Industrial Portland Waterfront Walking Tour

Welcome to industrial Portland.  This brief guide has been organized to encourage a walk along the Portland waterfront and to highlight a set of sites that represent the scope of Portland’s industrial history. 

Portland has served as a major commercial and manufacturing town since its founding in the 1620s.  The thriving industrial city of the 19 ^th  and 20 ^th  centuries has been converted into a community focused on the service and tourist economy – with some exceptions.  Along Commercial Street you can find evidence of a working waterfront, and along the way, explore a few of the structures that document the city’s industrial past. 

(1) The Portland Company - 58 Fore Street

Built beginning 1845 • Machine making, now mixed-use development.

The Portland Company site is the only intact 19 ^th -century industrial complex on the Portland waterfront. It was founded during the height of railroad construction and was purpose-built to supply locomotives for the railroads. From 1845 – 1978, the Portland Company produced 630 steam railroad locomotives, boilers and engines for over 350 marine vessels, machinery for the paper industry, gunboats for the Civil War, and equipment to build the Panama Canal.

Source:  https://www.portlandlandmarks.org/portlandcompany  - 10/21/2023

The Portland Company site was sold a few years ago to a developer and most of the original buildings are gone. Building Twelve – the lone survivor - was disassembled and put back up in a new location.

(2) Grand Trunk Railroad Office Building - 1 India Street

Built 1903 • Commercial Office Building

This three-story neo-classical style brick building is the only structure surviving from the extensive Grand Trunk Railway complex in Portland. It originally served as offices for the railroad and for the transatlantic steamship operators that used their wharves and sheds. The Grand Trunk (and later Canadian National) was an important source of Portland’s prosperity between the 1850s and 1960s, serving as Canada’s main shipping route in winter between Montreal and the ice-free port of Portland.

Source:  https://www.portlandlandmarks.org/grand-trunk-railroad-office-building  - 10/21/23

A large group of grain elevators once stood behind the office building for the storage of wheat from Canada to be exported to foreign ports.  These massive storage structures were demolished in the 1970s.

(3) Maine State Pier - Franklin and Commercial Street

Originally built 1924 • Ferry terminal

This pier serves as the terminal for Casco Bay Lines, the ferry service for the islands in Casco Bay.  Public restrooms are located here.  If time permits – take a ferry to Peaks Island for a view of the bay!

(4) Commercial Street Wharves - Commercial Street

Various dates • Waterfront industries

Along and fronting on Commercial Street are a series of wharves, all of them differently used today, including a few that serve the fishing and lobstering industry.  Custom House Wharf is home to a variety of small working buildings – a reminder of the working waterfront. You can walk down this wharf and see the fish market on your right, and the Port Hole pub on the left. 

 For more information and a detailed map:  https://www.walktheworkingwaterfront.com/ 

(5) U.S. Custom House - 312 Fore Street

Built beginning 1867; Alfred Mullet architect • Government and Customs Services

The U.S. Custom House is a testament to the city's maritime history. It was built to accommodate the city's growing customs business, which, by 1866, was collecting $900,000 annually in customs duties - making Portland one of the most significant seaports in the country.

Source:  https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/historic-preservation/explore-historic-buildings/find-a-building/all-historic-buildings/us-custom-house-portland-me 

(6) Portland Fish Exchange - 6 Portland Fish Pier

Opened 1986 • Fresh fish auction house

Opened in 1986, the Portland Fish Exchange’s primary function is offloading and auctioning of seafood.  Commercial fishing vessels are offloaded in the early morning in preparation of the auction that is held Monday through Thursday at 10am. 

For more information:  https://www.pfex.org/home/ 

(7) E. Swasey Company - 273 Commercial Street

Built ca. 1875 • Earthenware and crockery / mixed use

E. Swasey & Company was one of New England's most prolific pottery works.  Today the building is a reminder of what was a diverse and thriving industrial city.  Begun in 1875 as the Portland Earthen Ware Manufactory, the company produced redware for commercial and residential uses.  In 1890, renamed E. Swasey and Co., they continued producing ceramic materials through the Depression.

(8) Gulf of Maine Research Institute - 350 Commercial Street

Laboratory established 2005 • Research Organization

Founded in 1968, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary center focused on the study of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.  Unfortunately, the building is not open to the public.

For more information  https://www.gmri.org/ 

(9) Portland Observatory - 138 Congress Street

Built 1807 • Observation tower

This octagonal, 86-foot high tower was constructed in 1807 to serve as a communication station for Portland’s bustling harbor.  Ship owners who paid a subscription fee to be alerted by the raising of signal flags when their ships were arriving.  The tower has been restored and is operated by Greater Portland Landmarks. 

 Portland Landmarks – self-guided tours

 https://www.portlandlandmarks.org/self-guided-walking-tours 

 Walk the Working Waterfront

 https://www.walktheworkingwaterfront.com/_files/ugd/64c3e7_731e84e2f38c4489bcaf7ae781d4932b.pdf