Two revitalized historic buildings in Portland were central to the Portland Regional Chamber’s 160th anniversary gala this week, showing a reverence for the past.
The gala was at the State Theatre at Congress and High streets, built in 1927 and reopened in 2010 after renovations.
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“We had a lot of new faces and folks who hadn’t been to the State Theatre before, or hadn’t been in 50 years since they were kids,” said Chamber CEO Chris Hall.
Another landmark, the Westin Portland Harborview Hotel on High Street, received the Henri A. Benoit Award for revitalizing the city. The Westin, in the former Eastland Park Hotel building, reopened last December after a $52 million renovation.
A short film by Headlight Audio Visual showed the Eastland’s iconic ballroom before and after the renovation, highlighting a preserved historic aspect of the staircase where generations of prom dates and wedding parties have been photographed.
The State Theatre was built in 1927, the Eastland in 1929 – and both are young compared to the Chamber itself, which goes back to 1854.
Today, all three are vibrant players in the local economy – an increasingly technological economy. In fact, Idexx Laboratories, Maine’s largest public company, received the Robert R. Masterton Award in recognition of economic development.
“We’re proud to be a home-grown, Maine-based company,” said Jacqueline Studor, corporate vice president of Idexx.
The regional nature of the chamber of commerce was spotlighted as the Neal W. Allen Award for public service was given to three town managers who have worked collaboratively since 2011 to extend natural gas to their communities: Bill Shane of Cumberland, Nathan Poore of Falmouth and Nat Tupper of Yarmouth.
“We thank them all for taking leaps of faith,” said Michael Minkos, president of Summit Natural Gas of Maine.
All five award recipients went home with a piece created by ceramic artist Miles Spadone, a graduate of Maine College of Art. Spadone was inspired by the history of Portland and the city’s older architecture.
“It’s nice to see people being appreciated,” said Betsy Knight Barnard of Knight Solutions, one of the benefactor sponsors. “It was genuine.”
“We had a lot of people coming up to us and curious about us,” said Mike Pendleton, chief creative officer of pro-voke, one of the featured businesses.
Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer from Scarborough. She can be reached at:
amyparadysz@gmail.com
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