The Maine State Pier is a municipal-owned deepwater marine facility and music venue located at the intersection of Commercial Street and Franklin Street on the eastern waterfront in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. Located to the north of Maine Wharf, it was completed in 1924. In the mid-2000s, competing proposals were examined to redevelop the Maine State Pier into a tourist destination, but difficulties with state regulations and the

late-2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

halted proposed redevelopment. In 2009, the first annual Portland Lobster Fest was held at the State Pier. In 2009, the Portland City Council approved spending $2.4 million to redevelop the end of pier. Improvements included the creation of an outdoor music venue. In 2011, rapper

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

and others appeared at the venue. In 2016, Maine native

Howie Day Howard Kern Day (born January 15, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of sampler (musical instrument), samplers and effect ...

performed " Collide" and other songs at the pier. In '07,

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals Grace Potter and the Nocturnals were an American rock band from Vermont, formed in 2002 in Waitsfield by drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter. They began their career as an indie band, self-producing their album ...

from Vermont played there. Boston acts

Guster Guster is an American alternative rock band formed in Somerville, Massachusetts. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University and formed the band in 1991. The mem ...

played there in '09, and

Rachel Platten Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and author. After releasing two albums independently in 2003 and 2011, she signed with Columbia Records in 2015 and released her mainstream debut single, "Fight Song (Ra ...

in 2015. The venue has a maximum capacity of 3,000. During the 2011 Portland mayoral campaign, several candidates, including former State Senator

Ethan Strimling Ethan King Strimling (born October 19, 1967) is an American non-profit executive, television personality, and politician from Maine. Strimling was elected to 3 terms in the Maine Senate (2003–2009), one term a Mayor of Portland, Maine (2015–2 ...

made the lack of redevelopment at the Maine State Pier a key campaign issue. Many of Strimling's largest campaign donors were employees of Ocean Properties, one of the companies which sought to redevelop the pier during the 2000s.

References

Music venues in Portland, Maine Water transport buildings and structures in Portland, Maine Piers in Maine Infrastructure completed in 1924 Port of Portland (Maine) 1924 establishments in Maine {{Maine-struct-stub

See also

References