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Higgins Beach

Beaches of MaineLandforms of Cumberland County, MaineScarborough, Maine
Higgins Beach low tide
Higgins Beach low tide

Higgins Beach is a small beach located in the state of Maine, United States. It is located in the town of Scarborough in Cumberland County. The beach is north of Prouts Neck and Old Orchard Beach and south of Crescent Beach State Park. This northeast-southwest trending beach measures approximately 0.6 miles (1.0 km) and is approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of Portland and 110 miles (177 km) north of Boston. It lies between bedrocks at the southwest, sometimes known as Thunder Cove, and the Spurwink River on the northeastern end. This small seaside community has approximately 300 cottages. In addition, the community has two inns (The Breakers and the Higgins Beach Inn) which are open during the summer season. Higgins Beach is most known for its family-oriented oceanside neighborhood, striped bass fishing, the beach's quaintness, the shipwreck embedded in the beach's sands, and surfing. The beach has had public access for as long as the town has record, but with very little public parking. In 2010, the town of Scarborough purchased a small parking lot accommodating approximately 75 vehicles. Higgins Beach has managed to retain at least some of its small-town characteristics, something that larger beaches in the area such as Old Orchard have lost in return for commercialization and tourism. However, residential gentrification has taken place in the neighborhood steadily since the early 2010s, with numerous new and affluent homes recently appearing in the community. However, the vast majority of the neighborhood still survives on the small number of families who have owned property in the area or otherwise returned year after year for decades. Some of its current residents began coming to Higgins Beach in this way.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Higgins Beach (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Higgins Beach
Spurwink Road,

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Wikipedia: Higgins BeachContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 43.566666666667 ° E -70.283333333333 °
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Address

Spurwink Road 87
04074
Maine, United States
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Higgins Beach low tide
Higgins Beach low tide
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Winslow Homer Studio
Winslow Homer Studio

The Winslow Homer Studio is the historic studio and home of the artist Winslow Homer, which is located on what is now Winslow Homer Road on Prouts Neck in Scarborough, Maine. Maine architect John Calvin Stevens altered and expanded an existing carriage house to suit Homer's needs in 1884, even moving the building 100 feet for added privacy from his brother's neighboring summer home. The most dramatic element is a balcony the width of the building, from which the artist often painted in winter. The building is 44 by 53 feet (13 m × 16 m) and two stories high, for a total of 2,200 square feet (200 m2). Homer lived and painted in the studio from 1884 until his death there in 1910.The studio was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The Portland Museum of Art acquired the building and surrounding grounds on January 31, 2006, closing both to the public during restoration projects. It was opened to the public in 2012, but may only be visited on a guided tour. The Portland Museum of Art undertook significant restoration of the building. Changes and additions made by members of the Homer family in 1938–39 were undone in order to preserve the studio as Winslow Homer left it in 1910. Some updates were also made to the property to enable it to function as a museum exhibit. The additions included plumbing and a restroom for visitors, electricity, security, and hidden steel reinforcements for the balcony (or piazza).