The Portland Museum of Art demolishes 142 Free Street

The Portland Museum of Art has demolished 142 Free Street. With heavy machinery over a few days, PMA razed a building that stood for nearly 200 years, adapting and serving Portland in a variety of useful iterations. GPL staff visited the demolition site several times to document this event in our community, reflecting on the enormity of the loss and our efforts to prevent it. Dozens of Portlanders stopped to take photos; many shared memories and condemned the unnecessary destruction of a place that held meaning to them.

Despite promises to salvage reusable materials from the building, it seems that very little was actually salvaged. The building was mechanically demolished, windows and all, instead of being dismantled for salvage. This represents a lack of commitment to sustainable methods. One of the best actions we can take for climate resilience is to reuse what we already have, especially buildings which capture embodied carbon, energy, and materials. New construction, no matter how energy-efficient the new building might be, produces a dangerous amount of waste and pollution. With few exceptions, existing buildings can be updated, upgraded, expanded, and successfully reused. These kinds of changes are approvable within historic districts and this building would have been no exception with more creative visioning by the museum. Historic buildings, after all, are some of the most visible and beloved forms of art.

Looking ahead, there is still work to be done. GPL is committed to finding solutions to ensure this loss can't happen again. We will work with local leadership to review policies and procedures, identify any open doors that developers might use to circumvent the system, and propose revisions that more effectively protect historic resources. So much of Portland's identity is tied to its historic places. We have a system to protect those places and everyone should be held accountable to the guardrails within the system.

PMA has paraded the images of their new addition in an attempt to gain support and justify their actions. But they have not yet begun their review process and there's no guarantee that their new building will come to fruition as currently conceived, especially since PMA, according to their public statement, has only raised about half of the funds required. In the meantime, the Congress Street Historic District will have an empty lot and maybe, eventually, a private pocket park, for an unknown length of time. Portland deserves better and it's our goal to ensure that in the future no building is demolished without a robust salvage plan, a funded project, and an approved new structure. 

We would like to thank all those who have supported us throughout this long effort. You contributed to our legal fees, showed up to meetings in support of our position, and uplifted our messaging. You have proven that Portland cares about its historic places and the value of protecting them with rational and fair policy. Our advocacy work will continue to reflect that passion and purpose as we move forward. 

Greater Portland Landmarks Urges Museum To Keep It’s Pledge Not To Demolish Free Street Building Until Expansion Is Funded And Approved

In a letter to the leadership of the Portland Museum of Art (PMA), Greater Portland Landmarks today urged the museum not to demolish the historic building at 142 Free Street before it has raised the necessary funds and received all city approvals for its proposed expansion on the site of the former Chamber of Commerce and Children’s Museum of Maine building. Despite earlier public assurances that it would hold off on tearing down the building, the PMA has now filed a demolition permit with the City of Portland.

Over the objections of Landmarks and many members of the community, the PMA successfully lobbied the Portland City Council in 2024 to change the designation of building to “non-contributing” within the Congress Street Historic District, paving the way for its demolition. Landmarks appealed that decision and in April of this year a Superior Court justice upheld the council decision.

In her letter, Landmarks’ Executive Director Kate Lemos McHale said she was “writing to appeal to you to please rethink your decision to move forward swiftly with the demolition of 142 Free Street before you have received approval and the necessary funding for its replacement. This action reverses promises that your team made publicly and in good faith when you asked the city to reclassify 142 Free Street so that the PMA may replace a part of the Congress Street Historic District's historic streetscape.”

She went on to say that tearing down the existing building prior to completing the Historic Preservation Board’s review of its proposed replacement “runs counter to best practice and removes the chance that it could be rehabilitated should your current plans not come together as anticipated. Perhaps most significantly, it creates a vacant lot in the midst of a neighborhood in crisis.”

Lemos McHale said that New York City, where she worked for the Landmarks Preservation Commission for many years before returning to Maine, does not approve demolition of buildings (even noncontributing) in historic districts before approving plans for an appropriate replacement, noting: “This is standard best practice from an urban design perspective, avoiding the very real risk that a project may not move forward for an unforeseen reason, or may be delayed for a considerable period, leaving a vacant lot.”

Lemos McHale ended her letter with a plea to the PMA to “not take the step of demolishing the building before you are ready to replace it. Especially in this fragile location in the Arts District, which as we discussed in the Arts District Solutions Group is in crisis, the last thing we need is a vacant lot. We would be happy to work with you to support temporary uses to activate the building until you have your plans approved. There is nothing to be gained by demolishing it now, but so much for Portland and our community to lose.”

