10 Things You Can Do Over the Weekend to Make Your Old House More Efficient

10 Things You Can Do Over the Weekend to Make Your Old House More Efficient

Back when your drafty old place was built, believe me they had energy efficiency in mind.  Buildings were oriented so main living areas could take advantage of heat from solar gain, sturdy evergreen trees were planted to block the winter winds and deciduous trees to shade the summer heat, chimney were contructed strageically to take full advantage of the radiant heat from warm masonry and the fire, and they would never have gone to bed without taking the basic step of closing the curtains.  Resources were precious.

10 Things You Can Do Over The Weekend to Make Your Old House More Efficient


(efficiency=warmer home +more money in your pocket
+ good for the environment)

1.       Install (or begin won the north or draftiest areas) good...

Mark your calendars!

 

The next public meeting for the Congress Square redesign is a month away.  The design team WRT and artist Sarah Sze will present the latest design concepts for the square and public art. The presentation is open to the public and public comment will be taken. The city and the design team want to hear your feedback!

Thursday, December 15, 5:30-7:30pm @ Westin Portland Harborview Hotel, Longfellow Room

The City of Portland will also collect feedback online during December and January for those who cannot attend - look for updates on the project webpage: http://www.portlandmaine.gov/1113/Congress-Square-Redesign

Planning staff will also be presenting the latest concepts at public workshops for various boards and committees in January.

 

Portland's Comprehensive Plan: Help Shape a Vision for Portland's Future

On November 12th the City of Portland will hold a public forum on its ongoing Comprehensive Planning. The Comprehensive Plan is a long-range policy document that establishes a vision for the city for the coming decade. It addresses such topics as historic resources, housing, transportation, natural resources, open space, the economy, and more. The City of Portland's Planning Division invites you to come hear preliminary goals and recommendations of the plan and to tell them what you think. 

2:00PM Saturday, November 12, 2016

Rines Auditorium, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Way

For more information contact Christine Grimando, Senior Planner cdg@portlandmaine.gov 207-874-8608

 

 

#doorsofgreaterportland

#doorsofgreaterportland

With this in mind we ask our Instagram followers to show us the character of Greater Portland via its doorways in our first Instagram contest.  Doorways that catch your eye from a distance, up-close door details and craftsmanship, decorated doors, barn doors, modest and grand doors- we want to see them all.

*Make sure to Like your favorite entries and tell your friends to like yours.  There is a prize for most likes!*

Read the blog to learn all the rules and guidelines. 

12 Things We Can't Wait to Do this Fall

12 Things We Can't Wait to Do this Fall

1)Poetry is a good fright.

From Friday, October 21 – Monday, October 31, the Longfellow House hosts a haunted house.  They even have two levels of spooky. Based on Longfellow's poem, "Haunted Houses" the event evokes the various family members that died in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House over its long history. Two tours will be offered this year; one for families and one for adults. Treats and drinks will be served. For more information, tour times, and tickets go here. 

2)Gardens have their own historic timeline.  Where does yours fit in?

The First Lecture in the Greater Portland Landmarks Lecture series is History in Your Own Backyard: The cultural landscape seen every day and the evolving changes in garden design. The talk will be given by award winning Historic Landscape Specialist, Lucinda Brockway. October 25, 6-7 pm, Rines Auditorium, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square. This lecture is free and open to the public. A $10 donation is suggested and appreciated.  For more information about the event click here. Looking forward to the lecture?  Read the cover article from the last observer on our blog. 

3)Don’t let the government scare you…
or on second thought, do just that!

Proposed Development Focuses Attention on One of Portland's Earliest Fortifications

View of Fort Sumner on Munjoy Hill by Charles Goodhue from the Maine Historical Society

View of Fort Sumner on Munjoy Hill by Charles Goodhue from the Maine Historical Society

Have you ever visited Fort Sumner Park to watch the sun set over Portland? A proposed development below the park on Sheridan Street is focusing attention on the history of the park. If you'd like to learn more about the history of the fort that once sat atop Munjoy Hill, check out this history of Fort Sumner by local historian Ken Thompson in the Munjoy Hill Observer.

Developer, City, and neighbors may have an agreement on a new life for the vacant Reed School

Thomas B. Reed School, Portland from the Portland Press Herald

Thomas B. Reed School, Portland from the Portland Press Herald

Vacant for several years, the City has been working with developers and neighbors to find a new use that is compatible with neighborhood goals and economically feasible. Developers Collaborative, the developers responsible for the successful adaptive reuse project for the former Nathan Clifford School in Deering's Oakdale neighborhood have developed a plan to reuse the Reed School as a pre-school for special needs students. Read more about the proposal here. 

Meet Our Summer 2016 Interns

Meet Our Summer 2016 Interns

This summer Greater Portland Landmarks was fortunate to have two interns, Liz King and Anastasia Azenaro-Moore.  Surveying Portland’s Oakdale neighborhood was their major collaboration and not only did they record important information about this unique neighborhood, they also had an opportunity share knowledge and experience with each other.  They both observed that the city is trying to understand the same questions they tackle in their academic studies: how and where do historic preservation, gentrification, housing, and public use all collide? Landmarks was lucky to spend a summer with these dynamic women and the future of historic preservation looks bright.