Porteous (store)

Last updated

Porteous, Mitchell & Braun Co., or simply Porteous, was a mid-market department store based in Portland, Maine. Company headquarters was in the Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Company Building, a building built in 1904.

Contents

Flagship store

At the time the store was opened in 1904 it was the largest department store based in Maine. It became the flagship location and headquarters of Porteous, located on Congress Street in downtown Portland. After the company closed the store at this location, it was used for warehouse sales. Today the flagship location has been restored and is home to Maine College of Art & Design. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996.

Expanded locations

Porteous expanded and opened branch locations in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The first branch took over another store that had ceased operations. In Newington NH, Porteous opened in the Newington Mall (now The Crossings at Fox Run) in a location formerly occupied by Sutherland's, the only branch store of a Lawrence MA-based department store that ceased operations in 1976. Other Porteous branches were opened in new shopping malls that opened in the late 1970s and early 1980s including the Auburn Mall in Auburn, ME (1979), [1] Bangor Mall in Bangor, ME (1978), [2] Burlington Square Mall (now CityPlace Burlington) in Downtown Burlington, VT and the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle, ME (1993). The former W.T. Grant store in Cooks Corner Shopping Center in Brunswick ME had been taken over by JC Penney, but was subsequently closed when the JC Penney store opened at the expanded Maine Mall in South Portland in 1983. Porteous not only opened in The Maine Mall at this time but also took over the Cooks Corner location. [3] The downtown Portland flagship store closed not long after the Maine Mall store opened.

Decline and shutdown

Owned by the Dunlaps Store chain based in Texas in its last years (starting around 1993), and operated as "PMB, Inc.--a Division of Dunlaps", the chain found itself flustered with new competition as many regional and national chains started to open units in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont communities where Porteous previously had carved out its niche in the mid-market department store business. The chain started to shut down in the mid-1990s, closing its Newington NH, and South Portland ME stores, and was completely shuttered by 2003 when its last store in Presque Isle closed. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Express Regional Airlines</span>

Northeast Express Regional Airlines was a regional airline based in Manchester, New Hampshire. Originally an independent commuter airline in Maine, it was bought by Bar Harbor Airlines and later as part of Eastern Express and Northwest Airlink before being liquidated in 1995.

The Boston Red Sox Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 54 radio stations which carry English language coverage of the Boston Red Sox, a professional baseball team in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lawrence, Massachusetts station WEEI-FM (93.7 FM), which serves Boston and the Greater Boston area, serves as the network's Flagship. The network also includes 49 affiliates in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and Florida: 28 AM stations, 24 of which supplement their signals with one or more FM translators; and 21 full-power FM stations, one of which supplements its signal with several FM translators. Joe Castiglione currently serves as the network's play-by-play announcer; since the start of the 2020 Red Sox season, Will Flemming, Sean McDonough, Jon Sciambi, Dave O'Brien, Dale Arnold and Tom Caron have alternated with Castiglione providing color commentary. In addition to traditional over-the-air AM and FM broadcasts, network programming airs on SiriusXM satellite radio; and streams online via SiriusXM Internet Radio, TuneIn Premium, and MLB.com Gameday Audio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Airlines</span> Defunct airline of the United States (1940–1972)

Northeast Airlines was an American trunk carrier, a scheduled airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines in August 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heironimus</span> Historic commercial building in Virginia, United States

S.H. Heironimus Co. was an American department store chain based in Roanoke, Virginia. S.H. Heironimus opened his first store in downtown Roanoke in 1890. At its peak, Heironimus had several locations around Roanoke and Lynchburg. In 1993, Heironimus was acquired by the Texas-based retailer Dunlaps, which initially invested in improving the stores' inventory and appearance. In January 1996, the chain's flagship store in Downtown Roanoke was closed but locations in area malls remained open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunlaps</span>

Dunlaps, based in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, was a family-owned chain of department stores in the central and southern United States catering to most classes depending on the location. The chain operated under the trade names of Dunlaps, Stripling & Cox, MM Cohn, Rogers, Clark's, Schreiner's of Kerrville, Hieronimus, Kerr's, Kline's, The White House, and Gabriel's. The company operated 38 stores in eight states. Due to stiff competition from larger retailers and lawsuits from suppliers, Dunlaps closed its last locations after liquidation sales in mid-2007.

Regency Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Racine, Wisconsin. The mall has a gross leasable area of 872,409 square feet (81,049.4 m2). It features 110 retail spaces, and six anchor stores, Dunham's Sports, Bob's Discount Furniture, Planet Fitness, Ross Dress For Less, Party City, and Joann. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Boston Store and Burlington. The fourth original anchor store structure, formerly JCPenney, has been subdivided into three in-line stores. Located at the junction of state highways 31 and 11, the building is surrounded by several freestanding stores and restaurants, including a Target store.

