Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine. Its population was 68,408 at the 2020 census and the Greater Portland metropolitan area has a population of approximately 550,000 people, the most populous metropolitan area in Maine. It is the county seat of Cumberland County. 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.
First settled in the early 1600s as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the city endured multiple attacks during colonial conflicts before emerging as a key port in New England. It was formally founded in 1786 and named after the English Isle of Portland. In turn, the city of Portland, Oregon, was named after Portland, Maine. The city seal depicts a phoenix rising from ashes, a reference to Portland's recovery from four devastating fires.
Notable Portland landmarks include the historic Old Port district, known for its cobblestone streets and preserved warehouses; Victoria Mansion, an ornate Italianate home reflecting the city's prosperity during the pre-Civil War era; and the Portland Museum of Art, the largest and oldest public art institution in the state. The Greater Portland area has emerged as an important center for the creative economy, which is also bringing gentrification.
History
The original Algonquin-speaking Eastern Abenaki residents called the Portland peninsula Machigonne ("great neck"). It is also called Məkíhkanək ("at the fish hook") in Penobscot.
The first European settler was Christopher Levett, an English naval captain granted 6,000 acres (9.4 sq mi; 2,400 ha) in 1623 to found a settlement in Casco Bay. A member of the Council for New England and agent for Ferdinando Gorges, Levett built a stone house where he left a company of ten men, then returned to England to write a book about his voyage to bolster support for the settlement. Ultimately, the settlement was a failure and the fate of Levett's colonists is unknown. The explorer sailed from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to meet John Winthrop in 1630, but never returned to Maine. Fort Levett in the harbor is named for him.
The peninsula was settled in 1632 as a fishing and trading village named Casco. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony took over Casco Bay in 1658, the town's name changed again to Falmouth. In 1676, the village was destroyed by the Abenaki during King Philip's War. It was rebuilt. During King William's War, a raiding party of French and their native allies attacked and largely destroyed it again in the Battle of Fort Loyal (1690).
On October 18, 1775, Falmouth was burned in the Revolution by the Royal Navy under command of Captain Henry Mowat. Following the war, a section of Falmouth called The Neck developed as a commercial port and began to grow rapidly as a shipping center. In 1786, the citizens of Falmouth formed a separate town in Falmouth Neck and named it Portland, after the Isle of Portland off the coast of Dorset, England. The word Portland is derived from the Old English word Portlanda, which means "land surrounding a harbor".
Portland's economy was greatly stressed by the Embargo Act of 1807 (prohibition of trade with the British), which ended in 1809, and the War of 1812, which ended in 1815. In 1820, Maine was established as a state with Portland as its capital. In 1832, the capital was moved north and east to Augusta. In 1851, Maine led the nation by passing the first state law prohibiting the sale of alcohol except for "medicinal, mechanical or manufacturing purposes." The law subsequently became known as the Maine law, as eighteen other states quickly followed. The Portland Rum Riot occurred on June 2, 1855.
In 1853, upon completion of the Grand Trunk Railway to Montreal, Portland became the primary ice-free winter seaport for Canadian exports. The Portland Company, located on Fore Street, manufactured more than six hundred 19th-century steam locomotives, as well as engines for trains and boats, fire engines and other railroad transportation equipment. The Portland Company was, for a time, the city's largest employer and many of its employees were immigrants from Canada, Ireland and Italy. Portland became a 20th-century rail hub as five additional rail lines merged into Portland Terminal Company in 1911. These rail lines also facilitated movement of returning Canadian troops from the First World War in 1919. Following nationalization of the Grand Trunk system in 1923, Canadian export traffic was diverted from Portland to Halifax, resulting in marked local economic decline. Icebreakers later enabled ships to reach Montreal in winter, drastically reducing Portland's role as a winter port for Canada.
On June 26, 1863, a Confederate raiding party led by Captain Charles Read entered the harbor at Portland leading to the Battle of Portland Harbor, one of the northernmost battles of the Civil War. The 1866 Great Fire of Portland, Maine, on July 4, 1866, ignited during the Independence Day celebration, destroyed most of the commercial buildings in the city, half the churches and hundreds of homes. More than 10,000 people were left homeless.
By act of the Maine Legislature in 1899, Portland annexed the city of Deering, despite a vote by Deering residents rejecting the motion, thereby greatly increasing the size of the city and opening areas for development beyond the peninsula.
In 1967, the city began the controversial razing of Franklin Street to construct a limited-access highway to improve access in and out of the city for non-residents. The reconstruction of the street demolished 130 homes and businesses and caused an unknown number of families to be relocated or displaced. The construction of The Maine Mall, an indoor shopping center established in South Portland in 1971, economically depressed downtown Portland. The trend reversed when tourists and new businesses started revitalizing the old seaport, a part of which is known locally as the Old Port.
