St. John Street (Portland, Maine)

43°39′12″N 70°16′46″W﻿ / ﻿43.6534°N 70.2795°W﻿ / 43.6534; -70.2795

St. John Street

Portland's former Union Station stood on St. John Street for 73 years

Length| 1.34 mi (2.16 km)
Location| Portland, Maine, U.S.
North end| Brighton Avenue
South end| Valley Street

St. John Street is a street in the West End of Portland, Maine, United States. It runs for around 1.34 miles (2.16 km) from Brighton Avenue (part of Maine State Route 25), in the north, to Valley Street, in the south. It crosses Park Avenue (part of Maine State Route 22) and Congress Street and passes beneath Interstate 295.

Both St. John Street and adjacent Valley Street were built upon land occupied by Portland's poor farm.[1] St. John Street is named for St. John Smith (1876–1944),[2] a landowner friend and business partner of industrialist John Bundy Brown.[3]

The city's Union Station stood on St. John Street between 1888 and 1961, when it was demolished and replaced with a strip mall. Beside that location, to the south, is the Maine Central Railroad General Office Building, which was completed in 1916. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4] A spur of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway from Union Station crosses the railway trestle bridge at St. John Street and Park Avenue. The line continues behind Hadlock Field and Fitzpatrick Stadium before ending at Forest Avenue, beside Deering Oaks Park.

The Inn at St. John (formerly the Hotel Victoria), which stands at the intersection of St. John Street and Congress Street, has been in operation since 1897.[5] Its location was chosen because of its proximity to Union Station.[6]

St. John Street was the home to Portland's first McDonald's. It is still in operation.[7]

Portland's Greyhound bus station was formerly located at the intersection of St. John Street and Congress Street.[8] The building, constructed in 1961, closed in 2019, after 32 years of ownership by Greyhound.[9] Buses now depart from the park and ride lot on Marginal Way.

## Public transportation[edit]

Greater Portland Metro's route number 1 serves St. John Street as part of its journey between Portland Transportation Center and Portland Public Library. The company's bus depot is located between St. John Street and Valley Street.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Greater Portland Landmarks - Explore St. John and Valley Street". Greater Portland Landmarks. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
2. ^ The Origins of the Street Names of the City of Portland, Maine as of 1995 – Norm and Althea Green, Portland Public Library (1995)
3. ^ Hall, Henry (1896). America's Successful Men of Affairs: The United States at large. New York tribune. p. 118.
4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
5. ^ Meil, Ari; Ashburn, Kevin; Meil, Kathleen (2006). Portland's Best: Your Brick by Brick Guide to New England's Finest City. Warren Machine Company. p. 105\. ISBN 978-0-9729410-2-0.
6. ^ "Buyer makes big investment in historic Portland inn". Press Herald. 2022-08-10. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
7. ^ "Home: Portland in the 1960s - Island Institute". www.islandinstitute.org. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
8. ^ "Mural to be completed at Portland's former Greyhound Bus Station". newscentermaine.com. November 10, 2022. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
9. ^ Forecaster, Michael KelleyThe (2019-12-17). "Greyhound's Portland bus station building up for sale". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

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