Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Company Building, Portland
The Miller Building鈥攂etter remembered by locals as the Porteous, Mitchell, and Braun Company Building鈥攚as once Portland鈥檚 temple of retail therapy, back when department stores were social events as much as shopping trips. Today it anchors the Arts District with a new purpose, housing the Maine College of Art, but its grand exterior still hints at the days of shopping bags, window displays, and Saturday crowds.
Built in 1904, it got a major glow-up in 1911 when George Burnham expanded it for the Porteous company. By 1953, it stretched all the way to Free Street, making it the city鈥檚 biggest department store. For decades, this was where you鈥檇 find everything from hats to homewares鈥攗ntil the store closed in 1991. Instead of the wrecking ball, the building got a second chance, restored and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
From the sidewalk, it鈥檚 hard to miss. Brick walls are trimmed with light-colored terra cotta, while big display windows line the ground floor. Above, tall vertical strips separate the upper windows, giving the building a sense of height and rhythm. The top floor changes it up with rounded windows and a decorative edge along the roofline鈥攋ust enough flourish to catch your eye without going over the top.
These days, instead of cash registers and perfume counters, you鈥檒l find easels, studios, and classrooms buzzing with creativity. The Miller Building has gone from Portland鈥檚 shopping hub to its creative heartbeat鈥攁 place that proves some addresses don鈥檛 fade from the spotlight, they just change their role.
Built in 1904, it got a major glow-up in 1911 when George Burnham expanded it for the Porteous company. By 1953, it stretched all the way to Free Street, making it the city鈥檚 biggest department store. For decades, this was where you鈥檇 find everything from hats to homewares鈥攗ntil the store closed in 1991. Instead of the wrecking ball, the building got a second chance, restored and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
From the sidewalk, it鈥檚 hard to miss. Brick walls are trimmed with light-colored terra cotta, while big display windows line the ground floor. Above, tall vertical strips separate the upper windows, giving the building a sense of height and rhythm. The top floor changes it up with rounded windows and a decorative edge along the roofline鈥攋ust enough flourish to catch your eye without going over the top.
These days, instead of cash registers and perfume counters, you鈥檒l find easels, studios, and classrooms buzzing with creativity. The Miller Building has gone from Portland鈥檚 shopping hub to its creative heartbeat鈥攁 place that proves some addresses don鈥檛 fade from the spotlight, they just change their role.
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Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Company Building on Map
Sight Name: Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Company Building
Sight Location: Portland, USA (See walking tours in Portland)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Portland, USA (See walking tours in Portland)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Portland, Maine
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Creating your own self-guided walk in Portland is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Historical Buildings Walking Tour
Portland, Maine may be small, but it packs centuries of history into its streets. Think of it as a living scrapbook鈥攕ome pages sing in stone, others whisper in brick, and all of them survived the city鈥檚 Great Fire of 1866, which could鈥檝e erased it all. Instead, Portland rebuilt in style, and today you can wander its historic core spotting everything from colonial leftovers to Victorian... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.1 Km or 1.9 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.1 Km or 1.9 Miles
Portland Maine Introduction Walking Tour
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.5 Km or 1.6 Miles
Long before lobster shacks and artisan coffee shops, the Algonquian people (populous indigenous American group) called this land... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.5 Km or 1.6 Miles