Since the 1990s, the historically industrial Bayside neighborhood has seen rapid development, including attracting a Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's grocery stores, as well as Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, a charter school. Other developing neighborhoods include the India Street neighborhood, near the Ocean Gateway, and Munjoy Hill, where many modern condominiums have been built. The Maine College of Art has been a revitalizing force downtown, attracting students from around the country. The historic Porteous Building on Congress Street was restored by the college. Universities operating in the city are expanding. The University of Southern Maine is improving its Portland campus with a 580-bed dormitory, student center, and an arts center. The University of New England intends to move its medical school from its Biddeford campus to its Portland campus. Northeastern University's Roux Institute plans to build on the former B&M Baked Beans factory campus in East Deering.
Portland is known as a walkable city, offering many opportunities for walking tours which feature its maritime and architectural history.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 69.44 sq mi (179.85 km2), of which 21.31 sq mi (55.19 km2) is land and 48.13 sq mi (124.66 km2) is water. Portland is situated on a peninsula in Casco Bay on the Gulf of Maine and the Atlantic Ocean.
Portland borders South Portland, Westbrook and Falmouth.
Climate
Portland has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb), with cold, snowy, and often prolonged winters, and warm to hot, yet relatively short summers. The monthly average high temperature ranges from roughly 30 °F (−1 °C) in January to around 80 °F (27 °C) in July. Daily high temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on only four days per year on average, while cold-season lows of 0 °F (−18 °C) or below are reached on 10 nights per year on average. The area can be affected by severe nor'easters during winter, with high winds and snowfall totals often measuring over a foot. Annual rainfall averages 47.2 in (1,200 mm) and is plentiful year-round, but with a slightly drier summer. Annual frozen precipitation (snow) averages 69 in (175 cm) in the city. However, this number can fluctuate seasonally from as little as 30 inches to as much as 150 inches, depending on a multitude of factors. In Southern Maine, snowstorms can be intense from November through early April, while warm-season thunderstorms are somewhat less frequent than in the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeastern U.S. (although their frequency has increased in recent years). Direct strikes by hurricanes or tropical storms are rare, partially due to the normally cooler Atlantic waters off the Maine coast (which usually weaken tropical systems), but primarily because most tropical systems approaching or reaching 40 degrees North latitude recurve (due to the Coriolis force) and track east out to sea well south of the Portland area. Extreme temperatures range from −39 °F (−39 °C) on February 16, 1943, to 103 °F (39 °C) on July 4, 1911, and August 2, 1975. The hardiness zones are 5b and 6a.
Sea-level rise
Portland is becoming increasingly affected by global warming and the rise of sea levels. The coast is one of the fastest-warming saltwater bodies, and is predicted to see an increase to about 10–17 inches by 2030, in comparison to the levels in 2000. This is a major threat to the residents and ocean life around the area. In 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a report that showed sea level in Portland could rise by six inches by 2050, two feet by 2060 and two to six feet by 2100.
In January 2024, Portland experienced a record-high tide of 14.57 feet (4.44 m). Combined with heavy rainfall and strong winds, it caused severe flooding.
Neighborhoods
Portland is organized into neighborhoods generally recognized by residents, but they have no legal or political authority. In many cases, city signs identify neighborhoods or intersections (which are often called corners). Most city neighborhoods have a local association which usually maintains ongoing relations of varying degrees with the city government on issues affecting the neighborhood.
On March 8, 1899, Portland annexed the neighboring city of Deering. Deering neighborhoods now comprise the northern and eastern sections of the city before the merger. Portland's Deering High School was formerly the public high school for Deering.
Portland's neighborhoods include the Arts District, Bayside, Bradley's Corner, Cliff Island, Cushing Island, Deering Center, Deering Highlands, Downtown, East Deering, East Bayside, East End, Eastern Cemetery, Great Diamond Island, Highlands, Kennedy Park, Libbytown, Little Diamond Island, Lunt's Corner, Morrill's Corner, Munjoy Hill, Nason's Corner, North Deering, Oakdale, the Old Port, Parkside, Peaks Island, Riverton Park, Rosemont, Stroudwater, West End, and Woodfords Corner.
From the early 2000s onward, many of Portland's neighborhoods have faced gentrification, causing many local residents to be "priced out" of their neighborhoods. In 2015, the Portland Press Herald published a series of articles documenting the "super-tight apartment market" and the trauma caused by evictions and steep jumps in monthly rent. Also in that year, city landlords raised rents by an average of 17.4%, which was the second-largest jump in the country.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
Race and ethnicity composition of Portland, Maine
In 2010, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 85.0% White (83.6% non-Hispanic White alone), down from 96.6% in 1990, 7.1% African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.0% of the population. 40.7% of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher. In 2020, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city remained predominantly non-Hispanic white.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Portland had a population of 68,408. The median age was 37.6 years. 15.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.1 males age 18 and over.
98.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 32,400 households in Portland, of which 18.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 31.5% were married-couple households, 24.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 35,747 housing units, of which 9.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.1%.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 66,194 people, 30,725 households, and 13,324 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,106.2/sq mi (1,199.3/km2). There were 33,836 housing units at an average density of 1,587.8/sq mi (613.1/km2), with homeownership rates at approximately 45%.