Eastern Promenade
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Eastern Promenade
| nrhp_type = hd
| nocat = yes
| image = Eastern promenade portland.jpg
| caption = View of Casco Bay from Eastern Promenade Park
| location = Eastern Promenade, Portland, Maine
| coordinates = {{coord|43|40|20|N|70|14|50|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Maine#USA
| area = {{convert|32.3|acre}}
| built = 1828
| architect = Olmsted Brothers, William Goodwin
| architecture =
| added = October 16, 1989
| refnum = 89001707{{NRISref|version=2009a}}
}}
File:Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad.jpg
The Eastern Promenade (Eastern Prom) is a historic promenade, {{convert|68.2|acre|ha|adj=on}} public park and recreation area in Portland, Maine. Construction of the Promenade began in 1836 and continued periodically until 1934. The {{convert|1.5|mi|km|adj=on}} park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers design firm and experienced its greatest expansion from the 1880s to the 1910s. The Promenade rings around the Munjoy Hill neighborhood and occupies the farthest eastern portion of Portland's peninsula. The Promenade is home to many historical sites, including a mass grave and the mast of {{USS|Portland|CA-33|6}}.
The promenade was regenerated by Charles R. Goodell in 1878.[https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/ME-01-005-0041 Eastern Promenade] – Society of Architectural Historians
Recreation
The Eastern Promenade includes a number of recreational facilities, including a paved trail {{convert|2.1|mi}} in length,{{cite web |url=http://www.trails.org/map_files/eastern_prom_page_description.html |title=Eastern Prom Trail |access-date=28 September 2010 |publisher=Portland Trails |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830113358/http://www.trails.org/map_files/eastern_prom_page_description.html |archive-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=dead }} the East End Beach, and sports facilities including baseball fields, basketball courts and tennis courts. The Eastern Prom Trail is popular with bicyclists.{{cite web |url=http://www.railstotrails.org/news/recurringfeatures/trailmonth/archives/0712.html |title=Trail of the Month: December 2007 - Maine's Eastern Promenade Trail |year=2007 |access-date=28 September 2010 |publisher=railstotrails.org}}
Fort Allen Park
Fort Allen Park is a {{convert|9.33|acre}} public park on the Eastern Promenade. It is the site of Fort Allen, which was active in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812; only a few earthworks remain.{{cite news|url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/reclaiming-the-high-ground_2011-07-06.html|title=Fort Allen Park:Reclaiming the high ground|last=Murphy|first=Edward|date=July 6, 2011|work=Portland Press Herald|access-date=19 April 2013}}[http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/me3.html Casco Bay forts at NorthAmericanforts.com][http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Allen_(2) Fort Allen at FortWiki.com] The park is home to an American Civil War monument in the form of a granite bench dedicated in 1929. It honors the Union Army.{{cite web |url=http://maine.gov/civilwar/portlandfortallen.html |title=Maine Civil War Monuments - Portland (Fort Allen Park)|publisher=Maine.gov |access-date=28 September 2010}} Fort Allen Park is also the home of the mast of {{USS|Portland|CA-33|6}}, a heavy cruiser commissioned by the United States Navy in 1933.{{cite web |url=http://www.theforecaster.net/content/p-brfwwii-090110 |title=Portland ceremony to honor WWII vets |date=1 September 2010 |access-date=28 September 2010 |publisher=The Portland Forecaster}} Portland was the only United States ship to participate in all four Pacific aircraft carrier battles of 1942: Coral Sea in May, Midway in June, Eastern Solomons in August, and Santa Cruz Islands in October. Portland was then damaged during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November.Ofstie, R.A. The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) pp.54,74,112,122&127
1812 Cemetery
In December 1812, following the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812, {{HMS|Regulus|1785|6}}, a British ship, docked under a truce flag in Portland's harbor en route from Quebec to Boston, Massachusetts, due to the presence of fever, malnutrition and dysentery among the American prisoners of war on board. 26 of the prisoners were taken to the local hospital and a month later, 21 of the prisoners had died. The dead soldiers were buried in a mass grave at the foot of Quebec Street on the Eastern Promenade, with a large boulder marking the spot of their grave. In 1887, a bronze plaque was affixed to the stone with the names of the deceased.{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.portland.me.us/publicworks/historiccemeteriesinfomation.asp |title=Historic Cemeteries Information |access-date=28 September 2010 |publisher=Portland, Maine Public Services Department |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721163614/http://www.ci.portland.me.us/publicworks/historiccemeteriesinfomation.asp |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}
Public transportation
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine
- Western Promenade, on the opposite end of the peninsula
References
{{Reflist}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{Portland, Maine}}
Category:Parks in Portland, Maine
Category:Streets in Portland, Maine
Category:Cemeteries in Portland, Maine
Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine
Category:Frederick Law Olmsted works