Visitor's Guide 2024-2025

While many coastal cities have built up their waterfronts with high rise housing and corporate offices, Portland’s is still distinguished by the marine vessels, accoutrements and piers integral to those who make their living from the sea.

T hrough years of dialogue and debate, a dynamic balance has evolved wherein tourism, retail trade, commercial offices, residential housing, and marine and fishing industries all coexist, making for one of the most unique urban waterfronts in America. Old brick warehouses have been delightfully repurposed as galleries, cafes and boutiques, while lobstermen still ply their trade on Portland’s wharves. It wasn’t just by happenstance that Portland’s waterfront retains the working element that has come to define it. In the 1970s and 80s, in the midst of Portland’s revitalization, new development of offices, condominiums and other non-marine uses soared. In reaction, the City enacted a moratorium on non marine development on the docks and water side of Commercial Street. In the 1990s, a Waterfront Alliance formed to work with city officials on zoning that would allow some commercial uses on the piers and wharves while still protecting the interests of the fishing industry and Portland’s seaport identity.

The charm of Portland’s working waterfront doesn’t end with a display of scenic lobster traps and buoys, but includes a recognition and celebration of the maritime trades’ solid presence in the character of the community. Pride in the sea appears to visitors around every corner: from fishermen unloading their daily catch to boats lined up at the docks, waiting to whisk travelers around the bay, to the freshest seafood sold in waterfront restaurants and maritime inspired goods sold in specialty shops along Commercial Street. While Portland’s city streets continue to blossom with exciting new restaurants and interesting new boutiques, the visible presence of its working waterfront reminds us not only of the rich maritime history the city’s success has been built upon, but of the continued impact of the sea on its community’s pride and future prosperity. More than a beautiful backdrop, the vitality of Portland’s working waterfront becomes a remarkable memory of every visitor’s experience.

PHOTOS, FROM LEFT: THOMAS MITCHELL; AUSTIN CHRISTENSEN; MAINE OYSTER CO.

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