2014 Visitor's Guide

NAT IVE AMBASSADOR Heading north? Take a detour off Route 295 to see the 40-foot statue of Chief Passamaquoddy affectionately known by locals at the BFI for Big Freeport (or other word of your choice) Indian. Sporting a full-feathered headdress and holding a spear and shield, the BFI has been greeting visitors to Freeport for 45 years. TASTY T IME TRAVEL When you’re ready for a heady dose of nostalgia, stop on Marginal Way in Portland at the Miss Portland Diner, a true landmark business. The 1949 Miss Portland Diner, a prime example of the Worcester Lunch Car Company’s handcrafted diners with porcelain exteriors and hardwood interiors, was situated on Marginal Way in 1964 and preserved by Portland native Tom Manning in 2007. Enjoy breakfast all day and comfort foods in a retro diner The only Camera Obscura in New England resides at the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine in Portland. From the darkened interior of the museum’s top floor, explore the world of light and optics as the camera reveals one of the most amazing panoramic views of the city from a room without any windows. where everything old is new again. L IGHTS, CAMERA, COLOR

NOT- SO- FLEET ING FAME Who is that man smoking a pipe with his leg casually flung across his knee immortalized in bronze at the intersection of Ford, Bank, York, Pleasant, and Danforth Streets in Portland (Gorhams Corner)? Perhaps Portland’s most famous son of Irish immigrants, the Hollywood filmmaker John Ford was one of eleven children and followed in the footsteps of his brother Francis to make a career in the film industry. Ford sits in his director’s chair surrounded by plaques detailing each of his six Oscar-winning films. T IMELY DISPLAY From the heart of Portland’s downtown business district, the flashing sign atop the Time & Temperature Building (477 Congress St) catches the eye of pedestrians and drivers alike, delivering both the time and temperature throughout the city. First installed in 1964 above the 14-storey structure, the sign also warns of parking bans and is used for business promotions and occasional celebratory messages. ALL LOCKED UP A heart-warming display of romantic and other love, the Fences of Love chain-link fence on Portland’s waterfront is a solid testimony to the enduring belief in love everlasting. Since the first padlock was affixed there, hundreds of folks have proclaimed their adoration by hanging locks bearing the names of loved ones and disposing of the keys.

CONVENTION + VISITORS BUREAU / 67