Theater and opera houses
PORTopera in Portland
PORTopera is an opera house founded by Bruce Hangen in 1994. It has been located in Portland, in the Merrill Auditorium since 1997, but some productions are also performed in other cities in Maine. The name PORT can be derived from “Portland Opera Reperatory Theater”. Every summer the opera house presents between one and three productions, most of which are classical operas. The opera house was opened in July 1995 with a production by Carmen. The artistic director is currently Dona D. Vaughn.
| Contact | 20 Myrtle Street Portland, Maine 04112 www.portopera.org/index.php |
Camden Opera House
The Camden Opera House was built in 1894 and has not always been an ordinary opera house, but was much more than an opera performance. In addition to these, town meetings of Camden, balls, film festivals and other events have always been held there. Even today the program mainly includes musicals, readings, film or theater performances. The house can also be rented by private individuals for various occasions such as weddings.
- See Countryaah for a full list cities and towns in Maine. Also includes counties, airports, zip codes, and public holidays of Maine.
| Contact | 29 Elm Street Camden, Maine 04843 www.camdenoperahouse.com/index.cfm |
Stonington Opera House
The Opera House Arts in the historic ballroom, built in 1893, Stonington Opera House offers a wide range of cultural events, from feature film premieres to theatrical performances to tokyotic Pecha Kucha lectures and musical evenings. The house also offers workshops on various topics or outdoor theater performances.
| Contact | 1 Opera House Lane Stonington, Maine 04681 www.www.operahousearts.org/index.html.com/index.cfm |
Museums and exhibitions
Portland Museum of Art
The Portland Museum of Art is the largest museum in Maine with over 160,000 visitors annually. It exhibits more than 15,000 works of art from the 18th century to the present. The building is part of the Mc Lellan House grounds in Old Town Portland. The main exhibits are works of art by American artists or artists from Maine such as Winslow Homer, John Marin, Marsden Hartley and Andrew Wyeth. There are also paintings from French Expressionism. There is currently a special exhibition on modern art from Maine until September 2011.
| Contact | 7 Congress Square Portland Portland, Maine 04101 www.portlandmuseum.org |
Maine State Museum
The Maine State Museum is the official government museum in Maine, Augusta. It is attached to the Maine State House. Among other things, the oldest American-made locomotive is exhibited there in New England. The museum also maintains a large collection of both prehistoric and natural history exhibits from the history of Maine.
| Contact | 230 State Street Augusta, Maine 04330 www.mainestatemuseum.org |
Children’s Museum of Maine
The Children’s Museum of Maine in Portland was founded in 1976 and opened in 1992. Through a playful approach and encouraging children to discover things for themselves, they try to introduce them to scientific as well as historical or cultural topics. The Children’s Theater of Maine is also connected to the museum.
| Contact | 142 Free Street Portland, Maine 04101 www.kitetails.org |
Ogunquit Museum of American Art
The Ogunquit Museum of American Art in the city of Ogunquit is the only museum in Maine that only exhibits American art. It was founded by Henry Strater in 1953 and, due to its small size, only opens in the summer months. The highlights of the exhibition include works by Jack Levine, Carl Walters and Roy Lichtenstein.
| Contact | 543 Shore Road Ogunquit, Maine 207-646-4909 www.ogunquitmuseum.org/index1.html |
Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland
The Maine Narrow Gauge Museum in Portland is a narrow gauge railway museum. It was founded in 1993 after the Edaville Road museum railroad in Massachusetts was shut down. Not only can historical narrow-gauge railways be visited there, but it is also possible to take one of them. For events such as weddings, it is even possible to rent the trains.
| Contact | 58 Fore Street Portland, Maine 04101 www.mainenarrowgauge.org |
Monuments and memorials
Long Creek Air Memorial in South Portland
The Long Creek Air Memorial in the city of South Portland is a memorial to the victims of the worst aviation accident in Maine. On July 11, 1944, a Douglas A-26 Invader crashed into a trailer park in which dock workers temporarily lived with their families. 19 people were killed. The memorial consists mainly of a granite structure on which the names of all victims are recorded.
