (10.8%), Italian (10.5%), and German (6.9%).

There were 29,714 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.4% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.8% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,650, and the median income for a family was $48,763. Males had a median income of $31,828 versus $27,173 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,698. About 9.7% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Race/ethnicity composition

The Arts District, centered on Congress Street, is home to the Portland Museum of Art, Portland Stage Company, Maine Historical Society & Museum, Portland Public Library, Maine College of Art, SPACE Gallery, Children's Museum of Maine, Merrill Auditorium, the Kotzschmar Memorial Organ, and Portland Symphony Orchestra, as well as many smaller art galleries and studios.

Baxter Boulevard around Back Cove, Deering Oaks Park, the Eastern Promenade, Western Promenade, Lincoln Park and Riverton Park are all historical parks within the city. Other parks and natural spaces include Payson Park, Post Office Park, Baxter Woods, Evergreen Cemetery, Western Cemetery and the Fore River Sanctuary.

Thompson's Point, in the Libbytown neighborhood, has been a focus of renovation and redevelopment since the 2010s. The location hosts a concert venue, ice rink, hotels, restaurants, wineries, and breweries.[55]

Other sites of interest include:

• Casco Bay Islands
• Cross Insurance Arena
• East End Beach
• Exchange Street (the "Old Port" area)
• Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team
• International Cryptozoology Museum
• Portland Exposition Building, home of the Maine Celtics basketball team
• Longfellow Arboretum
• Neal S. Dow House
• Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
• Martin's Point
• McLellan-Sweat Mansion
• The Portland Club
• Portland Head Light Lighthouse
• Portland Observatory
• Portland Stage Company
• University of New England (UNE)
• University of Southern Maine (USM)
• Victoria Mansion
• Wadsworth-Longfellow House

Wadsworth-Longfellow House

The spire of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception has been a notable feature of the Portland skyline since its completion in 1854. In 1859, Ammi B. Young designed the Marine Hospital, the first of three local works by Supervising Architects of the U.S. Treasury Department. Although the city lost to redevelopment its 1867 Greek Revival post office, which was designed by Alfred B. Mullett of white Vermont marble and featured a Corinthian portico, Portland retains his equally monumental 1872 granite Second Empire–Renaissance Revival custom house.

A more recent building of note is Franklin Towers, a 16-story residential tower completed in 1969. At 175 feet (53 meters),[56] it is Portland's (as well as Maine's) tallest building. It is next to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on the city skyline. During the building boom of the 1980s, several new buildings rose on the peninsula, including the 1983 Charles Shipman Payson Building by Henry N. Cobb of Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners at the Portland Museum of Art complex (a component of which is the 1801 McLellan-Sweat Mansion), and the Back Bay Tower, a fifteen-story residential building completed in 1990.[57]

477 Congress Street (known locally as the Time and Temperature Building) is situated near Monument Square in the Arts District and is a major landmark: the 14-story building features a large electronic sign on its roof that flashes time and temperature data, as well as parking ban information in the winter. The sign can be seen from nearly all of downtown Portland. The building is home to several radio stations. The Press Herald Building at 390 Congress Street is strategically located across Congress Street from Portland City Hall and was built in 1923 and then expanded in 1948 for use as the newspaper's headquarters.[58]

The Westin Portland Harborview, completed in 1927, is a prominent hotel located downtown on High Street. Photographer Todd Webb lived in Portland during his later years and took many pictures of the city.[59] Some of Webb's pictures can be found at the Evans Gallery.[60]

The city is home to one daily newspaper, The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, founded in 1862. The Press Herald is published Monday through Saturday and The Maine Sunday Telegram is published on Sundays. Both are published by MaineToday Media Inc., which also operates an entertainment website, MaineToday.com and owns papers in Augusta, Waterville, and Bath.

Portland is also covered by an alternative weekly newspaper, The Portland Phoenix, published by the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which also produces a New England-wide news, arts, and entertainment website, thephoenix.com, and a twice-annual LGBT issues magazine, Out in Maine.

Other publications include The Portland Forecaster, a weekly newspaper; Mainer, a monthly alternative magazine formerly known as The Bollard; The West End News, The Munjoy Hill Observer, The Baysider, The Waterfront, Portland Magazine, and The Companion, an LGBT publication. Portland is also the home office of The Exception Magazine, an online newspaper that covers Maine.

The Portland broadcast media market is the largest one in Maine for both radio and television. As of 2023, it is the 93rd largest radio market. Radio stations located in Portland include WFNK (Classic Hits), WJJB (Sports), WTHT (Country), WBQW (Classical), WHXR (Rock), WHOM (Adult Contemporary), WJBQ (Top 40), WCLZ (Adult Album Alternative), WBLM (Classic Rock), WYNZ (1960s–1970s Hits), and WCYY (Modern Rock). WMPG is a local non-commercial radio station run by community members and the University of Southern Maine. The Maine Public Broadcasting Network's (MPBN) radio news operations are based in Portland.

