"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 2021
Food & Drink: Fish Sticks, Jillian Bedell
Good Things from Maine: Are You Not Entertained?, Adrienne Perron
Good Things From Maine: Common Threads, Sarah Stebbins
Good Things From Maine: Felt Cute, Adrienne Perron
Good Things From Maine: Fine Feathers, Jennifer Lynn Craig
Good Things from Maine: Hot Seats, S. S.
Good Things From Maine: Learning from the Passé, A. P.
Good Things From Maine: Map Quest, Sarah Stebbins
Good Things From Maine: Office Mates, Sara Anne Donnelly
Good Things From Maine: Off-Peninsula Picks, Jen Derose
Good Things from Maine: On with the Shows, A. P.
Good Things from Maine: Petal Peddler, Jesse Ellison
Good Things from Maine: Piece by Piece, Jesse Ellison
Good Things from Maine: Prints and the Revolution, Adrienne Perron
Good Things from Maine: Prints and the Revolution, Adrienne Perron
Good Things From Maine: Putting a Lid on It, Sara Anne Donnelly ["as told to"]
Good Things From Maine: Suits Herself, Adrienne Perron
Good Things from Maine: the Wood for the Trees, A. P.
Good Things from Maine: This Place Blows (In a Sense), Brian Kevin
Good Things From Maine: To the Hilt, Adrienne Perron
Good Things from Maine: Tough Love, Sara Anne Donnelly
Handmade Heritage, Brian Kevin
Happy Couples, Katy Kelleher
History: Goldie and Brownie, Kate ver Ploeg
House Tour: Clean Slate, Sarah Stebbins
House Tour: Glamp Camp, Sara Anne Donnelly
House Tour: Merry and Bright, Virginia M. Wright
House Tour: Thrift Score, Jesse Ellison
Keep Calm and Carry Out, Will Grunewald
Knoll Love Lost, Bridget M. Burns
Kofta the Races, Virginia M. Wright
Let Them Eat Doughnuts!, Katy Kelleher
Maine Homes: A Stopgap Study, Brian Kevin
Maine Homes: Family Tradition, Virginia M. Wright
Maine Homes: Good Fences, Sara Anne Donnelly
Maine Homes: House Tour: a Home of Her Own, Rachel Slade
Maine Homes: House Tour: East Meets West, Sara Anne Donnelly
Maine Homes: House Tour: Fresh Start, Sara Anne Donnelly
Maine Homes: House Tour: Launching Pad, Sarah Stebbins
Maine Homes: House Tour: Old is New, Sarah Stebbins
Maine Homes: House Tour: Once More to the Lakefront, Sarah Stebbins
Maine Homes: Labor of Love, Aurelia C. Scott
Maine Homes: Landmark Decisions, Brian Kevin
Maine Homes: Sweatin' to the Oldies, Sara Anne Donnelly
Maine Summer is Back: Your Regional Guide, Brian Kevin, Bridget M. Burns, Joyce Kryszak, Mira Ptacin, and Samuel Wheeler
Main Street Moxie, Jesse Ellison, Will Grunewald, Brian Kevin, and Adrienne Perron
Make Way for Dumplings, W. G.
Memories of Ice, Wild and Thin, Porter Fox
Mic Drop, W. G.
Migrationland, Rachel Slade