Middle Street

43°39′23″N 70°15′12″W / 43.65649837°N 70.25332479°W / 43.65649837; -70.25332479

For the street in Shenyang, China, see Zhongjie.
Middle Street
An 1863 view of the now-pedestrianized section of Middle Street between today's Monument Square and Free Street
Map
Length0.46 mi (0.74 km)
LocationPortland, Maine, U.S.
Northeast endHancock Street
Southwest endUnion Street, Spring Street and Temple Street
The former section of Middle Street which led to and from Monument Square. It is now pedestrianized

Middle Street is a downtown street in Portland, Maine, United States. Dating to 1724 (although part of it was a path established by ancient settlers),[1] it runs for around 0.46 miles (0.74 km), from an intersection with Union Street, Spring Street and Temple Street in the southwest, to Hancock Street, at the foot of Munjoy Hill, in the northeast. It formerly originated at what was then known as Market Square (today's Monument Square),[2][3] but 20th-century redevelopment saw the section between Monument Square and Free Street pedestrianized,[4] and the remaining section—around The Maine Lobsterman monument on Temple Street—erased.[5]

Near its midsection, Middle Street crosses Franklin Street. In 1756, when Franklin Street was laid out between Middle Street and Back Street (today's Congress Street), it was known as Fiddle Street.[6]

In the early 1950s, the newly created Slum Clearance and Redevelopment Authority[7] Vine-Deer-Chatham project demolished Portland's Little Italy, which was bounded by Franklin Street to the east, Fore Street to the south, Pearl Street to the west and Middle Street to the north. The head of Deer Street was opposite the Thompson Block at 117–125 Middle Street.[8]

Middle Street, which is named for its position between Congress Street and Fore Street,[6] passes through Portland's Old Port district.

  1. ^ Willis, William (1833). The History of Portland, from its First Settlement. p. 120.
  2. ^ "Middle Street from Monument Square, Portland, ca. 1910". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  3. ^ "Middle St. looking towards Monument Square, Portland, Me - Digital Collections - National Library of Medicine". collections.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  4. ^ Ledman, Paul J. (2016). Walking Through History: Portland, Maine on Foot. Next Steps Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-9728587-1-7.
  5. ^ Ledman, Paul J. (2016). Walking Through History: Portland, Maine on Foot. Next Steps Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-9728587-1-7.
  6. ^ a b The Origins of the Street Names of the City of Portland, Maine as of 1995 – Norm and Althea Green, Portland Public Library (1995)
  7. ^ "Vine-Deer-Chatham Project: Relocation, A Community Effort". Individual Documents. 1959-01-01.
  8. ^ "31-33 Deer Street, Portland, 1924". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2024-04-22.