EVENTS: Portland History Tours & Vids

Local historical enthusiast Dugan Murphy has taken the reins and decided to run with his ideas for making local history more accessible. The result? An upcoming series of great activities chock-a-block full of all sorts of interesting historical elements you probably don't know about, and which will change the way you look at our city!!!

NOTE: The video showings are at people's Free Space (144 Cumberland Ave) and the tours are as marked.

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Sunday, June 4th -- Congress Street Historic Walking Tour:
Meet in front of Portland City Hall at 3:00pm! Broaden your context and listen to tales of Portland's past and architectural heritage from local historian Dugan Murphy. The tour will end at Longfellow Square. Rain date: June 18.

Sunday, June 11th -- Holes in the Urban Fabric: A Cycling Tour of Portland's Worst Mistakes
Meet in front of Goodwill at Union Station Plaza on Saint John Street at 3:00pm. Bringng your bike! Tour the 20th-Century blunders and atrocities in Urban Renewal on Portland's peninsula with local historian Dugan Murphy. Rain date: June 25.

Wednesday, May 31 -- Video Showing: Experience Portland Past
7:00pm. This 60-minute video provides a colorful synopsis of the last four hundred years of Portland history. Stick around afterwards for discussion and Q&A with local historian Dugan Murphy.

Wednesday, June 14th -- Video Showing: Anchor of the Soul
7:00pm. This hour-long documentary tells the inspiring story of two institutions: the Abyssinian Church (built in 1828 and still standing) and the present-day Green Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church which have anchored the African-American community in Portland for over 150 years. Stick around afterwards for discussion and Q&A with local historian Dugan Murphy.

Wednesday, June 28th -- Video Showing: The Night Portland Burned
7:00pm. Come hear the harrowing tale of the Great Fire of 1866 in the form of this 30 minute video. Stick around afterwards for discussion and Q&A with local historian Dugan Murphy.
[Editor's Note: This is a film that they showed on television when I was a kid -- it gave me nightmares about Portland burning again! Good stuff, and a huge piece of Portland's history.]

Photo shows Congress Street as seen from the Portland Observatory on Munjoy Hill, photographed by J.P. Soule just over a week after the July 4th fire. Little was left, and residents were forced to make do with tents as dwellings. Good thing it wasn't in winter!