Lincoln Park is a
urban park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...
in 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 metropo ...
. Created in 1866 following the
1866 Great Fire which burned down most of the buildings of Portland, it was named in honor of former President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
. It is bounded by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, Pearl, Federal and Market streets. The park was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1989.
Description
Lincoln Park is located near the geographic center of peninsular Portland, at the southern corner of Congress and Franklin Streets. It is shaped roughly like a parallelogram, and is a relatively flat open grassy area, dotted with trees. A network of walking paths radiate away from a fountain located near the center of the park, and there are internal park walkways adjacent to Congress and Federal Streets. (The fountain was originally at the park's center, but its eastern boundary was reduced in order to widen Franklin Street, a major city artery.) The park is encircled by iron fencing. Entrances, each of which is flanked by dressed granite posts, are located at the four corners, and at the center of the Federal Street side. A gate providing access for maintenance vehicles is located at the Congress/Federal corner.
History
The park, the city's first public park, was acquired in the aftermath of Portland devastating 1866 fire, in which more than 1,800 building were destroyed, devastating the city's downtown and port areas.
[ The land was purchased for just over $81,000 at 75 cents a square foot. Its layout and design are credited to city engineer Charles R. Goodell, although a number of his design details were not implemented. In 1909, the lot immediately west of the park (across Pearl Street) was taken and landscaped as an extension to the park. It is now the location of Portland central fire station.][
]
Occupy Maine
In 2011, the Occupy Maine encampment, part of the larger "Occupy" protests
The Occupy movement was an international populist Social movement, socio-political movement that expressed opposition to Social equality, social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed prim ...
, began "occupying" in Lincoln Park as part of an arrangement with the city authorities. At 4am on October 25, a chemical bomb was thrown into the park at the encampment. On December 8, Portland City Council voted 8-1 in favor of denying Occupy Maine a permit to stay in the park.
See also
*
References
External links
{{commonscat-inline
File:LincolnParkOccupy.JPG, The northwestern entrance to Lincoln Park, with the Occupy Maine encampment in the background.
File:Congress Street and Lincoln Park, Portland, Me, by Kilburn Brothers.jpg, Lincoln Park and Congress Street in the 19th century
1866 establishments in Maine
Urban public parks
Parks in Portland, Maine
Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine