Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Since its construction, the Portland Observatory has served as a physical and symbolic landmark for the city. As a sentinel to the city's shores, the tower looms large on the skyline. It has served as a watchtower in war and as a welcome sight for sailors returning from sea. Families of marniers looked to the tower to announce their loved one's return after months -- and sometimes years -- at sea.

The Observatory wound never have been built without the vision and determination of a group of Portland citizens who, led by Captain Lemuel Moody, gathered in 1807 to form the Portland Monument Ground Association.

190 years later, in 1997, another group of citizens formed the Portland Observatory Restoration Trust, and joined the City of Portland to save the landmark. Their decision was bold, not merely to repair the ailing tower but to undertake full restoration and to take steps to ensure its preservation for future generations. The restoration was complete in the spring of 2000. Greater Portland landmarks operate the Observatory as a historic site, offering public tours and educational programs.

In 1807 when Lemuel Moody (1767-1846) proposed his observatory on top of Munjoy Hill, the area was sparsely populated, with open meadows for grazing cattle. The elevation and unobstructed views of the waterfront and harbor made it idea location for a signal tower.

Fifty years after the observatory was built, there were still only 23 houses on Munjoy Hill. As the population grew through the late 1800's, a building boom took place. Apartment houses and single family homes began to fill the neighborhood, and mansions were built along the Eastern Promenade, one of two grand boulevards that had been laid out on each end of the city in 1836. Many associated with the sea and the waterfront -- ship builders, captains, sailors, merchants, and chandlers -- made the Hill and Promenade their home. By the turn of the century, the neighborhood had evolved into a dynamic pot of ethnic, religious, economic, and social diversity -- a diversity that still survives today.

From the city's beginnings, the waterfront has defined and energized Portland. In the 18th century Portland actively participated in trade with the West Indies and Europe: timber and fish from Maine to the West Indies in exchange for coffee and molasses; the molasses was processed in Portland into sugar and rum and then shipped with coffee to Europe in exchange for manufactured goods.

Much of Portland's growth throughout the 19th century centered on its deep-water harbor. Portland was a major port city, rivaling the waterfront commerce of Boston, New York City, and Providence. Sailors and sea captains of a dozen nationalities thronged the busy wharves on Commerce Street. Businesses in trade, manufacturing, fisheries, food packing, and shipbuilding were enormously successful. The Observatory played an active role in the city's success, heralding the arrival of ships into port and enabling merchants to prepare for their dockage and the off loading of cargo.

After a post World War II period decline, the waterfront is again a thriving part of Portland's economy, with a revived fishing industry, mercantile shipping, and marine use zoning. Ferries and cruise ships regularly visit Portland, bringing tourists to the waterfront, a focal point of more than three centuries of the city's history.

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