KidsPORT Kids' Page
Students writing about the Portland Observatory
Click on a name to see a story by that author.
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ERICA
Observatory Poem
The Observatory is so tall,
the Observatory is above it all.
The boats come in, the boats go out,
the boats come in with treasure about.
In 1807 Lemuel Moody came out,
and built the Observatory with no doubt.
He waved the flag in the air.
Boats came in instead of a flying chair.
We went to the Observatory. It was really tall.
If we went on it, we would fall, fall, fall.
The Observatory is weak.
All insects did was eat, eat, eat.
JOAN
The Observatory needs our help to fix it. Beetles called powder post beetles are munching away on the Portland Observatory. Some kids from Portland and South Portland are trying to raise enough money to fix the tower.
The Portland observatory is a signal tower. A watchman would sit up in the dome and look through a telescope. When he saw a ship he would raise a flag to represent that ship. All the families of the sailors would see the flag and would go down to the dock to greet them.
TIKE
The Observatory needs help. The Observatory has been falling apart and needs help. They have fixed about 4% of it, but most of the Observatory has been eaten by powder post beetles. There are parts of the frame that connect to the huge timbers holding it up that need to be replaced with new timbers. It has been bery hard to get money for materials to reinforce the Observatory.
KORY
Lemuel Moody built the Observatory and when a ship came in he would put up signal flags to let the people on land know that a ship was coming in. Each flag meant someone or something. The flag colors were red, blue, white, and yellow. The flags didn't have much detail, so people far away could see. There were flags that meant a ship wreck, or one or two ships were coming, and there were flags that meant different people, too. Now the Observatory is going to collapse. Our school is trying to save it.
HARRISON
We are studying the Portland Observatory. Today we went to visit it. We are working hard to save the Observatory. It's a signal tower. It's been herre since 1807. We are trying to save the tower because it's the only Observatory left in the U.S.
LAUREN
The Portland Observatory is being eaten by powder post beetles. Our school and schools in Portland are teaming up to save the Observatory. We hope we save it.
MINDY
We're going to save the Portland Observatory. We are going to raise money. It's really old and it has been there for a very long time. Powder post beetles are eating it. No one goes in it because it could collapse.
SILVIA
My class and I went to the Center for Maine History. We wrote things about the Portland Observatory. Then we visited the Observatory.
We are trying to save the Portland Observatory because it's falling down. The Portland Observatory is seven floors high. It has eight white pine posts, and the bottom is fillled with 122 stones. There are 102 steps to the top. Lemuel Moody used different kinds of flags when ships were coming in.
EMILY
The Portland Observatory was built in 1807 at seven stories high. In fact it took eight white pine posts. There are 102 steps to the top. The bottom is filled with 122 tons of stone.
Lemuel Moody was the one who decided to build the Portland Observatory. The Portland Observatory has been around for almost 200 years, and now it is getting destroyed by powder post beetles.
MICHAEL
We went to the Portland Observatory today. We went and stood on the stone along the front of it. We saw lights that shine on it at night, and we saw where it is rotting on the top.
RYAN
The Portland Observatory is a tall maroon building. It is like a salt shaker. Most people say it is a light, but it's not. It used to raise a certain flag for a certain ship. They used flags to tell you, like, "Hey, your dad's here."
RUSTY
Lemuel Moody build the Portland Observatory in 1807. There he saw boats and raised flags so people could know that a ship had come in. He could also signal if a ship wreck had happened. It is the only Observatory left in the U.S. It needs to be rebuilt. It will cost $1,000,000.
JEFF
The Observatory is falling apart. Powder post beetles are eating it. It used tobe a signal tower. Lemuel Moody built it. He used signal flags to tell the people in Portland that ships were coming.
MAUREEN
The Portland Observatory is so tall and above it all. Lemuel Moody built it. Then the powder post beetles got it. They built it in 1807. It took the whole summer.
HUNTER
Lemuel Moody built the Portland Observatory. They used it to tell that boats were here. They put up signal flags. But not any more because it's old. It was built in 1807.
TOM
The Portland Observatory is Portland's great landmark. We went to the Observatory. We couldn't go in because it would fall over. Powder post beetles were chewing it down.
SASHA
We went to the Portland Observatory. Someone used to raise a flag from the top to signal people that ships were coming in. We did not go in, because it's falling down. It's falling down because beetles are eating it.
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Greater Portland Landmarks wishes to thank Ren Wilkinson and the students of Pond Cove Elementary School for coordinating KidsPORT and for the content of the KidsPORT web pages. Their fundraising efforts collected over $5,000 for the restoration of the Portland Observatory.