2014 Visitor's Guide

61 Did You See THAT?

DOUBLE TAKE In downtown Portland, two trompe l’oeil (fool the eye) murals startle and delight passersby. A building-sized blueprint covers one side of 40 Free Street, its edges rolling back to reveal the actual building underneath. And set back from the corner of Exchange and Middle Streets, a mural simulates the granite façade of the 1867 post office that once stood on the spot now occupied by Tommy’s Park. OUT OF THIS WORLD You’ll marvel at the sheer size and fantastic engineering of Eartha, the world’s largest revolving and rotating globe, located at Maine’s cartographic company, DeLorme, in Yarmouth. While there, visit the Map Store which features a rich assortment of travel planning items, maps, and atlases covering Maine and the entire world. PIPE DREAMS Residing in Portland’s Merrill Auditorium at City Hall, the Kotzschmar Organ was a gift to the city by publishing magnate Cyrus Curtis in memory of Portland’s beloved organist and music teacher Hermann Kotzschmar, whose bust is located below the center tower of the facade. Since its original installation in 1912 the impressive organ has been enlarged four times and boasts over 6,000 pipes.

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MOOSE SIGHT ING GUARANTEED He’s big—really big. And sweet—really sweet. Lenny, the world’s only life-sized chocolate moose, lives in his natural habitat at Len Libby Chocolatier in Scarborough. Weighing in at 1,700 pounds, Lenny may not satisfy your craving to see a real moose but the store will indulge your sweet tooth with quality handmade chocolates and candies. SOMETHIN’S F ISHY At the flagship location in Freeport of national outdoor-gear retailer L.L.Bean, you’ll get a close-up view of indigenous fish, turtles and other animals in the indoor fish pond and neigh- boring 24-foot Riverbed Aquarium. A bubble dome in the aquarium, one of only a half dozen in existence, offers a unique viewing experience as fish swim above and around you. The aquarium holds 3,500 gallons of water which is pumped at over 200 gallons per minute to simulate the moving water of a riverbed.

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