Lincoln Park (Portland, Maine) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Lincoln Park
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | Bounded by Pearl, Franklin, Market, and Federal Sts., Portland, Maine |
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| Area | 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) |
| Built | 1866 |
| Civil engineer | Charles Goodell |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001709 |
| Added to NRHP | October 16, 1989 |
Lincoln Park is a 1.8-acre (0.73 ha) urban park in downtown Portland, Maine. It was created in 1866 after a huge fire destroyed many buildings in Portland. The park was named to honor former President Abraham Lincoln. It is located between Congress, Pearl, Federal, and Market streets. This park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
What is Lincoln Park Like?
Lincoln Park is found near the middle of Portland's peninsula, at the corner of Congress and Franklin Streets. It has a shape that looks a bit like a squashed rectangle, called a parallelogram. The park is mostly a flat, open grassy area with many trees.
There are paths that spread out from a fountain near the center of the park. Other paths run along the edges next to Congress and Federal Streets. The fountain used to be exactly in the middle. But the park's eastern side was made smaller to make Franklin Street wider. An iron fence goes all the way around the park. You can enter the park at its four corners and in the middle of the Federal Street side. Each entrance has tall stone posts. There is also a special gate for maintenance vehicles at the Congress and Federal street corner.
History of Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park was the very first public park in Portland. It was created after a terrible fire in 1866. This fire destroyed over 1,800 buildings, ruining much of the city's downtown and port areas. The city bought the land for the park for about $81,000. That was 75 cents for every square foot!
A city engineer named Charles Goodell is given credit for planning and designing the park. However, some of his original ideas were not built. In 1909, the empty land next to the park was bought and made into an extension of the park. This area is now where Portland's main fire station is located.
