The Portland Observatory is a historic

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Pri ...

signal tower at 138 Congress Street in the

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 ...

section of Portland, Maine. Built in 1807, it is the only known surviving tower of its type in the United States. Using both a

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

and signal flags, two-way communication between ship and shore was possible several hours before an incoming vessel reached the docks. The tower was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2006; it is now managed by ''Greater Portland Landmarks'', a local historic preservation nonprofit. It is open to the public as a museum.

Geography

Portland has a deep harbor sheltered by numerous islands. Ships entering the harbor are not directly visible from the wharfs, which created problems for merchants trying to prepare for the arrival of

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

es. This problem was solved in 1807 when Captain Lemuel Moody organized the construction of an observatory on Portland's

, visible from both the open ocean and the wharfs. During the War of 1812, the observatory was used as a watch tower.

About the observatory

The 86-foot (26 m) tall observatory (7 stories) is octagonal (to lessen wind pressure on each side) and

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...

-shaped, with a

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base of heavy loose rocks, and stands 222 feet (68 m)

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. There is no basement but the rock ballast in the bottom floor and octagonal design have kept the structure steady during storms. The observatory's 'lantern' ( cupola) included a P & J Dollond Achromatic Refracting Telescope, which could identify ships 30 miles (48 km) to sea. That telescope disappeared from the observatory in 1939. The observatory has been renovated numerous times over the years, including a

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

renovation in 1939. It was most recently renovated from 1998-2000 to repair damage from moisture and

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s. This renovation won a 2001 National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The center column was not an original feature, and was added in the 1939 renovation. In 2014 additional repairs to the windows and shingles were underway. The observatory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 2006, the observatory was made a

and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Past operation

The Portland Observatory is the only remaining maritime signal station in the United States. Tower operations were paid with annual fees collected from shipping merchants, who purchased the right to have their flags stored in the building and hoisted up its flagstaffs when their ships were sighted. A telephone was eventually installed, extending the tower's function until 1923, when the reliability of engine powered vessels and communication by radio made it obsolete. In 1937 the tower was turned over to the city. Between the time of its closure and the 1990s, the building was often unlocked and popular among area children. Some older area residents have fond memories of playing in the building and the initials some of them carved into the wood are still visible. The latest major restoration left as much of the original wood as possible in place. This is distinguished by its dark stain while the replacement wood was left its original lighter color.

Current operation

Greater Portland Landmarks, a non-profit organization, maintains the building. Guided tours with discussion about the history of the building and the neighborhood are provided by volunteer

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

s from Memorial Day to

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for a small fee. On very clear days the view from the cupola's balcony extends from the seaward horizon as far inland as

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

References

External links