The Arts District is a section of downtown

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

’s designated in 1995 as to promote the cultural community and creative economy of the city. It covers a large part of upper Congress Street towards the West End. There are many

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, a theater company,

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

s, and schools in the general area. Both

Maine College of Art Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) is a private art school in Portland, Maine. Founded in 1882, Maine College of Art & Design is the oldest arts educational institution in Maine. Roughly 32% of MECA&D students are from Maine. The college is a ...

(MECA) and

Portland Museum of Art The Portland Museum of Art, or PMA, is the largest and oldest public art institution in the U.S. state of Maine. Founded as the Portland Society of Art in 1882. It is located in the downtown area known as The Arts District in Portland, Maine. Hi ...

are located in the district.

Congress Square Park Congress Square Park is a small public park in the Arts District of Portland, Maine. The park includes a stage for performances and areas for sitting. It is also home to a large, historic clock which had previously been located at Union Station. ...

, a small urban park across the street from the Museum of Art, often referred to as the "Heart of the Arts District," frequently hosts community-based arts and cultural events. An event that occurs in the district is the First Friday Art Walk — a self-guided tour that takes place on the first Friday of each month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. All of the galleries, museums, and local businesses open their doors to the public for a view of everything that is going on in the art community. Most galleries host the event with food and drink. The

opens its doors to the public free of charge. The Arts District is home to two television stations (

WCSH WCSH (channel 6) is a television station in Portland, Maine, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Congress Square in Downtown Portland, and its transmitter is located on Winn Mountain in ...

and WMTW) and several radio stations. It is also home to the State Theatre building and the

Portland Stage Company Portland Stage Company is a professional LORT (League of Resident Theaters) theater company in the state of Maine. Founded as the Profile Theatre in 1974 as a touring theater company, the company made Portland a permanent home in 1976. In 1982, it ...

. There are many coffee shops, bars and restaurants, such as

Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro The Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro is a Vegetarianism, vegetarian restaurant serving Thai cuisine in Portland, Maine that opened in 2007 in the city's Arts District (Portland, Maine), Arts District. A second Green Elephant restaurant located in ...

, in the district.

External links

Portland, Maine - Arts District

First Friday Art Walk - Portland, Maine

References

Neighborhoods in Portland, Maine Art in Portland, Maine Arts districts {{Maine-geo-stub