As of 2023, the Portland-Auburn television market is the 78th largest one in the country. Stations include WCSH 6 (NBC), WMTW 8 (ABC), WGME 13 (CBS), WPFO 23 (Fox), WIPL 35 (ION), and WPXT 51 (The CW; MyNetworkTV on DT3). There is no PBS affiliate licensed to the city of Portland, but the market is served by MPBN outlets WCBB Channel 10 in Augusta and WMEA-TV Channel 26 Biddeford.

Historical newspapers formerly published in Portland are many and include Eastern Argus, Evening Express, The Pleasure Boat and The Portland Daily Sun.

Downtown Portland, including the Arts District and the Old Port, has a high concentration of eating and drinking establishments, with many more to be found throughout the rest of the peninsula, outlying neighborhoods, and neighboring communities. The city is also home to numerous food trucks and food carts,[61] which park on the city streets and at festivals, events and breweries. Most operate in the summer; a few operate year-round.

Notable restaurants include Fore Street, Duckfat, Becky's Diner, and The Great Lost Bear.[62]

Portland has developed a national reputation for the quality of its restaurants, eateries, and food culture. The city has been visited by many food shows, including Rachael Ray's Food Network show $40 a Day, the Travel Channel's Man v. Food, and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.[63][64][65] Bon Appetit named Portland the Restaurant City of the Year in 2018.[66]

Portland is home to numerous juice bars,[67] coffee shops, coffee roasteries,[68] tea houses, distilleries, microbreweries and brewpubs.

Brewers include the D. L. Geary Brewing Company, Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company, Shipyard Brewing Company, Casco Bay Brewing Co., and Allagash Brewing Company. Portland's spirits industry has also grown in recent years.[69][70]

The city is known for its pure tap water. The water comes from Sebago Lake. It is piped to Portland by the Portland Water District. Sebago Lake is one of 50 surface water supplies among 13,000 in the country that the Environmental Protection Agency says do not need filtration.[71]

The Portland Farmers' Market takes place Wednesdays in Monument Square, Saturdays in Deering Oaks Park (from early May to the end of November), and Saturdays at The Maine Girls Academy (from early December to the end of April).

The city has the state's most vegan and vegetarian restaurants, including the Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro, which opened in 2007. Vegetarian-friendly restaurants number more than 200 in 2020, according to the Maine Sunday Telegram.[72] Celebrity chef Toni Fiore first filmed the PBS cooking show Totally Vegetarian in 2002 at the cable access station in Portland.[73] The Portland Press Herald has featured a vegan column by Avery Yale Kamila in its Food & Dining section since 2009.[74][75] In 2011, the Portland Public Schools added a daily vegetarian cold lunch to its school menu choices. In 2019, the district changed to a daily hot vegan school meal option.[76]

Portland hosts a number of food and beverage festivals, including:

• Festival of Nations, takes place in July in Deering Oaks Park and organized by group of local organizations[77]
• Greek Festival, three-day event in June at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church[78]
• Harvest on the Harbor, multi-day event takes place in October[79]
• Italian Street Festival & Bazaar, three-day event in August outside St. Peter's Parish commemorates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Feast of Saint Rocco[80]
• Maine Brewers Festival, held multiple times a year by the Maine Brewers' Guild[81]
• Maine VegFest, takes place in October and organized by Maine Animal Coalition since 2005; the event features all vegan food and was originally called Maine Vegetarian Food Festival[82]
• Taste of the Nation, fundraiser for food insecurity that stopped after 2015 but happened again in 2019[83]
• Maine Restaurant Week, takes place over 12 days in March[84]
• Maine Seaweed Week, takes place in the spring[85]

Since 1768, the Portland Farmers Market has been in operation. It was first established in the Town Hall that "served 136 families on the peninsula."[86]

Portland is where national Prohibition started. Portland mayor and temperance leader Neal Dow led Maine to ban alcohol sales in 1851.[87] The law led to the Portland Rum Riot in 1855.

Canned corn was developed in Portland by the N. Winslow company. By 1852 the Winslow's Patent Hermetically Sealed Green Corn was a commercial success and the company became a world leader in the canning industry.[88][89] An historic B&M Baked Beans canning plant built in 1913 operated on the waterfront until 2021 when it closed and production moved to the midwest.[90] By late 2022, B&M customers were reporting that the baked beans were undercooked, crunchy, and tasted different. Customers speculated that the beans were no longer being baked. Some customers were hoarding B&M bean cans produced at the Portland plant.[91]

In 1845, The Pleasure Boat was the earliest vegetarian publication in Maine.[92] In the 1970s and 1980s, The Hollow Reed was a notable vegetarian restaurant on Fore Street.[93]

In the early 20th century, a Little Italy neighborhood developed around India Street.[94] The city's Amato's Italian delicatessen on India Street is reported to be the birthplace of the Italian sandwich, called "an Italian" by locals, which Amato's first served in 1902.[95] The Village Restaurant, an Italian restaurant in the city's East End, was in operation for 71 years, from 1936 to 2007.[96] In 1949, Miccuci's Grocery Co. opened on India Street and remains in business.[94]

In 2015, Marcy's Diner made international headlines following a spat between the then-cook-owner and a patron over the latter's screaming child.[97]

