Monument Square (Portland, Maine)

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Monument Square
Monument Square panorama, Portland Maine.jpg
The square in 2017, viewed from Congress Street
Monument Square (Portland, Maine)
Location within Portland
Maintained byCity of Portland
Location Portland, Maine, U.S.
Coordinates 43°39′26″N70°15′32″W / 43.657342°N 70.258924°W / 43.657342; -70.258924

Monument Square (formerly Market Square [1] or Haymarket Square) [2] is a town square in downtown Portland, Maine, about halfway between the East Bayside and Old Port neighborhoods. The Time and Temperature Building, Fidelity Trust Building, and the main branch of the Portland Public Library are on Congress Street, across from the square, while One Monument Square and One City Center are among the buildings on the square itself.

Contents

Prior to 20th-century redevelopment, Middle Street originated from Market Square. [3] [4] It ran east through where The Maine Lobsterman statue is today, before continuing its current route from its intersection with Temple, Spring and Union Streets. The original stretch, which formerly met Federal Street in the square, is now paved with bricks and is no longer Middle Street.

Constituent buildings

A 2024 view of Congress Street from Monument Square, including the Time and Temperature Building (left) and the M&T Bank Building Monument Square 2024.jpg
A 2024 view of Congress Street from Monument Square, including the Time and Temperature Building (left) and the M&T Bank Building

One Monument Square is a ten-story office building on the eastern edge of the square, [5] located on the former site of the United States Hotel. The building opened after a ribbon-cutting ceremony in November 1970. Initial tenants included the law firms Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson and Pierce, Atwood, Scribner, Allen, Smith & Lancaster, as well as Amica Mutual Insurance. [6] It was significantly renovated in 2015.

28 Monument Square was built in 1871. In 2006, the first floor and basement of the building became the home of Public Market House, in which several vendors flank a narrow central corridor. [7] Some vendors relocated to Public Market House from the nearby Portland Public Market building, at the corner of Preble Street and Cumberland Avenue, which closed earlier the same year. [8] [9]

Old City Hall

In 1825, the Town of Portland built Market House in Market Square to facilitate the sale produce and livestock. In 1833, the structure was modified to serve as Portland's first city hall. [10] [11] In 1862, it was replaced by a new city hall, located on Congress Street at the head of Exchange Street. [12] The old city hall was demolished in 1888 and replaced by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, at which time Market Square was renamed Monument Square. [13]

Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (also known as "Our Lady of Victories") stands in the center of Monument Square, on the former site of Portland's 1833 city hall. [14] Dedicated on October 28, 1891, [15] it honors "those brave men of Portland, soldiers of the United States Army and sailors of the Navy of the United States who died in defense of the country in the late civil war". [16] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 1, 1998. [17]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Street (Portland, Maine)</span> Downtown street in Portland, Maine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market House (Portland, Maine)</span> Historic site in Portland, Maine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Portland, Maine)</span> Statue in Portland, Maine

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is a monumental statue located in Monument Square, Portland, Maine, United States. Dedicated on October 28, 1891, it honors "those brave men of Portland, soldiers of the United States army and sailors of the navy of the United States who died in defense of the country in the late civil war". The monument's base has the inscription Portland: To Her Sons Who Died for The Union.

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References

  1. Maine Register Or State Year-book and Legislative Manual from April 1 ... to April 1 ... J.B. Gregory. 1888.
  2. "Hay Market Square, Portland, 1830". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  3. "Middle Street from Monument Square, Portland, ca. 1910". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  4. "Middle St. looking towards Monument Square, Portland, Me - Digital Collections - National Library of Medicine". collections.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  5. "One Monument Square, Portland - SkyscraperPage.com". skyscraperpage.com.
  6. "Ribbon Cutting". Evening Express. November 21, 1970.
  7. "Public Market House". Public Market House. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  8. "Tied to a City, a Farmers' Market Proves Hardy" The New York Times , April 11, 2007
  9. "Portland Public Market". Rudy Bruner Award. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  10. City of Portland 1940, p. 214.
  11. Moon, John (2009). Portland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 11. ISBN   978-0-7385-6517-0.
  12. City of Portland 1940, p. 230.
  13. City of Portland 1940, p. 215.
  14. "NRHP nomination for Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  15. Tobin, Michael (October 22, 2011). "A monument of malcontent?". Portland Daily Sun . Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  16. Acts and resolves passed by the ... Legislature of the state of Maine
  17. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

Sources

43°39′26″N70°15′32″W / 43.65736°N 70.2589°W / 43.65736; -70.2589