Portland is Maine's business, financial and retail capital as well as the largest city in the state. Portland is the hub of business activity in Maine. Portland's natural deep-water port rivals Boston, New York and Philadelphia for cargo and oil shipments.
The city is known for its wide array of fine restaurants and the charm of the Old Port has put Portland on several Best Cities list. With its growing airport, and daily train service to Boston, Portland, Maine is fast becoming the place to live and work in northern New England. Portland is the banking capital of northern New England, home to major international law firms, import/export companies, and modern high-rise office buildings.
Portland is an old seacoast town. It is also a funky city filled with galleries, one-of-kind boutiques and shops, and incredible restaurants serving everything from traditional New England clam chowder to nouveau cuisine.
With a metro population of 230,000, the Greater Portland area is home to almost one quarter of Maine’s total population. The city population is 64,000. Portland is Maine’s largest city with 66,000 full time residents; however it grows to 2 million including annual visitors and part-time residents.
The Greater Portland Region was recently named the best place in the country to raise children, and has been called "the economic center of Northern New England."
The Old Port
Portland’s Old Port is one of the most successful revitalized warehouse districts in the country. Seamlessly connected to the waterfront, the Old Port is both a working waterfront and a popular shopping, dining, and entertainment district. Historic architecture blends gracefully with the new as you stroll along the working waterfront or the cobblestone streets of the restored Old Port section of the city.
Taking a walk at the water’s edge along Commercial Street provides a window into the working waterfront. Just steps from the water, one can stroll the cobblestone streets and experience the quaint charm of this district. The boutique shopping, one-of-a-kind stores, restaurants serving Maine’s famous lobster dishes or the latest nouveau cuisine, and a vibrant nightlife are all unparallel to any other New England city.
The smell of the sea air, the sound of a foghorn, and the chatter of seagulls add to an atmosphere that is undeniably Portland, undeniably Maine.
The Arts District
Uptown, a few blocks from the waterfront, is Portland’s secret treasure—the Arts District. With Congress Street as its spine, this once traditional shopping street has turned into a mecca of art galleries, antique shops, and artist studios. The world class Portland Museum of Art, the Children’s Museum of Maine, the Institute of Contemporary Art at the Maine College of Art, the Center for Cultural Exchange, the State Theater, the Portland Stage Company, the Center for Maine History, and the stunningly-renovated Merrill Auditorium all line Congress Street.
Walking Congress Street provides a glimpse of office buildings intermingled with historically preserved buildings. The Wadsworth-Longfellow House is the 19th century childhood home of the poet. The First Parish Church has an original cannon ball from the revolutionary war as a chandelier. Portland’s City Hall was built by Carrere and Hastings, best known for their design of the New York Public Library. And, Portland High School is the oldest standing high school in the country.
