Shopping

Portland is known not only as a popular spot for local arts and culture but also as a great place to shop. In this chapter you’ll find information on some of the area’s most reliable and eclectic retailers, including clothing and accessories stores, shoe stores, jewelry and other specialty shops, consignment stores, music stores, bookstores, and specialty food shops. Fans of used books should note that the stores listed here are primarily retailers of new books, but this is not to slight any of the wonderful used bookstores in and around the city center. A few of the best purveyors of used books are listed in this chapter.

As you begin to look through this chapter, you’ll no doubt notice that many of the listings are located in and around the Old Port. That’s no mistake—much of Portland’s shopping is clustered around this commercial neighborhood, which boasts more than 200 independently owned and operated boutiques and stores. If you love to shop, all you need to do is park your car in the Old Port and wander around—you’ll find everything from exotic jewelry to funky shoes to designer clothing. If you enjoy chain retailers, be sure to check out the Maine Mall, which draws people from all over the state and beyond to shop at such notable retailers as Macy’s, Gap, and Victoria’s Secret.

And if you’re looking for outlet options, I have listed information on the Kittery Outlets (about an hour’s drive south), the Tom’s of Maine outlet in Kennebunk, and the king of Maine retailers—L.L. Bean in Freeport.

The list here is by no means exhaustive; I have tried to include some of our favorites and some out-of-the-way places you may want to check out. Consider this an introduction to shopping in Portland. The rest is left for you to discover.

Shopping - The Arts

Portland is widely regarded as one of the most dynamic arts communities in northern New England. Nationally, the city has been called one of the best small arts towns in the country (if you don’t believe us, check out the 1998 book The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America, by John Villani, which ranked Portland fourth). And the arts scene in this city just keeps growing. In recent years Portland officials have begun banking on the arts community to add texture to the city’s overall image as a working port town.

To highlight the progressive, hip arts culture here, officials created the “Arts District,” which stretches somewhat arbitrarily from Longfellow Square along Congress Street to the Old Port. The Arts District marketing ploy did indeed help highlight the local arts scene, although a lot of Portlanders think the notion of an “arts district” is somewhat of a joke simply because the city’s arts are hardly limited to the district corridor. In fact, the arts culture here has grown so diverse and has become so widespread—thanks in part to the Maine College of Art, the Portland Museum of Art, and the efforts of local arts activists—that the arts scene has overflowed beyond Portland to the suburban and rural towns nearby.

These days, you’ll find not only traditional galleries but also experimental performance spaces (like the appropriately named “Space” gallery on Congress Street) as well as “guerrilla art” graffiti walls around town. But balancing the needs of artists and the demands of a hot real estate market has proven to be challenging—many Portland artists can no longer find an affordable place to live and work on the peninsula. The real estate market has changed significantly since the 1970s and 1980s, when studio space in the Old Port was priced within artists’ budgets. Today, real estate on the peninsula is at a premium, and many buildings that had long housed artists are being renovated and sold as condominiums (see the Neighborhoods and Real Estate chapter for more on the market). But everyone in Portland seems to agree that the progressive and quirky character of this city comes in large part from the local arts community. To this end, the Portland city council and arts activist groups like Portland Artist and Cultural Alliance (PACA) are working to assess the needs of artists in Portland and encourage the growth of the arts community here. As Portland continues to grow and develop, the struggle to foster resident artists will no doubt continue. It will be up to the city, private developers, and local arts activists to make sure creative types continue to call Portland home.

This chapter lists a number of events, venues, galleries, and resources for the artist and the art lover in all of us. Listings are grouped according to type (galleries and museums, literary arts, film, etc.), and those few that are not in the downtown area are noted clearly in the description. Here, you’ll find information on both traditional and experimental arts venues and performers, including theater, music, literary, and mixed-media offerings. You’ll no doubt note that the section on galleries is by far the largest. Portland has plenty of galleries for all tastes; in fact, there is such an interest in showing art that establishments which are not traditional galleries (like restaurants and coffee shops) have recently begun showcasing local artwork on their walls.

The museums listed in this chapter are art museums—for cultural museums or historic homes, see the Attractions chapter. We have not included community theaters in this chapter. To find out about performances from any of the great community theaters in Portland and beyond, including the Lyric Theatre and the Portland Players (both in South Portland), check out the Portland Press Herald and its Thursday “Go” entertainment section or the Portland Phoenix alternative weekly. If you are interested in music, visit www.mainemusic.org for information on Maine musicians, composers, festivals, upcoming performances, and music education. The University of Southern Maine’s School of Music regularly produces theatrical and musical performances. Call the School of Music box office at (207) 780-5555 for details.

If you’re an artist who wants to connect to the statewide community and explore grant options, contact the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) in Augusta. The commission is funded by the state and the National Endowment for the Arts and is a wonderful resource for Maine’s visual and performance artists. Musicians should also be aware of the Portland Music Foundation, a group founded in 2006 by Portland resident and Grammy award–winning sound engineer Adam Ayan to promote and support the local live music scene. Check PMF out at www.portlandmusicfoundation.org. MAC awards a number of grants every year for emerging and established artists and works to enhance the public image of the arts in the state. For more information, call (207) 287-2724 or visit the Web site at www.mainearts.com.

For a small city of just more than 60,000 people, Portland’s arts scene certainly packs a punch. This chapter will familiarize you with many of the key players. Nonetheless, as is typical of any arts scene, offerings and venues are in a constant state of flux. Be sure to call ahead or check out local papers like the Portland Phoenix (the free arts-and-entertainment weekly) to find out about the latest hot new thing. My advice is to be bold—arts finds are waiting around every corner in this city, as long as you take the time to look.