University of Maine School of Law Building | |
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![]() University of Maine School of Law Building in Portland Maine circa 2016. | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Brutalist |
Location | 246 Deering Avenue |
Town or city | Portland, ME |
Completed | 1972 |
Owner | University of Maine School of Law |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 8 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Wadsworth, Boston, Dimick, Mercer and Weatherill |
The University of Maine School of Law Building is a former academic building in Portland, Maine. Adjacent to the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus, the 8 story building was designed by the local architectural firm of Wadsworth, Boston, Dimick, Mercer and Weatherill and completed in 1972 at a cost of $2.7 million. It expanded in 1993 to include more space on the first floor to accommodate the law library. [1] It is a rare example of Brutalist architecture in Maine. [2] It was built to house the University of Maine School of Law, which had previously been located downtown at 68 High Street. [2]
In 2017, Architectural Digest named the building one of the 8 ugliest in the United States and called it "a futuristic version of the Roman Colosseum." [3] University employees described the building's architecture and design as "a joke but also a badge" and "rather unfortunate." [2]
In 2023, the Maine School of Law was relocated downtown to a former office building at 300 Fore Street. After 50 years, building no longer houses a law school. The University of Maine anticipates that the vacant law school will eventually be demolished, but there are no final plans to take the building down yet. [4]
Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area has a population of approximately 550,000 people. Historically tied to commercial shipping, the marine economy, and light industry, Portland's economy in the 21st century relies mostly on the service sector. The Port of Portland is the second-largest tonnage seaport in the New England area as of 2019.
The University of Maine (UMaine) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
The University of New England (UNE) is a private research university in Portland and Biddeford, Maine, United States. It traces it historical origins to 1831 when Westbrook Seminary opened on what is now the UNE Portland Campus.
The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston, Maine, United States. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Gorham Normal School and Portland University. The two universities, later known as Gorham State College and the University of Maine at Portland, were combined in 1970 to help streamline the public university system in Maine and eventually expanded by adding the Lewiston campus in 1988.
The University of Maine School of Law is a public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's current dean is Leigh Saufley, who assumed the post in 2020. Until 1972 the School of Law was located at 68 High Street, Portland. In 1972, the School of Law moved to the University of Maine School of Law Building, which is adjacent to the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus. In 2023, the Law School moved to 300 Fore Street, on the waterfront of downtown Portland.
The Portland Museum of Art, or PMA, is the largest and oldest public art institution in Maine. Founded as the Portland Society of Art in 1882. It is located in the downtown area known as The Arts District in Portland, Maine.
Munjoy Hill is a neighborhood and prominent geographical feature of Portland, Maine. It is located east of downtown and south of East Deering. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the neighborhood had a large Irish and Italian American population.
Kennedy Park is a neighborhood in East Bayside in downtown Portland, Maine, built around a park, athletic fields, basketball courts, a playground and the Boyd Street Urban Garden.
The Maine Historical Society is the official historical society of the U.S. state of Maine. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown Portland. The Society currently operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, a National Historic Landmark, Longfellow Garden, the Maine Historical Society Museum and Store, the Brown Research Library, as well as the Maine Memory Network, an online database of documents and images that includes resources from many of state's local historical societies.
The West End is a downtown neighborhood in Portland, Maine. It is located on the western side of Portland's peninsula primarily on Bramhall Hill and is noted for its architecture and history. The neighborhood is home to many late 19th- and early 20th-century homes and, in 2010, it was called "one of the best preserved Victorian neighborhoods in the country". The Western Promenade, a park laid out in 1836, overlooks the forests and small settlements of Southwestern Maine, along with the distant White Mountains. Other historic structures include 68 High Street, The Gothic House, Brown House, Butler House, Ingraham House, Morrill Mansion and the Minott House.
The Arts District is a section of downtown Portland, Maine’s designated in 1995 as to promote the cultural community and creative economy of the city. It covers a large part of upper Congress Street towards the West End and spans Congress Street toward the East ending at Portland City Hall and its Merrill Auditorium concert hall.
Portland, Maine, is home to many neighborhoods.
Franklin Street is a four-lane street in Portland, Maine, United States. It is a major corridor for traffic from Interstate 295 to Portland's downtown, Old Port, and to other neighborhoods located on the Portland peninsula. Part of U.S. Route 1A, it is around 0.77 miles (1.24 km) long, running between Marginal Way in the northwest and Commercial Street in the southeast.
Congress Street is the main street in Portland, Maine. Around 5.77 miles (9.29 km) long, it stretches from County Road, Portland's southwestern border with Westbrook, through a number of neighborhoods, before ending overlooking the Eastern Promenade on Munjoy Hill. In March 2009, the Portland City Council designated much of the inner portion of Congress Street a historic district. The western section of the street includes the city's Arts District.
Zillman Art Museum-University of Maine (ZAM) is an art museum in downtown Bangor, Maine. It is part of the University of Maine, which is located in nearby Orono, Maine. The University of Maine Art Collection was established in 1946, under the leadership of Vincent Hartgen. As the initial faculty member of the Department of Art and curator of the art collection, Hartgen's goal was to provide the people of Maine with significant opportunities to experience and learn about the visual arts and their diverse histories and cultural meanings.
Forest Avenue is a major street in Portland, Maine, United States. It runs for around 4.78 miles (7.69 km), from Bridgton Road in the northwest to Congress Street, in downtown Portland, in the southeast. It is the main artery for traffic entering and leaving Portland to and from the west via city streets. Forest Avenue passes to the south of Back Cove, while Washington Avenue passes to its north. The street ends in Portland's Arts District.
Casco Castle was a resort in South Freeport, Maine, United States. Built in 1903, it was intended to resemble a castle. Designed by William R. Miller and overlooking Casco Bay immediately to its east, it burned down in 1914. All that now remains is its 185-foot (56 m) tall stone tower, which is now on private property, inaccessible to the public. The tower can be viewed from Harraseeket Road, a few yards closer to the shoreline, or from Winslow Memorial Park, directly to the south across the Harraseeket River. The main part of the building was to the south, with the tower on its northern side, connected by a bridge.
Fore Street is a downtown street in Portland, Maine, United States. Dating to 1724, it runs for around 1 mile (1.6 km), from the Eastern Promenade on Munjoy Hill in the northeast to Pleasant Street in the southwest. Near its midsection, Fore Street crosses Franklin Street. It splits briefly at Boothby Square, shortly after passing the United States Custom House. The street passes through the Old Port district.
Stevens Avenue is a major street in the Deering neighborhood of Portland, Maine, United States. Part of Maine State Route 9 from Woodford Street southward, it runs for around 2 miles (3.2 km) from Forest Avenue, at Morrills Corner, in the north to Outer Congress Street in the south. Stevens Avenue passes to the west of Woodfords Corner. Between Morrills Corner and Woodfords Corner, Stevens Avenue is linked to Forest Avenue by several side streets.