Neighborhoods in Portland, Maine
, is home to many neighborhoods.
Arts District
Portland's Arts District is based around Congress Street in downtown Portland. The District includes the Portland Museum of Art, the Maine College of Art and the State Theatre. It is a mixed-use neighborhood with both apartments and commercial establishments.Back Cove
Back Cove is a neighborhood off of Portland's peninsula and downtown areas. The neighborhood is mostly residential with some commercial business located within Woodford's Corner and along Ocean Avenue. With views of the Portland skyline across Back Cove, the Back Cove neighborhood borders the neighborhoods of Deering Center, North Deering, East Deering, Rosemont, and Oakdale. Neighborhood boundaries are: Washington Avenue, Baxter Boulevard, Forest Avenue, and Canco Road.Within the boundaries of the Back Cove neighborhood are Woodford's Corner, Ocean Avenue, Cheverus High School, and Ocean Avenue School. Landscape architect Carl Rust Parker designed the Boulevard Park subdivision of 110 homes in 1912, while Baxter Boulevard was being constructed. The neighborhood includes many historic homes. The John B. Russwurm House and the Sparrow House are located within the Back Cove neighborhood.
The Back Cove Trail is one of the oldest trails in Portland. It is long and circles Bay Cove and connects to Payson Park, the Bayside Trail, and the East End Trail. Payson Park is a park located within the neighborhood, with baseball and softball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, a playground, an ice skating rink, a sledding hill, ski and snowboarding park, a playground, a community garden, and the Longfellow Arboretum. The small Barrows Park, Heseltine Park, and the George Street Cemetery are located within the Back Cove neighborhood.
Bayside
Bayside is the downtown neighborhood located between Portland's Old Port and Back Cove. It is a mix of residential and commercial properties and old and modern architecture. The neighborhood is bounded by Forest Avenue, Interstate 295, Congress Street, and Franklin Street. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Parkside, the Old Port, and East Bayside. It is represented by the Bayside Neighborhood Association. It is often confused with the East Bayside neighborhood, which is on the opposite side of Franklin Street.Portland High School, whose original building that is the school's middle wing was built in 1863, and Baxter Academy, a charter high school with a STEM curriculum, are both located in the neighborhood, as is Merrill Auditorium. The state's only Whole Foods and Trader Joe's supermarkets are located in the Bayside neighborhood, on Somerset Street and Marginal Way, respectively. Notable buildings in the Bayside neighborhood include the Schlotterbeck and Foss Building, an historic Art Deco factory building built in 1927 and that is now apartments, and Franklin Towers, a high-rise apartment building constructed in 1969. Greater Portland Landmarks has documented that Bayside has some of the earliest homes in Portland, including Federal and Greek Revival homes, because most of the neighborhood was not burned in the Great Fire of 1866. The City of Portland's former Public Works operation center in Bayside has been redeveloped to be a commercial center comprising restaurants, breweries, distilleries, exercise studios, a bowling alley, and many new apartment buildings.
The Bayside Bowl bowling alley is located in the Bayside neighborhood next to the former Public Works operation and since 2014 it has been hosting the PBA League Elias Cup team competition. The PBA League said Bayside Bowl has rejuvenated its event.
The Bayside Trail begins on Elm Street in the Bayside neighborhood. The trail goes across the Franklin Street divided throughway, through East Bayside, and connects to the East End Trail and the Back Cove Trail. The Stone Street Playground is located in the neighborhood and is popular in the summertime because of the splash pad fountain and the proximity to the Old Port. The neighborhood association rents plots in the community garden located on Chestnut Street across from the Daymark condominium building that was built in 2022.
Deering Center
Deering Center is a neighborhood that runs from Brighton Avenue to Forest Avenue to Walton Street, then past Evergreen Cemetery, near Wayside Street on Ludlow Street. Formerly known as the town of Deering, which separated from Westbrook in 1871. It was incorporated into Portland as Deering Center on March 9, 1899.Deering Highlands
Deering Highlands is a residential neighborhood on a hill generally bordered by Woodford Street to the north, Stevens Avenue to the west, Deering Street to the east, and the sloping hillside of streets in the same area, south of Brighton Avenue. The map on Barry & Anderson's Deering: A Social and Architectural History, p. 15, is ambiguous as to the neighborhood's precise borders.Deering Highlands was developed in the late 19th century, and maintains much of its original historical character, including numerous examples of architecture by John Calvin Stevens, Frederick A Tompson, and other regional architects. Among Highlands' most notable historical residents was controversial U.S. senator Ralph Owen Brewster, who owned the house at 79 Highland Street.
The neighborhood is almost entirely residential, but the largest institutional feature of the Highlands is Maine Medical Center's Brighton Avenue Campus. The complex is now home of the New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland and also houses training facilities and an urgent care center.
Downtown
East Bayside
East Bayside is bordered by Franklin Street on the west, Washington Avenue on the east, to the north by Marginal Way, and the south by Congress Street. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Bayside, the Old Port and Munjoy Hill. It was first developed a street network in the early 19th century. By the 1820s, the area was Portland's second seaport via the Back Cove's ship channel. Much of the debris from the Portland fire of 1866 was deposited into Back Cove, significantly increasing the size of East Bayside. Maps produced around 1900 show an extension of the shoreline out to Marginal Way. The shoreline did not change again until the construction of the interstate in 1974. East Bayside is often confused with Bayside, which is the neighborhood on the opposite side of Franklin Street. East Bayside is represented by the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization.East Deering
East Deering is the city's easternmost neighborhood, which includes waterfront homes, residential neighborhoods, Payson Park and the future home of the Roux Institute. The area was annexed by Portland alongside other Deering neighborhoods. The first Europeans to settle in the area were farmers. Now a suburban and residential neighborhood, it is situated between Munjoy Hill and North Deering, as well as the town of Falmouth. East Deering has a mix of housing including public housing, privately owned apartments, small single-family homes, and larger, more expensive single-family homes.Businesses are located on Washington Avenue and Veranda Street, where there are restaurants, an ice cream shop, and a juice bar. Much of the neighborhood has views of Casco Bay and nearby Mackworth Island. Major landmarks in this neighborhood include Tukey's Bridge, the B&M Baked Beans factory, Martin's Point, Presumpscot School, Grand Trunk Cemetery, Payson Park, and Lunts Corner. In 2021, the Roux Institute purchased the B&M factory in order to convert it into a campus with academic buildings, student housing, a hotel, and public waterfront access.
East Deering was bisected by I-295 in the 1960s. The major throughways in East Deering are Washington Avenue and Veranda Street. Martin's Point Bridge connects East Deering to Falmouth.