USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Portland > Portland city guide > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
During this period the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera era was sweep- ing the country; Portland, like other sections, was so surfeited with the frequent presentations of H.M.S. Pinafore that the clergy declared it was replacing piety. A famous tragedian, playing an engagement in Portland, is said to have complained that he could seldom say "Never!" on the Portland stage, without the audience tittering the response, "Well, Hardly Ever."
Portland's new City Hall, rebuilt shortly after the 'Great Fire' of 1866, celebrated its opening with Brignoli's Italian Opera Company presenting Il Trovatore, Martha, and Ernani; the building, however, was not especially equipped for dramatic purposes, and subsequent years saw only elaborate stage spectacles, lectures, and concerts presented in its auditorium. A de- scriptive picture of Portland's theater interest in the 1870's appears in the diary of the celebrated John Neal, local author and editor: "What a won- derful change. Not long ago a theatre seemed to be out of the question.
202
Portland City Guide
But just now such is the rage for theatricals that we have not only amateur clubs, dramatic associations and itinerant companies but not less than two theatrical companies with two regularly organized theatres."
During the late 1870's the famous Black Crook show appeared in Port- land, creating a sensation. It was the first performance of its kind in the city and featured the diphanously clad feminine form. Portland patres- familias discreetly judged that the show was hardly a proper and fitting performance for their wives and daughters to witness, but their decision did not halt the brisk seat sale.
Financially, very few theatrical companies were successful in Portland during this period; only when actors of brilliant reputation were featured did playhouse receipts become profitable. There were sporadic flashes of promise, crowded houses for a brief period, and occasional brilliant per- formances, but financial stress, assisted too often by bad management and the general apathy of the public, marked the futile struggle for survival of the theater in Portland. During the latter part of the 19th century im- passioned newspaper pleadings for support, and frequent announcements of "This theatre will only remain open a few nights longer," or "Cannot the Portland public do something to evince the approbation of the unparalleled exertions that have been made to please the refined taste of the patrons of the Drama?" were made, without avail. The frequent slim audiences com- pelled managers to resort to all kinds of expedients to sell seats; one enter- prising theater of the late "70's announced "special perfumed matinees" when patrons were sprinkled with fragrant water as they entered the theater. The public refused, however, to respond to exotic odors, and the lack of support caused many shows to close, and playhouses to change man- agerships.
Attempts were made by managers to increase their revenue by raising the tariff for special attractions; at the first appearance in the city of Mary Anderson, the local press lamented that prices had been "hiked": "To charge more than is customary is simply absurd since she-as far as we know- is no better than any other actress we have seen. As far as beauty is concerned-well that is not what Portland theatergoers put out their money for; since we have plenty at home."
Perhaps Bartley McCullum, who managed the Peak's Island Pavilion in 1889 and launched what later became a very successful stock company, came the nearest to local theatrical success. For the first two years McCullum dabbled in productions with an amateur local cast, but in 1891 he began to
203
Theater
draw on some of the best professional talent available in New York, and his troupe soon acquired the sumptuous title of McCullum's New York Comedy Company. McCullum was the pioneer of summer stock in this vicinity, and, inspired by his success at Peak Island and later at the Cape Theatre, other stock companies sprang up. The Gem Theater, also on Peak Island, had a group under the management of Charles W. T. Goding, and in Congress Hall, afterwards known as the Gayety, a company was meeting with some success; vaudeville was featured in the Riverton Park Theatre and at Underwood Springs, on the Falmouth Road.
Vaudeville made its most auspicious bid for favor with the opening of the new and elaborate Keith's Theatre in 1908, but the next year it was re- placed with a summer stock company under the direction of Bartley Mc- Cullum. The Keith Stock Company soon established itself as a favorite among Portland institutions and for three seasons presented Broadway hits; the versatile company was headed by Sidney Toler and Marie Pavey, and later by such well-known stars as Edward Everett Horton, Leah Winslow, and Blanche Frederici.
