*This is not about Just One building
Story
America’s first historic districts were created in Charleston, South Carolina (1931), and New Orleans (1936), cities whose identities, culture, and tourism are inseparable from their protected architecture. Historic districts allow for a means to appreciate buildings that alone may not be landmarks, but together "contribute” to a sense of place through architectural styles featured in its period of development, material choices and quality, patterns of scale and setbacks, and shared history. The City of Portland adopted a historic preservation ordinance in 1990 and immediately designated eight historic districts, protecting places now synonymous with the city’s history and identity—the Old Port, Stroudwater, and the Western Promenade to name a few.
The Congress Street Historic District was established in 2009, and the designation report states the “one word that characterizes the history and development of Congress Street…is change.” The district captures the backbone of the Portland peninsula where the city’s most important commercial, religious, residential, civic, and cultural buildings were erected. The rich and varied architecture of the district comprises nearly 200 years of development along Portland’s “Main Street,” from the Federal-style Wadsworth-Longfellow House built in 1795 to the 1956 Union Mutual Insurance Company Building designed in the Moderne Style. One building spanning the better part of the district’s history is 142 Free Street.
Along with dozens of other buildings, the brick building at 142 Free Street was classified as contributing to the Congress Street Historic District, meaning it exemplifies the qualities that give the district cultural, historic, or architectural significance. While the building was originally conceived as a theater in 1830, and later remodeled for use as a church, its last comprehensive renovation was completed in 1926 for use as the Portland Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center. Its Colonial Revival design is representative of the diverse architectural styles along Congress Street, while its use by the Chamber of Commerce is inextricably linked to the zenith of Portland’s business district and its early beginnings as a destination.
Threat
Historic districts often include buildings that are considered “non-contributing,” which are typically newer construction (less than 50 years old), do not demonstrate the qualities that give the district its purpose and meaning, or have been so drastically altered or deteriorated as to be dismissed on first sight. For example, a gas station, a new rowhouse erected on an empty lot, or an office building stripped of all detail and ornament may fall in the boundaries of the district and be considered “non-contributing.”
In 2023, the Portland Museum of Art (PMA) sought to reclassify 142 Free Street as a non-contributing resource to allow for its demolition and make way for a new structure that was conceived through an architectural design competition. The PMA argued the building was incorrectly classified when the historic district was created because it was too altered. Portland’s Historic Review and Planning Boards voted against the request while the City Council overruled these expert bodies. Local advocacy group, Greater Portland Landmarks, is appealing the Council’s decision in court.
Reclassifying a contributing building without following clear standards established in the ordinance sets a dangerous precedent for other designated properties across the city. If the PMA moves forward with this approach, there is little to stop the next property owner from seeking reclassification of a historic building simply because it has changed over time. The Romanesque Revival-style Lancaster Block, a contributing building to the Congress Street Historic District, originally stood only four stories high but received a two-story addition in 1908. Across Monument Square, the 1924 Time & Temperature Building donned a two-story addition in 1962 and was remodeled in 1987. Buildings have always evolved, and as they gain new layers and shed old features, those changes can garner significance in their own right. And what is the purpose of the Congress Street Historic District–defined by the word “change”–if the rich and varied architecture comprising the backbone of Portland cannot, too, change.
Ironically, the Council’s decision preserves the city’s landmarks and historic districts in amber by dismissing change, counter to the intent of the preservation ordinance.
How to get involved
Those concerned by the fallout of the Council’s decision should call on PMA to abandon the reclassification and devise an expansion proposal that incorporates significant features of 142 Free Street as a contributing building. World-class museums and cultural institutions are often found in historic districts or are standalone landmarks themselves, and yet they successfully expand program space, increase accessibility, and add functionality without full-scale demolition of their historic assets.
The PMA should follow suit, submitting a design to the Historic Review Board that integrates character-defining features of 142 Free Street using the standard permitting process. Indeed, Portland’s preservation ordinance was designed to “review standards in a reasonable and flexible manner to prevent the unnecessary loss of the community’s historical features and to ensure compatible new construction and rehabilitation in historic districts while not stifling change and development.”
Furthermore, 142 Free Street and its site, regardless of a court decision in favor of the City and PMA, remain within the boundaries of the Congress Street Historic District. Any new construction must follow the preservation ordinance’s standards for review and receive approval from the city’s Historic Review Board. This means that the new structure must be deemed “appropriate” for the district. While the review board may very well approve a dynamic and exciting new building design by right, a terrible legal precedent will be set by moving forward with the reclassification.
Photo Credits: Maine Preservation
