University Of Maine School Of Law Building
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The University of Maine School of Law Building is a former academic building 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 ...
. Adjacent to the
University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universitie ...
's Portland campus, the 8 story building was designed by the local architectural firm of Wadsworth, Boston, Dimick, Mercer and Weatherill and completed in 1972 at a cost of $2.7 million. It expanded in 1993 to include more space on the first floor to accommodate the law library. It is a rare example of
Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...
in Maine. It was built to house the
University of Maine School of Law The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's ...
, which had previously been located downtown at 68 High Street. In 2017,
Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...
named the building one of the 8 ugliest in the United States and called it "a futuristic version of the Roman Colosseum." University employees described the building's architecture and design as "a joke but also a badge" and "rather unfortunate." In 2023, the
Maine School of Law The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's ...
was relocated downtown to a former office building at 300 Fore Street. After 50 years, building no longer houses a law school. The
University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...
anticipates that the vacant law school will eventually be demolished, but there are no final plans to take the building down yet.


References

{{coord, 43.6611, -70.2789, type:landmark_region:US-ME, display=title Educational buildings in Portland, Maine
Building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...
1972 establishments in Maine University and college buildings completed in 1972 Brutalist architecture in Maine Libraries in Portland, Maine