The United States Hotel was a hotel 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 ...

. At the time of its closure, in 1900, it was one of the oldest hotels in the city, having been in business for 97 years. The hotel stood on Federal Street, behind

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 ...

(built in 1825; later modified to become Portland's original city hall), in what was then known as Haymarket Square. Built by Dr. Nathaniel Coffin in 1803 as the Washington Hall Hotel, it was later renamed the Cumberland Hotel. It was renamed again, around 1829, to the Portland House, then the Cumberland House in 1835. At the time of its opening, the hotel had eighteen parlors and 57 bedrooms. It had 150 rooms at its peak, and was listed as one of three principal hotels in Maine in ''The United States Statistical Directory, Or, Merchants' and Travellers' Guide'' (1847), the others being the American House (at the corner of

Fore Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

and Lime Street) and Casco Temperance House (on

Middle Street Middle Street is a downtown street in Portland, Maine, United States. Dating to 1724 (although part of it was a path established by ancient settlers), it runs for around , from an intersection with Union Street, Spring Street and Temple Street ...

). Elm Tavern (also on Federal Street) and Cape Cottage (on

Cape Elizabeth Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, Cape Elizabeth had a population of 9,535 ...

) joined the ranks in 1850. Two United States presidents stayed at the hotel:

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

(then in-office) in 1846 and

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...

in 1855. Bill Hickock was also a guest. The hotel underwent extensive remodeling in 1875, including the addition of a fifth floor,

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

services for its guests, a reading room, a billiard room and supplementary bathrooms. In 1880, a

livery stable A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on wor ...

was advertised as being connected to the hotel. In 1891, by which time Haymarket Square had been renamed Monument Square, the ground floor of the hotel was occupied by M. T. Quimby & Co. jewelers. The hotel's proprietors included Foss and O'Connor, R. W. Carter, George F. Wolcott, and Will H. McDonald. The hotel closed in 1900, and the building became Edwards and Walker hardware store, prior to the building's demolition in December 1965. The new construction, completed in 1969, was originally the home of Casco Bank. It is the home of One Monument Square today. A plaque in front of the current building denotes the site as the former location of the hotel. File:Trolleys in Monument Square, Portland, ME.jpg, A 1909 view showing streetcars of the

Portland Railroad Company Portland Railroad Company (PRR) was a Tram, trolleycar service that operated in Portland, Maine, between 1860 and 1941. History Portland & Forest Avenue Railroad Company (PFRC) was chartered in 1860 with the intent to build a streetcar line ...

File:United_States_Hotel,_Portland,_Maine.png, The building in 1941, when it was the home of Edwards and Walker hardware store File:United States Hotel plaque.jpg, Plaque at the site

References

{{reflist Hotels in Portland, Maine 1803 establishments in Maine Hotel buildings completed in 1803 Hotels disestablished in 1900 Demolished hotels in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Portland, Maine 19th century in Portland, Maine