Market House (Portland, Maine)
| Market House | |
|---|---|
.png) A 1902 sketch by Charles Quincy Goodhue of the market house (c. 1830), around three years before its 1833 modification to become Portland's first city hall | |
| Location | Haymarket Square, Portland, Maine |
| Coordinates | 43°39′27″N 70°15′32″W / 43.65738°N 70.25891°W |
| Built | 1825 |
| Demolished | 1888 |
  Shown in Maine | |
The Market House of Portland, Maine, was located in what was then known as Market Square or Haymarket Square (today's Monument Square) between 1825 and 1888, when it was demolished. In 1833, the building was modified to become Portland's first city hall. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, which now stands in its place, was dedicated in 1891.
History[edit]
The Town of Portland built a market house in Market (or Haymarket) Square 1825.[1][2][3] Also known as Military Hall, the first floor in the building's early years housed stalls used by farmers to sell agricultural products.[1] In 1827, the upper floor housed the second public gymnasium in the country, founded by eccentric and influential writer, critic, and activist John Neal.[4][5][6] The gym was based on Turnen gymnastics, which Neal learned in London from Carl Voelker, a German refugee.[4][7] It was Maine's first organized athletic program, making Neal the "father of athletics in Maine" according to historian William Barry. Called the Portland Gymnasium, it had 300 members by 1828.[8]
The building's simple gable appearance was modified in 1833, to plans made the previous year by Charles Quincy Clapp, to become Portland's first city hall. Clapp updated the building to the Greek Revival style by removing the cupola from the roof and adding a portico to the front.[2] The cupola was reinstalled on the Universalist school house (now Alumni Hall on the University of New England campus)[9] in Portland's Deering neighborhood.[10]
The new building was the site of the 1855 Portland Rum Riot, which involved mayor Neal Dow and led to one death.[1]
The United States Hotel, built in 1803, stood behind both iterations of the building.[11][12][13]
28 Monument Square was built in 1871. In 2006, the first floor and basement of the building became the home of Public Market House, in which several vendors flank a narrow central corridor.[14] Some vendors relocated to Public Market House from the nearby Portland Public Market building, at the corner of Preble Street and Cumberland Avenue, which closed earlier the same year.[15][16]
Gallery[edit]
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The cupola from the market house, pictured in 2024 on Alumni Hall on the University of New England's Portland campus -
Old City Hall, pictured in 1886, two years before its demolition -
Today's Public Market House, located in the Emerson Clapp Building (built in 1871)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c City of Portland (1940). Portland City Guide. Portland, Maine: The Forest City Printing Company. p. 214.
- ^ a b Greater Portland Landmarks (1986). Portland (2nd ed.). Hallowell, Maine: Greater Portland Landmarks, Inc. p. 124. ISBN 9780939761074.
- ^ Moon, John (2009). Portland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-7385-6517-0.
- ^ a b Sears, Donald A. (1978). John Neal. Boston, Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers. p. 106. ISBN 080-5-7723-08.
- ^ Barnes, Albert F. (1984). Greater Portland Celebration 350. Portland, Maine: Guy Gannett Publishing Co. p. 47. ISBN 9780930096588.
- ^ Leonard, Fred Eugene (1923). A Guide to the History of Physical Education. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York: Lea & Febiger. pp. 227–250. OCLC 561890463.
- ^ Eisenberg, Christiane (2007). "'German Gymnastics' in Britain, or the Failure of Culture Transfer". In Manz, Stefan; Beerbühl, Margrit Schulte; Davis, John R. (eds.). Migration and Transfer from Germany to Britain, 1660–1914. Munich, Germany: K.G. Saur. p. 136. ISBN 9783598230028.
- ^ Barry, William D. (May 20, 1979). "State's Father of Athletics a Multi-Faceted Figure". Maine Sunday Telegram. Portland, Maine. pp. 1D–2D.
- ^ "University of New England celebrates reopening of renovated 182-year-old iconic Alumni Hall on Portland Campus". www.une.edu. 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ "Hay Market Square, Portland, 1830". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ "Edwards and Walker, 1941". Businesses & Buildings - Portland Press Herald Still Film Negatives. 1941-06-29.
- ^ "United States Hotel, Potland, ME". Stereoview Photographs. 2013-08-21.
- ^ "From the archives: Portland from the past". Press Herald. 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ "Public Market House". Public Market House. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ "Tied to a City, a Farmers' Market Proves Hardy" – The New York Times, April 11, 2007
- ^ "Portland Public Market". Rudy Bruner Award. Retrieved 2024-03-21.