"The goal of Down East has always been to hold a mirror up to Maine — its storied past and lively present — and to celebrate its flinty, independent character and unhurried way of life. As Maine has changed with the times, however, so has Down East. Today the state has come to embrace its future as well as its past. Accordingly, the magazine now focuses more on contemporary Maine life and what the future might bring and less on historical background and quaint rusticity. Booming circulation and advertising gains demonstrate the wisdom of this editorial shift."
Portland Public Library's collection of Down East is complete, and begins with the first issue, August 1954. The hard copies are available in the Portland Room.
Submissions from 2022
My Favorite Place: Chase Morrill: Muleskinner, Saddleback Mountain, Rangeley, Adrienne Perron
My Favorite Place: Dan Cashman, Camp Natarswi, Baxter State Park, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Dr. Sarah Parcak: Seal Harbor Beach, Mount Desert Island, Jesse Ellison
My Favorite Place: Erin Ovalle, Greenville, Adrienne Perron
My Favorite Place: Ian Trask: Bowdoin College's Organic Garden, Brunswick, Joel Crabtree
My Favorite Place: Isabella Feracci: The Apprenticeshop Shop Floor, Rockland, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Nicolàs Alberto Dosman: Portland Headlight, Cape Elizabeth, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Noël Bonam: George Brook Flowage, Motahkomikuk, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Oniqueky Samuels, Lonesome Pine Trails, Fort Kent, Will Grunewald
My Favorite Place: Terry Gerritsen, Lobster Lake, Piscataquis County, Bridget M. Burns
Nirav Shah is Ambivalent About his Celebrity (and Uncommonly Curious and Deliberate About Everything Else), Jesse Ellison
North by East: Artistic Feat, Joel Crabtree
North by East: a Sight to Seed, Will Grunewald
North by East: Borderline Crazy, Peter Andrey Smith
North by East: Branching Out, Peter Andrey Smith
North by East: Center Stage, Will Grunewald
North by East: Danny Mejia Runs This Town, David Howard
North by East: Deep Secrets, Michelle Christle
North by East: Holmes Turf, Brian Kevin
North by East: Last Picture Show, Kathryn Miles
North by East: Monumental Undertaking, Lynette L. Walther
North by East: One Dam Thing After Another, Joel Crabtree
North by East: Opportunity Knox, Brian Kevin
North by East: Out of its Shell, Will Grunewald
North by East: Prepare for Liftoff?, Jaed Coffin
North by East: Puppet Master, W. G.
North by East: Rescue Mission, Jean Kerr
North by East: Spilt Milk, Catie Joyce-Bulay
North by East: The Big Picture, Catie Joyce-Bulay
North by East: The Bus Stops Here, Jaed Coffin
North by East: the Colossus of Prospect Harbor, Joel Crabtree
North by East: The Great Maine Song Book, Joel Crabtree
North by East: the Iceman Carveth, Will Grunewald
North by East: The Iconic, Ironic Boat and Tote, Adrienne Perron
North by East: Vertical Integration, Will Grunewald
North by East: Wild and Wooly, Will Grunewald
North by Northeast: In the Same Boat, Jaed Coffin
Not Out of the Woods, Kate Ver Ploeg
Off-Grid Influencers, Jesse Ellison
Old York State of Mind, Brian Kevin
Over the Ocean Blue, Joe Ricchio
Park Service, Will Grunewald
"Photography Was the Way Out for Him", Jennifer Finney Boylan and Alec Hartman, photographer
Polar Plunge, Michaela Cavallaro
Putting Down Roots, Amber Kapiloff
Quite a Hosta Roster, Aurelia C. Scott
Rags to Riches, Sara Anne Donnelly
Raze Gone By, Brian Kevin
Rock of Ages, Susan Conley
Room With a View: A Climate of Sun and Fun?, Philip Conkling