Portland's theatrical history reached its peak of excellence with the open- ing of the Jefferson Theatre in 1897. For several years there had been a growing consciousness of the need for an adequate building in which to present plays of a complicated nature employing elaborate mechanical ef- fects. The 'Old Jeff,' as the theater even today is affectionately referred to, was sponsored by a group of local business men and interested playgoers who promoted a company for the purpose of selling stock in the enterprise. After a long and arduous campaign they succeeded in raising $150,000, and the theater was constructed at the corner of Oak and Free streets on a site that had once been a convent. 'Old Jeff's' opening night was one of Port- land's brilliant social events; a distinguished audience and elaborate cere- monies attended the prelude to its first play, Half A King, with Francis Wilson in the leading role. Managed by M. J. Garrity, the complete list of plays in this house and the famous actors and actresses are a roster of the American theater. Sarah Bernhardt appeared in Camille; Richard Mans- field in Henry V; Sir Henry Irving in the Bells and in Waterloo; Sothern and Marlowe in Romeo and Juliet; and Maude Adams in Peter Pan and in What Every Woman Knows. Others included Ethel Barrymore, Nazimova, Billie Burke, Nance O'Neil, Mrs. Fiske, Elsie Janis, Blanche Ring, George Arliss, William Gillette, Otis Skinner, and DeWolf Hopper. Joseph Jef-
204
Portland City Guide
ferson, an honor guest on the opening night, later appeared in Rip Van Winkle and Bob Acres.
During Fanny Davenport's last engagement at the Jefferson, a cheval mirror was broken in her dressing room. The incident greatly disturbed the actress, and, as she was extremely superstitious, it is generally believed that worry was a contributory cause of her death several months later.
From 1924 until 1929 the Jefferson players featured stock with such pop- ular leading players as Lyle Talbot, Russell Hicks, Barbara Weeks, Billy Evarts, Robert Gleckler, and Grace Carlyle; the two latter were so well liked Portland streets were named after them.
A brave, but brief attempt was made in 1922 to launch a little theater in the city when Arthur Maitland and his players converted the High Street Congregational Church into a theater; this little theater lasted only one or two seasons.
The advent of the Jefferson Theatre also ushered in an era of rapidly changing tastes. Portland playgoing, in common with other parts of the country, was being affected by the gradual decline of interest in legitimate drama, chiefly caused by the rapid strides of the motion pictures and the coming of the automobile. 'Old Jeff,' with more than a quarter-century of glorious theatrical history, was finally closed in 1933.
In recent years there has been a healthy revival of dramatics. The best traditions of the theater are being carried on by local amateur groups: the Portland Players, under the direction of Albert Willard Smith, now in its sixth year; the Center Workshop, a Jewish organization; the Children's Theater, an activity of the Portland Junior League; and high school drama- tic associations are extremely active. In 1939 the city had no legitimate theater; within relatively short distances of the city, however, are several summer playhouses which, in common with little theaters throughout the country, seem to be stimulating an ever-growing interest in a return of ac- tive dramatic enterprise.
Motion pictures started in Portland in 1908 when James W. Greeley converted a tunnel-shaped wooden building, formerly at the corner of Oak and Congress streets, into the Dreamland. At first only short reels of about 20 minutes duration were featured, but the experimental showing of the five-reel The Fall of Troy proved exceptionally successful and laid the foundation for the double-feature bill of today's cinemas.
The Federal Theater Project, once a unit of the relief program of the Works Progress Administration, was sponsored in Portland in December,
205
Theater
1935. Under the directorship of Albert L. Hickey, onetime favorite star with the Jefferson Theater, the project carried on an intensive and extensive program. In addition to traveling vaudeville units, the project presented the C C C Murder Mystery, by Grace Heywood, and Sure Fire, by Rolfe Murphy. The puppeteers of the project stimulated children's interest in the theater by presenting playlets in municipal playgrounds, Katcha and the Devil being the most popular.
HUMISTON-
RADIO
Twenty-four years after Guglielmo Marconi stood on a bleak Newfound- land hillside listening through crude earphones to the first transatlantic communication by radio from Poldhu, England, Portland pioneered in radio with the State's first commercial broadcasting unit, Station WCSH. Founded in June, 1925, and placed in operation a month later with an elaborate program on which Governor Ralph O. Brewster spoke on con- temporary Maine, this station was early affiliated with the WEAF Chain, a network then operated by the American Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany. Upon re-organization of the National Broadcasting Company late in 1927 Station WCSH became a basic member of the Red Network.
The first transmittal equipment of WCSH, a 500 watt unit, was used from the initial program until 1929 when the sending station was removed from its downtown location to Scarborough; although a 5000 watt trans- mitter was installed in the new location, the station was licensed for only 1000 watts. Later its strength was increased to 2500 watts. The station's first transmitter is now placed on permanent display at the New York offices of the National Broadcasting Company.
