The Market House of

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 ...

, was located in what was then known as Market Square or Haymarket Square (today's Monument Square) between 1825 and 1888, when it was demolished. In 1833, the building was modified to become Portland's first city hall. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, which now stands in its place, was dedicated in 1891.

History

The Town of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

built a

market house A market house or market hall is a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with spaces for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a ...

in Market (or Haymarket) Square 1825. Also known as Military Hall, the first floor in the building's early years housed stalls used by farmers to sell agricultural products. In 1827, the upper floor housed the second public

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasium in the country, founded by eccentric and influential writer, critic, and activist

John Neal John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1 ...

. The gym was based on Turnen gymnastics, which Neal learned in London from Carl Voelker, a German refugee. It was Maine's first organized athletic program, making Neal the "father of athletics in Maine" according to historian William Barry. Called the Portland Gymnasium, it had 300 members by 1828. The building's simple gable appearance was modified in 1833, to plans made the previous year by Charles Quincy Clapp, to become Portland's first city hall. Clapp updated the building to the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style by removing the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

from the roof and adding a portico to the front. The cupola was reinstalled on the Universalist school house (now Alumni Hall on the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

campus) in Portland's Deering neighborhood. The new building was the site of the 1855

Portland Rum Riot The Portland Rum Riot, also called the Maine Law Riot, and the June Riot by Neal Dow, was a brief but violent period of civil unrest that occurred in Portland, Maine on June 2, 1855, in response to the Maine law which prohibited the sale and ma ...

, which involved mayor

Neal Dow Neal Dow (March 20, 1804 – October 2, 1897) was an American Prohibition advocate and politician. Nicknamed the "Napoleon of Temperance" and the "Father of Prohibition", Dow was born to a Quaker family in Portland, Maine. From a young age, he ...

and led to one death. The United States Hotel, built in 1803, stood behind both iterations of the building. 28 Monument Square was built in 1871. In 2006, the first floor and basement of the building became the home of Public Market House, in which several vendors flank a narrow central corridor. Some vendors relocated to Public Market House from the nearby Portland Public Market building, at the corner of Preble Street and

Cumberland Avenue Cumberland Avenue (formerly Cumberland Street; colloquially known as Cumberland Ave) is a downtown street in Portland, Maine, United States. Part of Maine State Route 100, it runs for around from Merrill Street, on Munjoy Hill, in the northeas ...

, which closed earlier the same year.

Gallery

File:Alumni Hall cupola.jpg, The

from the market house, pictured in 2024 on Alumni Hall on the University of New England's Portland campus File:Old Portland City Hall.jpg,

Old City Hall Old City Hall may refer to: Asia In Hong Kong * Old City Hall (Hong Kong) Europe In Croatia * Old City Hall (Zagreb) In Denmark * Old City Hall (1479–1728), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (1728–1795), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (Aalborg ...

, pictured in 1886, two years before its demolition File:Emerson Clapp Building.jpg, Today's Public Market House, located in the Emerson Clapp Building (built in 1871)

References

{{reflist Market houses Agricultural buildings and structures in Maine Commercial buildings completed in 1825 Demolished buildings and structures in Portland, Maine 1880s disestablishments in Maine 1825 establishments in Maine 19th century in Portland, Maine