Franklin Street is a four-lane street in

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 ...

. It began as Essex Street in the 18th century, but changed to Franklin Street by 1823. It is a major corridor for traffic from Interstate 295 to Portland's downtown, and to other neighborhoods located on the Portland peninsula.

History

Franklin Street was reconstructed as a divided arterial roadway in the late 1960s, after the demolition of Portland's

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...

, Bayside and other neighborhoods. Renamed Franklin Street Arterial, it was built to allow greater access by vehicles to Commercial Street and the rest of downtown. Unfortunately, this configuration also hindered pedestrian traffic—both along its length and across it—to and from

East Bayside East Bayside is a neighborhood in Portland, Maine. It 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 O ...

, the Old Port,

Munjoy Hill Munjoy Hill is a neighborhood and prominent geographical feature of Portland, Maine. It is located east of downtown and south of East Deering, the neighborhood it is connected to by Tukey's Bridge. The neighborhood historically had a large Ir ...

and other neighborhoods which border it.

Franklin Towers Franklin Towers is a 16-story high-rise building located in Portland, Maine, at the corner of Franklin Street and Cumberland Avenue, rising to a height of . Construction was completed in 1969, and its primary use is residential. It affords resi ...

, at the corner of Cumberland Avenue, was built at this same time. In May 2007, 70 people gathered to discuss the impacts and potential of Franklin Street Arterial. The report of this meeting was brought to City officials, and helped to set the stage for the Franklin Street Corridor Study—Phase I. Plans have been discussed and presented to change the street, all three of which would add bike paths and sidewalks. In 2010, at the recommendation of the Franklin Street Corridor Study, the name was returned to Franklin Street, by Portland's City Council. New street signs indicating "Franklin Street" were hung in March 2011. Signage on nearby I-295, which The Maine Department of Transportation is responsible for, indicates "Franklin St," as well.
Franklin Street gets new name-Franklin Street', Portland Press Herald, 7 April 2011 The

Maine State Pier The Maine State Pier is a municipal-owned deepwater marine facility and music venue located at the intersection of Commercial Street and Franklin Street on the eastern waterfront in Portland, Maine. It was completed in 1924. In the mid-2000s, co ...

, a deepwater marine facility and outdoor music venue, is located at the intersection of Franklin Street and Commercial Street on Portland's eastern waterfront.

Casco Bay Lines Casco Bay Lines (also known as the Casco Bay Island Transit District, CBITD) is a publicly run transportation company that services the residents of the islands of Casco Bay. These islands include Peaks Island, Little Diamond Island, Great Diam ...

(also known as Casco Bay Island Transit District, CBITD), a publicly run transportation company that services the islands of Casco Bay, runs its fleet of five vessels from the Maine State Pier.

References

External links

Franklin Arterial
University of Southern Maine

PortlandMaine.gov {{Portland, Maine Streets in Portland, Maine