Early in 1927 application for Portland's second broadcasting unit, Sta- tion WGAN, was first made to the Federal Communications Commission. There was much delay in granting the application, because for years other stations had sought to break into and to modify the clear channel principle, which in the case of WGAN involved KFI, the powerful California sta- tion. Of the 13 applications, including the local station, submitted to the Federal Communications Commission, all were denied except that of the State College at Ames, Iowa, and Station WGAN which were granted use of the 640 kilocycle. Denial of the other applicants was regarded by the
207
Radio
Commission as maintaining the clear channel principle, since the Portland station had requested and was granted limited time on the air on 640 kilo- cycles, to operate until sunset at Los Angeles. Later WHKC in Columbus, Ohio, was granted use of the same kilocycles. Following the dedicatory pro- gram, on which many State and City of Portland officials took part, WGAN began regular broadcasting on August 28, 1938. The first pickup at Old Orchard Beach a few days later covered the first annual State marathon.
WCSH, with studios on seventh floor of the Congress Square Hotel, 579 Congress Street (open during broadcasting hours; free), broadcasts on a frequency of 940 kilocycles with a power of 2500 watts during the day and 1000 watts during the night. The station is owned by the Congress Square Hotel Company, and has transmitting facilities in Scarborough, 5.5 miles from Portland. In addition to local programs, those of the Yankee Net- work, the Maine Broadcasting System, and National Broadcasting Com- pany's Red Network are presented. Hours of transmission are from 7:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight.
WGAN, with studios on second floor of the Columbia Hotel, 645A Con- gress Street (open during broadcasting hours; free), broadcasts on a fre- quency of 640 kilocycles with a power of 500 watts. The station is owned by the Portland Broadcasting System of the Gannett Publishing Company and its transmitting facilities are located near Riverton, 5 miles north of the metropolitan district. In addition to local programs, those of the Colum- bia Broadcasting System are presented. Hours of transmission are from 6:00 a.m. until approximately three hours after local sunset.
Portland's Police Department inaugurated police radio transmission in the State of Maine with the installation of WPFU in 1933. Operating by au- thority of the Federal Radio Commission on a carrier frequency of 2422 kilocycles, the local police transmission gives instant communication to police cruising cars. The police district is so divided that cruiser cars can cover the entire area in 30 minutes, or speed from end to end of the area in approximately five minutes.
Amateur radio has made great progress in Portland during the past 25 years. The pioneers of the early 1900's who trudged over to 'Two Lights,' a lighthouse and coast guard station on Cape Elizabeth, and badgered the radio operator at the government station for ideas on constructing their homemade sets, were the forbears of the present group of more than 70 "hams." Their jargon is a foreign language to the average citizen, but
208
Portland City Guide
"CW," "DX," "traffic men," and "rag-chewers" are common expressions among themselves. "CW"s are those versed in code who operate on all "ham" bands. The "DX" group are interested in reaching distant points, and "traffic men" handle the relay messages-a form of telegraph service practiced among amateurs. The 80 meter band is popular for this line of work for it is filled with net stations, veritable trunk lines cobwebbing the country. The "rag-chewers" are those who like conversation, sending out their "CQ" to any station, and signing off with the well-known "73," which means "best regards." The "Fone men" operate in 160, 75, 20, and 10 meter bands. The shorter wave length used, the greater are the possi- bilities for coverage of long distances until the theoretical limit of amount 7 meters is reached; below this wave length many experimenters are con- stantly testing methods of improving communication. Portland "hams" have successfully used the 5 meter band in broadcasting the local soap box derbies.
Hanging in the homes of several Portland amateurs are treasured W A S certificates issued by the American Radio Relay League to signify that all States have been successfully contacted. Also issued by the League is the W A C certificate for successfully contacting all continents. Aside from the hobby side of "ham" transmission, Portland's amateurs have been in- valuable during emergencies, as for example during the 1938 hurricane when much of New England was swept by destructive gales. In addition to more than half-a-hundred private amateur stations located in the city, there are four amateur U. S. Army stations, affiliated with the signal corps, which are on the air nearly every morning from 7:00 until 9:00 in regular drill practice for speed and accuracy of transmission. Station WIFCE, operating from Portland Junior Technical College on Plum Street, has one of the most powerful amateur radio transmitters in New England. Its license permits the station to broadcast programs for experimental purposes.
The Portland Amateur Wireless Association, Inc., maintains its own sta- tion WIKVI at its clubhouse on Ocean Avenue; weekly meetings are held for discussion of technical problems. This association welcomes visitors at any of its meetings.
