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You might be a poet and not even know it.  Look at your feet.  Are they long fellows? Longfellow, the poet, is no stranger to Portland, Maine.  He was born here in 1805, in room 346 of the Residence Inn on Fore Street.  Well, okay maybe not, but the Longfellow home was where the Residence…

In 1923 voters of Portland approved a new city charter. As part of this change in the city’s form of government, a tax reassessment was completed in 1924. For this reassessment, every taxable property in the city was documented and photographed. The 1924 Tax Records Digitization Project is a collaboration between the City of Portland,…

As you stroll past The Works Cafe and Temple Street Parking Garage on your way to the Nickelodeon Cinemas to take in another round of the Barbie movie, you may not notice an intriguing stone object lying nearby amidst a small patch of greenery. Here lies the Face of Mirth; a lone remnant of the…

Courtesy of Natural Resources Council of Maine

I’m afraid of ghosts but I like to think that if I was a ghost, I would not be afraid of boots. This a picture of a boot that a coworker of mine found in her wall during a renovation here in Portland. Apparently, there is an old superstition (18th, 19th century, maybe older) that…

On July 4, 1866, Portland, Maine experiences the biggest urban fire in America to date.  Almost 2,000 buildings go to the ground and 10,000 people lose their homes in the space of a day. There’s nothing like it in America until the Great Chicago Fire which will come seven years later. The Portland Fire is…

There is a story about the roof of the old Eastland Hotel (now the Westin) in Portland, Maine. The Eastland has a lot of stories connected to it. When it was built in 1927 it was one of the most elegant, and the biggest hotels in New England north of Boston. Charles Lindberg, fresh from…

Here’s a universal rule of life. If your diet consists of garbage and discarded smelly fish, you’re going to develop self image problems later on in life. Pity the seagull!  Here’s one I recently spotted down by the Casco Bay Lines Ferry Terminal in Portland coaxing the last drops out of a nips bottle. For…

This is not a spooky subject. To prove it, here’s a ghost sign, a recent example, that is fun!  It’s the old Brian Boru sign on Center Street, closed 2018. Ghost signs are painted commercial signs of businesses that are lost and gone, usually much older than my first example. At the turn of the…

There’s a  wide variety in Portland, Maine!  Try these 5 Great Places for Adult Beverages when in town.  Portland, Maine – a perfect destination for a quick weekend getaway, a week by our beaches or even a lifetime (we won’t tell your boss).  With so many choices, you can find a speakeasy, charming cocktail spot,…

Portland, Maine has become the best city in the country for craft beer in quality and quantity. Our food and beer scene is truly award-winning. As a beer-slinging, IPA-obsessed local I know it can be overwhelming to navigate our vast brewery scene, so I am here to help! It has been a long journey for…

Healthy Holiday Meals  This holiday season will definitely be much different than it has in the past. Navigating the holiday through the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge we all must face. To brighten your plates, we have put together three easy and healthy recipes for you to try. Here are some simple, immune-boosting recipes to consider serving this holiday season.  Anise tea  Ingredients: -3 cups of water -2 teaspoons of anise seeds -1 cinnamon stick -2 tablespoons of honey -2 black tea bags In a saucepan, combine everything except for the blackt tea bags. Bring to a simmer for three minutes. Strain the liquid. Pour the liquid into mugs. Place a tea bag in each mug and allow it to steep for three minutes. Enjoy! Roasted Sweet Potatoes Ingredients: -2 large sweet potatoes, diced -3 tablespoons of olive oil -2…