The Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Company Building (also known as the Miller Building) is a historic building at 522-528 Congress Street in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

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 ...

. Built in 1904 and enlarged in 1911, it housed Porteous, which was Maine's largest

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

for many years. The building is a fine example Renaissance Revival architecture and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1996. It now houses the primary campus facilities of the

Maine College of Art & Design Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) is a private art school in Portland, Maine. Founded in 1882, Maine College of Art & Design is the oldest arts educational institution in Maine. Roughly 32% of MECA&D students are from Maine. The college is ...

Description and history

The Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Company Building is located in Portland's

Arts District An arts district or cultural district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as art galleries, theatres, art cinemas, music venues, and p ...

at the upper end of Congress Street. It occupies the middle portion of a city block on the south side of Congress Street, between Oak and Brown Streets. It is a five-story structure, with a steel frame and brick walls clad in limestone-colored terra cotta. The ground floor facade is entirely modern, with glass and stone, and is topped by a marquee identifying the building's current occupant, the Maine College of Art. The second through fourth floors are divided into six bays, articulated by fluted pilasters. Each bay houses a three-part window, with a larger central pane separated by smaller side ones by slender engaged columns. Between the floors are decorative panels. The top floor is separated from the others by a dentillated cornice, and also has six bays separated by pilasters, each bay housing three round-arch windows. A corbelled cornice tops the structure. The building was constructed in 1904 to plans by architect Penn Varney of

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

, for the Portland dry goods firm of Watson, Miller & Company, and was originally three bays wide. In 1906 that firm was acquired by the

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

retailer Porteous, Mitchell and Braun, which doubled the building's size in 1911, and commissioned the unifying facade from local architect George Burnham. Further expansions enlarged the building to the rear, reaching Free Street by 1953. Porteous operated on the premises until 1991, and was for many years the city's leading department store. The building then underwent restoration and adaptation for use by the

Maine College of Art Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) is a Private college, private art school in Portland, Maine. Founded in 1882, Maine College of Art & Design is the oldest arts educational institution in Maine. Roughly 32% of MECA&D students are from Maine. ...

References

External links

Maine College of Art web site
{{National Register of Historic Places Commercial buildings in Portland, Maine Maine College of Art & Design Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine Educational buildings in Portland, Maine Defunct companies based in Portland, Maine

Description and history

See also

References

External links