Part III Sectional Descriptions
PISTON JT
Portland City Hall
-----
w
Cumberland County Courthouse
Federal Courthouse
.
-
-
-
Old Post Office Building
New Post Office Building
-
-
-
-
City Home
Maine General Hospital
Shops and Storehouse of Portland Water District
City Greenhouses
City Hall Entrance
SINCS
-
-
Heart of the City
-
www. NOW.
- -
Cumberland County Courthouse (1816-58) City Hall (1859-66) Portland Town Hall (1825-80) City Hall (1868-1908) City Hall (1912-)
DOWNTOWN SECTION
Roughly extending from State Street to India Street and from the water front to Back Cove, this section includes most of the metropolitan district of the city. From east to west along the saddle-shaped contour of the pen- insula on which Portland sprawls runs Congress Street, the principal thoroughfare, on which is the main retail shopping, commercial, and theat- rical center. Spreading fanlike from Congress Street toward the bay is the wholesale and warehouse section which ends on broad Commercial Street and the wharves of Portland's water front. Northward from the principal street is a middle-class residential area, which ends abruptly in an industrial section along Back Cove, the western part of which approaches the slope of Bramhall Hill, while the eastern part ends on the lower slope of Mun- joy Hill.
This is the historic and commercial center of Portland that witnessed the building of the first houses, the first church, courthouse, and school- house; that gazed in awe at the first lions exhibited in the District of Maine, and thrilled to the first performance of traveling actors; that cheered its many patriotic parades and stood in respectful silence as funeral corteges wound their way to Eastern Cemetery on Munjoy Hill. Many famous sons and daughters of Portland were born in this section, and here were the homes of the elite where the great and the near-great were en- tertained.
As late as the middle of the 18th century a swamp with alders and whortleberries covered the area between Congress, then Back Street, and Middle Street, and extended from Franklin Street, once known as Fiddle Lane, to Temple Street. The pond at Federal and Court streets was spanned by three bridges before it emptied into Fore River. All of these have dis- appeared. The swamps have been filled, and 20th century architecture now rises in an area that was three times demolished: by the French and Indians in 1690, by Mowat in 1775, and by the 'Great Fire' of 1866.
Also in this section is Gorhams Corner, characterized by Edward Elwell in Boys of '35 as "an unsavory locality of the town, in bad repute because of the turbulent character of its inhabitants, the center of sailor boarding houses, the scene of street brawls and drunken rows." This corner had many a kitchen barroom where beer and ale could be purchased for five and
212
Portland City Guide
MARGINAL WAY
59
KENNEBEC ST
PARK AVE
61
58)
60
62
PORTLAND ST
SHERMAN
(115
ST
HIGH ST
22
CASCO ST
BROWN\ST
5
6
7
53
52
51
CONGRESS ST
110
56
20
19
18
17
4
108
FREE ST
50
46
45
43
(42
41
40
105
(48
$49
147
104
SPRING ST
44
95
SOUTH ST
CENTER ST
STATE ST
99
PARK ST
HIGH ST
96
100
DANFORTH ST
97
101
(102)
YORK ST
COMMERCIAL ST
116
K
C
PREBLE ST
26
CUMBERLAND AVE
111
23
24
57
55
FOREST AVE
63
PARRIS ST
25
DEERING ST
CONGRESS ST
54
109
107
106
OAK ST
98
PLEASANT ST
GRAY
ST
103
116
112
21
STATE ST
213
Downtown Section
MARGINAL WAY
FOX ST
64
KENNEBEC ST
ST
ST
SMITH ST
ELM ST
27
28
66
WILMOT ST
FRANKLIN
LOCUST
69
8
1.1
12
13
14
31
32
CONGRESS ST
70
1
2
15
36
33
72
ST
FEDERAL ST
3
16
37
34
73
74X75
77
76
39
38
85
84
83
79
MIDDLE ST
93
92
91
114
PLUM ST
113
90
86
80
FORE ST
89
94
8
87
88
116
e
9
a
6
h
DOWNTOWN SECTION
CHESTNUT ST
65
CUMBERLAND AVE
10
29
9
30
MARKET ST
35
·
EXCHANGE ST
PEARL ST
82
HAMPSHIRE
INDIA ST
78
CROSS ST
COMMERCIAL ST
OXFORD ST
67
68
71
214
Portland City Guide
ten cents a pail and carried out for consumption. On the curbstone on the corner of Center and Fore streets boys and girls congregated evenings and sang popular songs and ditties of which 'Sweet Magnolia' was the favorite. Gorhams Corner no longer exhibits such exuberance.
