The ''Evening Express'' was an American daily evening

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

-format newspaper published in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. Founded in 1882, it was owned by Guy Gannett Publishing Co. from 1925 until 1991. As of February 1991, the Monday through Saturday average circulation was 22,700."Goodbye". ''Evening Express'', page A10, February 1, 1991."Portland Dailies Plan to Merge". ''Telegram & Gazette'' (Worcester, Mass.), page C5, September 26, 1990. The ''Express'' final issue appeared on February 1, 1991. The paper's demise left Portland as a one-newspaper town with the ''

Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald'' (abbreviated as ''PPH''; Sunday edition ''Maine Sunday Telegram'') is a daily newspaper based in South Portland, Maine, with a statewide readership. The ''Press Herald'' mainly serves southern Maine and is focused ...

'', a morning paper also owned by Guy Gannett. It remained so until the February 2009 launch of '' The Portland Daily Sun''.

History

First issue

The ''Evening Express'' first issue was printed on Thursday, October 12, 1882, by Arthur Laughlin, who was 28 years old at the time. In the first issue, Laughlin proclaimed; "With this, the first number of the Portland Evening Express, we present to the public a new penny daily evening paper, whose aim will be to give all the local news of the day up to 3 o'clock P.M." By 1889, the ''Express'' boasted the highest daily circulation in the city.

Col. Frederick Neal Dow

In 1887, the ''Express'' was taken over by Col. Frederick Neal Dow, son of Portland Mayor Gen. Neal S. Dow. Dow oversaw numerous technical improvements to the paper and initiated an expansion that included the purchase of competing newspaper ''The Daily Advertiser'' in 1910. Dow also purchased the city's Sunday newspaper, the '' Maine Sunday Telegram'', which is still published to this day. Dow sold the ''Evening Express'' and ''Maine Sunday Telegram'' to Guy P. Gannett in 1925.

The end

In fall 1990, Guy Gannett Publishing Co., under the leadership of heiress Jean Gannett Hawley, announced it would cease publication of the ''Evening Express'' the following February, citing the nationwide circulation decline of evening newspapers and its desire to merge the ''Express'' newsroom with that of the morning ''

'', which Guy Gannett also owned. The final issue of the ''Evening Express'' appeared Friday, February 1, 1991, with the headline "Goodbye", ending its 108-year run. The ''Maine Sunday Telegram'' continued under Guy Gannett ownership as the Sunday edition of the ''Portland Press Herald''.

References

{{MaineToday Newspapers established in 1882 Publications disestablished in 1991 Defunct newspapers published in Maine Newspapers published in Portland, Maine 1882 establishments in Maine 1991 disestablishments in Maine

History

First issue

Col. Frederick Neal Dow

The end

See also

References