Portland Observatory

Viewed on 9/8/2011.

It was a beautiful day for the Portland Observatory today. We were taken there to explore the tower itself and experience the breath taking view out towards the Atlantic and into the modern city of Portland as well. The tower was originally used to send signals to ships at sea, as well as to those who might be working the docks or other business in the community. Those who operated the tower sent out various signals to alert everyone as to who was coming into the port and who was leaving the port.

Views from above, at the top of the Portland Observatory.

Throughout the years since the tower was ordered to be built, in 1807, it has seen much action. In the days before radios could be used to communicate, the tower was essential in keeping order and an open line of communication in the port city along the sea shore. Since then the tower on Munjoy Hill in Portland, has been renovated twice, once in 1923 as a way to employ workers who couldn't find employment during the Great Depression and once to rid the building of failing support due to termites and other bugs.

The building is now in wonderful condition, with many or the original pieces still holding it up. It is maintained by Greater Portland Landmarks, with guides who give tours in the building seasonally. Each floor has a different exhibit showing one of the many historical or engineering components of the building.

Some of the engineering components were just as interesting to me as the historical. The ways in which the building was built were pretty remarkable. It was a time before machines and cranes could do all the work and heavy lifting, instead it was left up to men to handle all the manual labor. To build a structure of this size required the brute strength of many men.

After it was built, the building was put to quick use by former sea captain, Lemuel Moody. Capt. Moody retired to shore life, and decided building the observatory would be a good business to get into. For a fee, ship captains could subscribe to Moody's service, which including raising ship flags to raise awareness the ship was coming into port.

That wasn't Moody's only duty he gave himself though. He also began studying the weather and watching clouds. He recorded the weather for local newspapers and publications, as well as for sailors who might want to try and predict what exactly they would be facing when they went back out to sea.

It's a long ways down.

The tower went out of operation around the year 1923, as radios and other means of communication had developed. Since then it has been the home to a bowling alley, and dance and event halls. The building has seen and withstood many changes, since it was the lonely structure amongst farms and fields in Portland, to the bustling little eastern seaboard city it is today.