• Baxter Academy for Technology and Science (charter)
• Casco Bay High School (public-expeditionary)
• Cheverus High School (private)
• Deering High School (public)
• Portland Arts & Technology High School (public-vocational)
• Portland High School (public)
• Waynflete School (private)

College expansions underway in 2022 at the University of Southern Maine to add a 580-bed dorm, at the University of New England to move the medical school from Biddeford into a new $93 million building on the Portland campus, and at the Northeastern University Roux Institute to build a campus on the site of the former B&M Bean plant have the potential, within two decades, to bring the total college and university students in the city to 15,000, which would be similar to the percentage of students in Boston.[21]

• Maine College of Art
• Northeastern University Roux Institute
• University of Maine School of Law
• University of New England
• University of Southern Maine
• Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts

The Portland Fire Department (PFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Portland 24/7, 365. Established on March 29, 1768, the PFD is made up of over 230 paid, professional firefighters and operates out of seven Fire Stations, located throughout the city, in addition to Fire Stations staffed by "on-call" firefighters on Peaks Island; Great Diamond Island; Cushing Island; and Cliff Island. The Portland Fire Department also operates an Airport Division Station at 1001 Westbrook St., at the Portland International Jetport, and a Marine Division Station, located at 54 Commercial St.[114][115]

The Portland Police Department is the largest municipal police department in the state of Maine. In 2022, WalletHub listed Portland as the fourth safest city in America.

Maine Medical Center

Maine Medical Center is the state's only Level I trauma center and is the largest hospital in Maine.

Mercy Hospital, a faith-based institution, is the fourth largest in the state. It completed the first phase of its new campus along the Fore River in 2008.[116]

The formerly-independent Brighton Medical Center (once known as the Osteopathic Hospital) is now owned by Maine Medical Center and is operated as a minor care center under the names Brighton First Care and New England Rehab. In 2010, Maine Medical Center's Hannaford Center for Safety, Innovation, and Simulation opened at the Brighton campus.[117] The former Portland General Hospital is now home to the Barron Center nursing facility.

One wastewater management project is named the Bedford Street Sewer Separation, with its goal to "improve the water quality and health of Back Cove by reducing the amount of combined sewer overflows (CSO) that over flow during heavy rain events through the use of sewer separation and water treatment devices."[118]

Portland from above, looking north along I-295

Portland is accessible from I-95 (the Maine Turnpike), I-295, and US 1. U.S. Route 302, a major travel route and scenic highway between Maine and Vermont, has its eastern terminus in Portland. State Routes include SR 9, SR 22, SR 25, SR 26, SR 77, and SR 100. SR 25 Business goes through southwestern Portland.

Amtrak's Downeaster service offers five daily trains connecting the city's station with eight towns and cities to the south, ending at Boston's North Station. Trains also go north to Freeport and Brunswick.

Concord Coach Lines bus service connects Portland to 14 other communities in Maine as well as to Boston's South Station and Logan Airport. Both the Downeaster and the Concord Coach Lines can be found at the Portland Transportation Center on Thompsons Point Road, in the Libbytown neighborhood.[35]

The city bus service is provided by Greater Portland Metro.[119]

Commercial air service is available at the Portland International Jetport (PWM), located in Stroudwater, west of the city's downtown district. American, Southwest, JetBlue, Breeze Airways, Sun Country, Delta, and United Airlines service the airport. Direct flights are available to Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Minneapolis, Orlando, Philadelphia, New York, Newark, Sarasota, and Washington, D.C.[120]

The Port of Portland is the second-largest cruise and passenger destination in the state (next to Bar Harbor) and is served by the Ocean Gateway International Marine Passenger Terminal. Ferry service is available year-round to many destinations in Casco Bay. From 2006 to 2009, Bay Ferries operated a high speed ferry called The Cat featuring a five-hour trip to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, for summer passengers and cars. In years past the Scotia Prince Cruises trip took eleven hours. A proposal to replace the defunct Nova Scotia ferry service was rejected in 2013 by the province. From May 15, 2014, until October 2015, the cruise ship ferry Nova Star made daily trips to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.[121] Due to poor passenger numbers and financial problems, Nova Scotia selected Bay Ferries, the prior operator of The Cat, to operate the service starting in 2016, citing the company's experience and industry relationships. Nova Star officials pledged a smooth transition to the new operator.[122] The Nova Star was later ordered seized by federal marshals for nonpayment of bills.[123]

Bay Ferries announced on March 24, 2016, the charter of the former Hawaii Superferry boat HST-2 from the US Navy for the Portland-Yarmouth service for two years. Bay Ferries signed a ten-year deal with Nova Scotia to run the ferry route, which will take about five and a half hours each way. They stated that the boat would be renamed The Cat[124] and that service would begin around June 15, after refitting in South Carolina. There is still a dispute as to whether the ferry will be permitted to carry trucks, desired by Nova Scotia businesses but opposed by the City of Portland.[125]

The Casco Bay Lines operate several passenger ferries with dozens of trips every day year-round to the major populated islands of Casco Bay. The service to Peaks Island also provides an auto ferry for most of its schedule.