Middle Street
43°39′23″N 70°15′12″W / 43.65649837°N 70.25332479°W
 A 19th-century view of the now-pedestrianized section of Middle Street between today's Monument Square and Free Street | |
 | |
| Length | 0.46 mi (0.74 km) |
|---|---|
| Location | Portland, Maine, U.S. |
| Northeast end | Hancock Street |
| Southwest end | Union Street, Spring Street and Temple Street |
Middle Street is a downtown street in Portland, Maine, United States. It runs for around 0.46 miles (0.74 km), from an intersection with Union Street, Spring Street and Temple Street in the southwest, to Hancock Street, at the foot of Munjoy Hill, in the northeast. It formerly originated at what was then known as Market Square (today's Monument Square),[1][2] but 20th-century redevelopment saw the section between Monument Square and Free Street pedestrianized, and the remaining section—around The Maine Lobsterman monument—erased.
Near its midsection, Middle Street crosses Franklin Street. In 1756, when Franklin Street was laid out between Middle Street and Back Street, it was known as Fiddle Street.[3]
Middle Street passes through Portland's Old Port district.
Notable addresses
- Portland Police Headquarters, 109 Middle Street
- Thompson Block, 117–125 Middle Street (listed on the National Register of Historic Places)
- Rackleff Building, 129–131 Middle Street (listed on the National Register of Historic Places)
- Woodman Building, 133–141 Middle Street (listed on the National Register of Historic Places)
- Post Office Park, Middle Street between Market Street and Exchange Street
- Tommy's Park, Middle Street and Exchange Street
- Canal Bank Building, 188 Middle Street
- The Maine Lobsterman statue, Middle Street and Temple Street
Demolished buildings
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The 200-room, six-story Falmouth Hotel stood at 212 Middle Street between 1868 and 1963, when it was torn down for being a fire hazard. It was replaced by a parking lot. Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding all stayed at the hotel, while United States Army General William Sherman visited the hotel in 1898.[4]
Sanitary Meat Market (established in 1914) formerly occupied the southern corner of the Middle Street and India Street intersection.[5][6] It is now a parking lot.
References
- ^ "Middle Street from Monument Square, Portland, ca. 1910". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ "Middle St. looking towards Monument Square, Portland, Me - Digital Collections - National Library of Medicine". collections.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ The Origins of the Street Names of the City of Portland, Maine as of 1995 – Norm and Althea Green, Portland Public Library (1995)
- ^ "Portland Hotels". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ PFM (2010-04-19). "Portland's Living Food History". Portland Food Map. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ "2018 Southern & Coastal Maine by Discover Maine Magazine - Issuu". issuu.com. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
