Time and Temperature Building
The Time and Temperature Building, originally known as the Chapman Building, and officially 477 Congress Street, is a 14-story office building in downtown Portland, Maine. The building is named after a large three-sided four-element eggcrate display screen on the roof that flashes the local time and temperature. It was built in 1924 as a 12-story building, with Maine's first indoor shopping center on its ground floor.[3][4] It sits next to the 10-story Fidelity Trust Building.[4] Until the 1970s, these buildings were Portland's only skyscrapers.[5]
| Time and Temperature Building | |
|---|---|
 The building viewed from Center Street in Portland | |
  Time and Temperature Building Location within Maine | |
| Former names | Chapman Building |
| General information | |
| Type | High-rise building |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | Portland, Maine, United States |
| Address | 477 Congress Street |
| Coordinates | 43°39′26″N 70°15′36″W |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Renovated | 1996 |
| Owner | TT Maine Venture LLC |
| Height | 184 ft (56 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 14 |
| Lifts/elevators | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Herbert W. Rhodes |
| References | |
| [1][2] | |
The building, one of Portland's tallest, is visible from miles away, including from Peaks Island across the harbor, and it has become a landmark to Portlanders who depend on it for the sign's time and temperature, but also to find their way into Portland.
Time and temperature sign
The time-and-temperature sign was added to the building in 1964.[6] In the 1970s, the Portland Savings Bank ran a summertime competition to guess when the sign would first register a temperature of 90 °F (32 °C).[6]
Maine law prohibits flashing messages on signs visible from state highways, but in 1991, the Maine Legislature passed a grandfather clause exemption to allow the Time and Temperature building to use advertising to cover operating costs.[7] A new sign was installed in 1999, which as well as the time and temperature, broadcasts messages consisting of two lines, each with four characters.[7] Advertising messages have included "WMTW NEWS", from television station WMTW-TV, whose studios were located in the building from 1999 until 2015,[8] and "CALL JOE", from advertising lawyer Joe Bornstein.[7] When a snowstorm is severe enough to result in a snow emergency, the sign flashes the words "PARK BAN", to remind people not to park on the street.[7]
In 2010, when a malfunction resulted in the sign going dark, around 60 concerned people contacted the building's owners to let them know.[7]
History
The Chapman Building was designed by local architect Herbert W. Rhodes, who also designed the nearby hotel The Eastland.[9] In 1964, Casco Bank, the owner of the building, added two stories, and installed a flashing time-and-temperature sign on the roof.[6] The addition was incongruent with the original style of the building, but a major renovation in the 1980s more naturally integrated it into the lower floors.
In 1995, millionaire philanthropist Elizabeth Noyce's Libra Foundation purchased the building.[10][6] Renovations were completed in 1996,[1] and a new time-and-temperature sign was installed on the roof in 1999.[7] In 2003, the Libra Foundation sold the building to 477 Congress LLC, a subsidiary of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates.[6][4] By 2016, occupancy dropped to 60%, as lack of maintenance had caused tenants to vacate the building.[6] The building was taken into foreclosure by Wells Fargo on May 11, 2016.[6] Building ownership passed to CW Capital Asset Management, a loan servicing company. An inspection in November 2017 by the Portland Fire Department found 19 fire-safety violations.[11] The building was sold at auction for $9.3 million in October 2018 to TT Maine Venture.[3]
In 2023, a planned conversion of the building into a hotel was put on hold due to labor shortages.[12]
References
- "Time and Temperature Building, Portland". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- "477 Congress Street". The Skyscraper Center. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- Anderson, J. Craig (December 21, 2019). "Time & Temperature Building's new owners vow to bring back Portland icon's 'glory days'". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- Turkel, Tux (November 30, 2003). "Portland's Time and Temperature Building". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020 – via UrbanPlanet.org.
- "A Snapshot of Portland, 1924: The Taxman Cometh". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- Anderson, J. Craig (May 12, 2016). "Portland's Time & Temperature Building lands in foreclosure". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- Kim, Ann S. (October 12, 2010). "Time out for Portland landmark". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- Anderson, J. Craig (April 18, 2014). "WMTW moving to Westbrook studio occupied by WPME, WPXT". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- Bibber, Joyce K.; Shettleworth, Earle G., Jr. (2007). Portland. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 52, 80. ISBN 9780738550336.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Bell, David; Jayne, Mark (2006). Small Cities: Urban Experience Beyond the Metropolis. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 9781134212217.
- McGuire, Peter (November 22, 2017). "Inspection reveals 19 fire-safety violations at troubled Time & Temperature building". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- Herald, Kay NeufeldPress (July 28, 2023). "The future of Portland's Time & Temperature Building is back in limbo". Press Herald. Retrieved July 28, 2023.