“I believe many of those who supported the PMA expansion plans would agree that demolishing this building before the expansion is funded and approved is unnecessary and disingenuous,” said Lemos McHale. “I hope PMA members and supporters throughout the Greater Portland community will join us in urging the museum to keep its word.”

Greater Portland Landmarks Chooses Against a Second Appeal

With broad support and encouragement, Greater Portland Landmarks strongly opposed the City Council order reclassifying 142 Free Street against the recommendations of the Historic Preservation and Planning Boards and filed an appeal of the order in Superior Court. While we disagree with the judge’s recent ruling against our appeal and are deeply disappointed by the outcome of this case, we must move forward in the best way possible for Portland and our community.

We believe our resources are best directed toward ensuring this case remains an isolated incident rather than pursuing further legal action at this time. We do not want to see reclassification via this process become a pattern that threatens decades of work to create and implement a responsible, sustainable approach to historic preservation in Portland.  We will work to leverage this moment through outreach, education, programming, and collaboration to build and demonstrate broad public support for historic preservation for Portland’s future.

As we continue to advocate for Portland's historic districts, we do not want this process to lead to the demolition of a prominent historic building leaving a vacant lot without approved plans for redevelopment. That would be a critical flaw in our system and the worst outcome for the community.

We have strongly urged the PMA to consider an approach that incorporates the historic building within a bold new addition. And if not, to at least honor their commitment to the city and the community during the public review process and not demolish 142 Free Street until getting all approvals from the city for their expansion plans. We are glad to have found common ground on plans to preserve and activate the historic Clapp House on their campus, to document and salvage 142 Free Street's architectural elements should it be demolished, and to interpret its history within the museum.

 As we well know, the benefits of historic preservation are seen every day in thriving historic districts supporting commercial, cultural, civic, and residential uses in rehabilitated and new buildings. Greater Portland Landmarks is finalizing a new strategic plan committed to advancing these benefits through:

• Creating a more community-driven preservation vision reflecting the city’s diverse history, priorities, and needs

• Collaborating with the city on preservation goals in the comprehensive plan and in updates to the design manual

• Supporting property owners in redeveloping historic district sites without unwarranted reclassification

• Promoting adaptive reuse that aligns with sustainability and resilience goals to avoid the unnecessary environmental impacts of demolition and replacement of historic buildings.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported our effort through your testimony, letters, encouragement, and donations, to our legal team at Murray Plumb & Murray, and to the National Trust who has provided important guidance.

This process has given voice to so many people passionate about preserving historic character and concerned about protecting our effective preservation ordinance. We remain dedicated to working collaboratively toward ensuring Portland remains a vibrant city for all.

Justice Deborah Cashman Hands Down Appeal Denied Ruling

Greater Portland Landmarks and our Board of Trustees, advisors, and supporters are committed to upholding Portland's vital historic preservation program. We are deeply disappointed by the judge's ruling and concerned for what it does to undermine historic preservation standards and the future of Portland's historic districts.

Over the years historic preservation has played a major role in making Portland the vibrant city it is today. People from all the country and all over the world come here to live, work and visit because Portland stands out as a modern city that has retained its historic character.

The court today has upheld a dangerous precedent set last year by the city council that threatens to undo decades of work to create a responsible, workable approach to historic preservation in Portland. Real implications include diminishing the effectiveness of our historic preservation program and putting our Certified Local Government (CLG) status—and the valuable funding it provides to the city and historic properties—at risk.  We are considering whether to appeal the decision and hope the Portland Museum of Art will continue constructive discussions with us.

There is still time for the PMA to develop a plan that both preserves the primary character of 142 Free St. and allows the museum to expand. That would be a tremendous win/win for the entire community and we urge the PMA to work with us to find common ground.

We are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of moral and financial support we have received in taking on this issue. We did not take this appeal lightly and while we are deeply disappointed in the judge’s ruling, we will continue to be an affirmative champion of historic preservation and the laws and programs that have served Portland so well for so long.

We were pleased to have the opportunity to press our case today, March 5, 2025, before Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman to uphold the City of Portland’s Historic Preservation Ordinance and overturn the re-classification of 142 Free Street. We appreciated the questions that were asked by the court and how vigorously our attorney represented our position and the facts of the case.

In the meantime, we have had constructive conversations with PMA leadership and are committed to work collaboratively with them to achieve their goals in a way that upholds the integrity of the City’s historic preservation programs.

Responsible preservation has played a vital role in making Portland such a special place to live, work and visit, which is why we continue to fight so hard to protect these important standards. Our local ordinance closely follows long accepted national standards and is designed to be widely accessible and fairly applied.

We remain optimistic about the ultimate outcome of the legal proceedings and look forward to a successful and positive resolution of this issue.

Read our press release here.

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