Portlan observatory

The Portland observatory is located at 138 Congress St Portland Maine. It holds both great maritime Maine history, but also one great view (for those who don’t have a fear of heights that is). The Portland observatory was used as a signal tower for ships that sailed into the Portland Harbor. Captain Lemuel Moody devised a plan to help the harbor with the confusion of ships sailing in and out. He began construction in 1807 on Munjoy Hill in Portland. Construction finished in 1807 and that’s when Moody showed of his new creation of “Signalizing”. Signalizing (which was Moodys name for it) called for the use of his high-powered telescope (which sadly can no longer be seen in the observatory but has been replaced with a replica). Moody could identify ships sailing into the harbor and then, for a small fee to the merchants would hoist signal flags to identify their vessels. Moody actually made quite a nice living off the merchants who paid him as small sum for the privilege of knowing when the ships are coming. Moody’s construction of the observatory went further than signaling of ships. He opened it to the public allowed them to look out from the top, and Moody used “Thermometrics” to record weather predictions for the local newspaper to print.

The observatory is beautiful covered in wooden shingles that makes you wonder, wouldn’t you hate to be the one to replace all of those? It did go through 2 separate restoration projects one in 1939 and most recently in 1998-2000. The latest restoration took place because of seeping moisture and powder post beetles. The restoration work, although noticeable, adds to the history of the observatory. The diagrams inside explain how difficult it was to build this structure with the eight beams in place and the boulders in the bottom to help support the weight.

I had always heard about this building called the Portland observatory, sadly I thought it was part of the USM Portland campus. Once you arrive at the top of the observatory you can look out and see Portland more historical landmarks. You cannot see use the telescope but its fun to imagine you’re in the 1800’s looking out on the Atlantic Ocean for ships. One word of caution to all those taller than 5’6 WATCH YOUR HEAD when traveling up the stairs.

To learn more or get dates and times to go and visit this land mark check out http://portlandlandmarks.org/events-tours/Observatory.php. Fun for every one!

Research: http://portlandlandmarks.org/observatory/History.php

Pic 1 http://portlandlandmarks.org/Content/143.php#

Pic 2 http://maineowl.net/blog/media/1/20080819-observatory_360w.jpg

Pic 3 http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4871340431_3225039761.jpg

Pic 4 http://photos.igougo.com/images/p158656-Boston-Portland_Observarory.jpg