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Custom House Wharf

Maine building and structure stubsTransport infrastructure completed in the 18th centuryWharves in Portland, Maine
Between Custom House Wharf and Portland Pier
Between Custom House Wharf and Portland Pier

Custom House Wharf is a historic wharf in Portland, Maine, on the edge of the Fore River. Named for Portland's United States Custom House, which stands across Commercial Street from the wharf, on Pearl Street, the wharf is located between Maine Wharf (to the north) and Portland Pier (to the south).Today's businesses that exist on the wharf include Harbor Fish Market, Boone's Fish House & Oyster Room, and The Porthole pub, which was established in 1929.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Custom House Wharf (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Custom House Wharf
Custom House Wharf, Portland

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 43.65662 ° E -70.24927 °
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Address

Maine Wharf

Custom House Wharf
04101 Portland
Maine, United States
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Between Custom House Wharf and Portland Pier
Between Custom House Wharf and Portland Pier
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Nearby Places

Fort Loyal
Fort Loyal

Fort Loyal was a British settler refuge and colonial outpost built in 1678 at Falmouth (present-day Portland, Maine) in Casco Bay. It was destroyed in 1690 by Abenaki and French forces at the Battle of Fort Loyal. The fort was rebuilt in 1742 and renamed Falmouth Fort before King George's War and rearmed again in 1755 for the French and Indian War. The fort was rebuilt a final time in 1775 for the American Revolution. The peninsula was first colonized by the English in 1632 as a fishing and trading village named Casco. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony absorbed the Province of Maine in 1658, the town's name changed to Falmouth. In 1676, the village was destroyed by the Abenaki during King Philip's War. English colonists returned two years later when peace resumed. Fort Loyal was built in 1678 in the center of Portland at the foot of present-day India Street to protect the town from future attacks. In 1690 Fort Loyal consisted of four wooden blockhouses and eight guns. During King William's War, a raiding party of French and Native allies destroyed the English settlement and massacred its inhabitants in the Battle of Fort Loyal (1690). At the end of the conflict Massachusetts did not rebuild the fort, instead building Fort Casco in Falmouth. The fort was rebuilt in 1742 and renamed "Falmouth Fort" before King George's War and then rearmed during the French and Indian War in 1755. Reverend Thomas Smith described the 1759 celebration at the fort in Falmouth upon the arrival of news that Quebec had fallen: "The cannon were fired at the fort yesterday and today. Mr. Mayhew's house was illuminated, and small arms fired in the evening, upon further and more authentic news of the victory at Quebec." Earthworks were constructed on the Fort Loyal site in 1775 as part of harbor defenses during the American Revolution and known as the "Lower Battery." Elements from earlier iterations of the fort, such as the guard house, were still in use. The bluff on which the fort had been located was leveled off during the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway in the 1850s. Today the fort's location is memorialized by a plaque on the Grand Trunk Office Building at the corner of India and Thames Streets in Portland.

Portland station (Grand Trunk)
Portland station (Grand Trunk)

Portland station was a passenger rail station on the Grand Trunk Railway in Portland, Maine, United States. It stood to at the foot of India Street, Portland's first street, between 1903 and 1966. It was one of Portland's four railroad stations for the Portland and Forest Avenue Railroad Company over its history, and one of the two stations in the city at the time of the station's construction. The other was Union Station, which has also been demolished. The Grand Trunk and steamship offices building still stands, at the corner of India Street and Thames Street. As of 2024, it was in use as the head office of Gorham Savings Bank. A third story was added to this building in 1903. The station's clock tower was removed in 1948, eighteen years before the station itself was razed. Construction of the Grand Trunk Railways was delayed by the American Civil War, but used rail was obtained from New Brunswick in 1863 to complete a line from India Street along Middle Street, through Monument Square, along Congress Street, and then down High Street, and westerly along Spring Street to Clark Street. Service with horse-drawn street cars began on 12 October 1863. In 1864, an adjoining line was built along Preble Street from Monument Square and thence along Portland Street and Forest Avenue to Woodfords Corner. This line was later extended to Morrills Corner along Pleasant Avenue and Stevens Avenue. Lines along Congress Street were extended westward to Longfellow Square and eastward to Atlantic Street on Munjoy Hill. Horse-drawn sleighs were substituted for rail cars when snow and ice covered the streets during winter months to avoid ice removal inconveniencing other horse-drawn sleighs. In the late 19th century, Portland was favored over Boston as the seaport terminus for the Grand Trunk Railway from Montreal. When the Maine Coast Special train to Montreal was withdrawn 1966, the station was abandoned.