Portland City Hall Turns 100 Today

City Hall rose from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1908 one hundred years ago today

Portland, Maine - Today, Portland City Hall officially turns 100 years old. Constructed after the Great Fire of 1908, the current City Hall building is the third to stand on the site with the previous two lost to fires. Built of granite from North Jay, Maine, the Beaux Arts style structure was designed by the noted New York City architectural firm Carrere & Hastings. John Calvin Stevens’ local architectural firm oversaw the construction, with the laying of the cornerstone in 1909 and followed three years later with an elaborate dedication ceremony August 22, 1912. The design of the building was inspired by the New York City Hall built 1803-1812.

City Hall is four stories high with a full basement and fills almost the entire block bounded by Chestnut, Congress and Myrtle Streets and Cumberland Avenue. The tower is about 200 feet tall and can be seen from everywhere in the city. Portland City Hall is considered one of the city’s most distinguished architectural landmarks.

The Great Fire of 1908 started at 2:23 AM, January 24, 1908, destroying City Hall and causing extensive damage in the downtown. The fire was not contained until after 10:00 in the morning and is believed to have started in the operating room of the city electrician. Dozens of other fires reaching as far as Maple Street were started by flying cinders and brands fanned by a howling northwest storm. The million dollar blaze was the worst in the state since the Great Portland Conflagration of 1866, when the city’s business and residential sections were almost completely wiped out by a fire believe to have been ignited by 4th of July fireworks. The Portland Fire Department went to great lengths to try and save City Hall and the fact that there were no fatalities is remarkable as there were more than seven hundred people attending an event in the auditorium when the fire began. After suffering several serious injuries from a falling pipe, Fire Chief Melville Eldridge continued to command the department from his front windows at the fire house. City Clerk, A.L.T. Cummings ran from his home to City Hall, and with assistance, nearly all records, dating back to the 1700's when Portland was the Town of Falmouth, in the Clerk's and Mayor's offices were saved. One of the most valuable libraries in the state, the Greenleaf law collection was completely destroyed as were many Cumberland County records which were also housed in the building. Mutual aid was requested from Auburn, Augusta, Bath, Biddeford, Lewiston, Saco, South Portland and as far away as Portsmouth, New Hampshire.