State Street was not laid out until 1800, when men with newly acquired wealth built their "mansions." In this neighborhood are preserved the best architectural examples in the city.
1. Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, Monument Square. Standing near the center of the city's business district, this memorial commemorates the 5,000 Portland soldiers and sailors who served in the Civil War. It was dedicated on October 28, 1891, eighteen years after the plan for its erection had been formulated by a Portland group. Both the huge bronze figure atop the high granite base and the bronze soldier and sailor groups are the work of Franklin Simmons (see Arts and Crafts), a native of the State, who sculp- tured this work in Rome, Italy. Unusual in design and exceptionally large for a memorial of this type, the heroic figure symbolizing Union holds in its right hand a sword wrapped in a flag, and in its left hand a branch of maple leaves, while on the left arm hangs a shield. The granite base was de- signed by Richard M. Hunt, distinguished New York architect of many well-known memorials.
Historic associations cling to the circular plot on which the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial stands. Here, as late as 1746, stood the fortified block- house in which early residents of 'The Neck' took refuge during surprise Indian attacks; six years later, however, it became a jail. By 1769 the old fortification had been dismantled and a new jail building erected on the site. Beside it the town fathers installed their newly purchased hay scales, and the surrounding area became known as Haymarket Square. In the years following the incorporation of the Town of Portland, residents be- came civic-conscious and in 1825 erected the first town house known as Mili- tary Hall. A lingering Puritan primness was evident in the plain, wooden edifice; there was little attempt at ornamentation except for a cupola on the western end of the trussed roof. Market stalls covered the ground floor and here were hawked the agricultural and animal products of the farmers who arrived at daybreak to sell their wares. By 1832, following the town's incorporation as a municipality and its rise in status as capital of the newly born State of Maine, local pride began to look askance at the peddling of vegetables, eggs, fowl, meat, and fish in the basement of the building that occupied the center of the most important square in the city. Charles Q. Clapp was accordingly commissioned to remodel the exterior; the cupola
215
Downtown Section
was removed, and the principal façade was given a classic portico with four fluted Ionic columns.
After its architectural transformation Military Hall assumed a fresh place in the cultural and social life of Portland. Its walls echoed to the anti- slavery speeches of William Lloyd Garrison and witnessed a pro-slavery mob's attempt to tar and feather Stephen S. Foster. During the mayoralty of Neal Dow an anti-prohibition mob tried to take possession of the con- fiscated liquor stored in the basement of Military Hall, and a bystander, John Robbins, was shot. Within its walls were heard the eloquent pleadings of Fessenden and Sumner, during the years when old political parties were being disrupted and new parties formed.
Shortly after the Civil War a movement was started to honor the soldiers and sailors who had served in the conflict, but no definite plans were for- warded; in 1873 an association was formed to solicit funds for the erection of a suitable memorial. Fourteen years later a popular vote selected the site of Military Hall as the location of the memorial, which was erected in 1888, and Haymarket Square was renamed Monument Square.
2. The old United States Hotel, now the business home of Edwards & Walker, 5 Monument Square, was Portland's first large inn. Originally built for Dr. Nathaniel Coffin in 1803, the three-story building was en- larged and converted into the Washington Hotel, with Timothy Boston proprietor. In 1840 a fourth story was added, and it was renamed the United States Hotel. Facing the town's principal square in the center of which stood Military Hall, the hotel soon became the rendezvous of Port- land's gay blades. Older Portlanders remember the lively scenes and ela- borate dinners that made this hostelry famous. In the latter part of the 19th century, after the town had become a city and thriving commerce had driven the quiet charm from its immediate neighborhood, the United States Hotel closed its doors and its quarters were taken by the present business firm.
3. Site of Marston's Tavern, 7 and 9 Monument Square. This famous old inn had an especial connection with Captain Henry Mowat's bombard- ment of the town in 1775. To it Mowat was brought after the town fathers had prevailed upon Colonel Samuel Thompson to parole the British Naval officer whom he had captured during the exciting days following the out- break of the Revolution at Lexington and Concord (see History). After long years as an inn, in 1834 the tavern was moved from its Haymarket Square (Monument Square) location to State Street and converted into a tenement; later it was dismantled.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.