Maine Memory Network

Commercial building, Bridgton, 1938

Contributed by: Bridgton Historical Society Date: circa 1938 Location: Bridgton Media: Photographic print

  view a full transcription

Commercial Block, Portland, ca. 1900

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1900 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print

144 Commercial Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Clinton W. Davis Agent Use: Shop - Junk

214-220 Commercial Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Percival P. Baxter Agent Use: Shop - Junk

Block for Norway Building Association, Norway, 1881

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1881 Location: Norway Client: Norway Building Association Architect: George M. Coombs

Commercial Block for G.M. Coombs, Auburn, 1891

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1891 Location: Auburn Client: George M. Coombs Architect: George M. Coombs

A Snapshot of Portland, 1924: The Taxman Cometh

In 1924, with Portland was on the verge of profound changes, the Tax Assessors Office undertook a project to document every building in the city -- with photographs and detailed information that provide a unique view into Portland's architecture, neighborhoods, industries, and businesses.

Home: The Longfellow House & the Emergence of Portland

The Wadsworth-Longfellow house is the oldest building on the Portland peninsula, the first historic site in Maine, a National Historic Landmark, home to three generations of Wadsworth and Longfellow family members -- including the boyhood home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The history of the house and its inhabitants provide a unique view of the growth and changes of Portland -- as well as of the immediate surroundings of the home.

Bath's Historic Downtown - Old Town Hall and Grant Building

"1908Patten Free Library The earlier building at the Grants Building site was the Old City Hall which was built in 1837 as Town Hall before Bath…"

John Martin: Expert Observer - Bangor Commercial article on World's Fair contest

"… article on World's Fair contest   Bangor Commercial article on World's Fair contest The Bangor Commercial newspaper ran a contest in 1893…"

Monument Square 1967
by C. Michael Lewis

The background story and research behind a commissioned painting of Monument Square.

History of Forest Gardens
by Gary Libby

This is a history of one of Portland's oldest local bars

Longfellow Studies: "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport"

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Longfellow's poem "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport" opens up the issue of the earliest history of the Jews in America, and the significant roles they played as businessmen and later benefactors to the greater community. The history of the building itself is notable in terms of early American architecture, its having been designed, apparently gratis, by the most noted architect of the day. Furthermore, the poem traces the history of Newport as kind of a microcosm of New England commercial cities before the industrialization boom. For almost any age student the poem could be used to open up interest in local cemeteries, which are almost always a wealth of curiousities and history. Longfellow and his friends enjoyed exploring cemeteries, and today our little local cemeteries can be used to teach little local histories and parts of the big picture as well. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the Jewish cemetery in Newport, RI on July 9, 1852. His popular poem about the site, published two years later, was certainly a sympathetic portrayal of the place and its people. In addition to Victorian romantic musings about the "Hebrews in their graves," Longfellow includes in this poem references to the historic persecution of the Jews, as well as very specific references to their religious practices. Since the cemetery and the nearby synagogue were restored and protected with an infusion of funding just a couple years after Longfellow's visit, and later a congregation again assembled, his gloomy predictions about the place proved false (never mind the conclusion of the poem, "And the dead nations never rise again!"). Nevertheless, it is a fascinating poem, and an interesting window into the history of the nation's oldest extant synagogue.