The Maine Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in South Portland, Maine, United States. Owned and managed by Brookfield Properties, it is the largest shopping mall in the state of Maine, and the second-largest in northern New England, behind New Hampshire's the Mall at Rockingham Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steketee's</span>

Steketee's was a department store based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It was begun in 1862 in Grand Rapids, and soon grew to several stores throughout southwestern Michigan. After a purchase by the Dunlaps company of Fort Worth, Texas in the early 1990s, the stores were gradually closed, with the last store closing in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeland Square Mall</span> Shopping mall in Lakeland, Florida

Lakeland Square Mall is a shopping center situated on the northern side of Lakeland, Florida. Serving Polk County as one of only two enclosed malls, it holds the distinction of being the sole shopping destination off of I-4 between Tampa and Orlando. Presently, the mall is anchored by Dillard's, Resale America, J. C. Penney, Urban Air Adventure Park, and Cinemark Theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newbury Comics</span> Comic book and music retail chain in New England, United States

Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John Brusger and Mike Dreese. Dreese also published Boston Rock, a music tabloid which was active from 1980 to 1987 that focused on punk, new wave and indie bands. There are now 29 stores in six states: four in New Hampshire, two in Rhode Island, one in Maine, two in Connecticut, and fourteen in Massachusetts. On August 20, 2016, Newbury Comics opened its first store outside of New England at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York. This location quickly became the #1 performing store in the chain. Since its opening, six additional locations have been opened in New York bringing its total to seven.

West Valley Mall is a shopping mall in Tracy, California, United States, that opened in 1995. It is owned and operated by Namdar Realty Group. The mall is anchored by Target, Macy's, Hobby Lobby, Burlington, and a Cinemark movie theater.

CityPlace Burlington was a formerly enclosed shopping mall. Located on the Church Street Marketplace open-air mall in Burlington, Vermont, United States, it opened in 1976. The mall's anchor stores were Macy's and L.L.Bean. The western portion of the mall closed in fall 2017 for redevelopment. The eastern portion remains standing but shuttered as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Hanover Mall</span> Shopping mall in Pennsylvania, United States

North Hanover Mall is a shopping mall in Hanover, Pennsylvania. It is anchored by Dick's Sporting Goods, Burlington, and Rural King.

Aroostook Centre Mall is a shopping mall in Presque Isle, Maine, United States. It opened on November 1, 1993. Shortly after its opening, the U.S. government announced the closing of nearby Loring Air Force Base, the region's largest employer.

Village Mall is a shopping mall in Danville, Illinois in the United States. Opened in 1975, the mall's anchor stores are County Market, Pet Supplies Plus, Dunham's Sports, Ross Dress for Less, Citi Trends, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Burlington, Shoe Sensation, Slumberland Furniture, and AMC Theatres. There are 2 vacant anchor store that were once Carson's and Sears. It is managed by T Danville, a division of Tabani Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Rivers Mall</span> Shopping mall in Kelso, Washington

Three Rivers Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Kelso, Washington that opened in 1987, on the site of a former golf course adjacent to Interstate 5. Previously owned by General Growth Properties, the mall was one of 30 malls that was spun off into Rouse Properties in 2012. Rouse was acquired by Brookfield Properties Retail Group in 2016. In July 2019, Brookfield sold the mall to Arizona-based Three Rivers Village, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auburn Mall (Maine)</span> Shopping mall in Maine, U.S.

Auburn Mall is a shopping mall in Auburn, Maine, United States. Opened in 1979, it features JCPenney as its anchor store. The mall also includes offices for TD Bank, N.A. George Schott is the mall's owner.

Marden's Surplus and Salvage is an independent family-run chain of retail stores in Maine. It was founded in 1964, and as of 2024 had 13 locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public transportation in Maine</span>

Public transportation in Maine is available for all four main modes of transport—air, bus, ferry and rail—assisting residents and visitors without their own vehicle to travel around much of Maine's 31,000 square miles (80,000 km2).

References

  1. ↑ "Porteous to close store at Auburn Mall in July," Bangor Daily News, May 31, 2002.
  2. ↑ "Porteous to close store at Bangor Mall," Bangor Daily News, November 5, 2002.
  3. ↑ "Brunswick Porteous closing, others spared," Bangor Daily News, June 1, 2001.
  4. ↑ "Presque Isle Porteous store to close in October," Bangor Daily News, August 28, 2003.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.