Western Promenade

###

Below the Western Promenade are important sites, which can be seen from Western Promenade Park, overlooking the western part of the city. Note the view of the White Mountains and Mount Washington to the west as well as Casco Bay and the Portland Jetport.

Florence House

190 Valley Street

Providing safe, supported permanent housing for chronically homeless women, the Florence House is a collaboration of two non-profit organizations, Preble Street and Avesta Housing, and receives public and private funding. Built, owned and managed by Avesta, it opened its doors in 2010 and provides 24-hour staffing and coordination of services to its tenants. Florence House is named after Florence Young, who was a social work student at Preble Street, a staff member and Board member there. She was a key contributor to the agency’s beginnings and helped shape the organization, develop its philosophy and perform the work of implementing its mission (site C15).

Union Station

(former, now Union Station Plaza)

This is the site of the former Union Station, built in 1888 and torn down in 1961. In the area around the station was a small African-American community of people who worked for the railroad. Edith Thomas, an African-American, ran a boardinghouse for sleeping car porters on A Street. In addition, the YWCA ran a Travelers’ Aid House at 247 B Street, providing temporary housing for young women who had recently arrived in the city looking for work.

Maine Public Broadcasting Article