July 30, 2015, photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer; April 8, 1969, Portland Evening Express photograph courtesy of Portland Portland Library Special Collections & Archives
The black and white photograph above, which ran in the April 8, 1969, Portland Evening Express, shows heavy machinery demolishing Old Port buildings along Middle Street in order to clear a path for the new Franklin Street Arterial.
The finished result – visible in the 2015 photo – has been the subject of a years-long planning study, recently adopted into the City of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan, to make the street smaller, safer and more accessible to foot traffic.
The Portland Room of the Portland Public Library is in the process of organizing and conserving the archival collection of original Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram and Evening Express photographic negatives — a major collection that spans from 1937 to 2005. Find more photos at www.pressherald.com/flashback/.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.