"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
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
Mom's Hammer, Angela Waldron
Mo' Please!, J. C.
My Favorite Place: Clare Egan: Flatbread Company, Portland Waterfront, Jennifer Van Allen
My Favorite Place: Dajuan Eubanks, Moose River, Rockwood, Will Grunewald
My Favorite Place: Greg Paxton: Mayo Mill, Dover-Foxcroft, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Jessica Meir, Big Madawaska Lake, near Stockholm, Jennifer Van Allen
My Favorite Place: Linda Aldrich: Fort Allen Park, Eastern Promenade, Portland, Michaela Cavallaro
My Favorite Place: Nicole Maines, Fort Williams, Cape Elizabeth, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Reza Jalali, Adrienne Perron
My Favorite Place: Rich Kimball: Thuya Garden, Northeast Harbor, Sean McAdam
My Favorite Place: Roger Angell, Porch on Wells Cove, Brooklin, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Theresa Shanahan: Camden, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Titus Welliver: Ducktrap River, Lincolnville, Brian Kevin
My Maine: Notes from an Aspiring Old Salt, Sherry Barker Abaldo
My Space: Looking Fresh, Sarah Stebbins
Night of Lobster, Brian Kevin [introduction] and Robert P. Tristram Coffin [essay]
North by East: A Beacon of Cinema, Jesse Ellison
North by East: Busy as a Bee, Joel Crabtree
North by East: Cobbled Together, Jaed Coffin
North by East: Farewell to a Lewiston Pawnshop, Jaed Coffin
North by East: Hoop Dreams, Joel Crabtree
North by East: How the Bangor Daily News Became the Country's First Newspaper to Call the Presidential Election, Brian Kevin
North by East: I Was a Teenage Birding Champ, Elizabeth Peavey
North by East: Joy Ride, Kathryn Miles
North By East: Know Your Mega Resort, Katherine Englishman and Josh Christie
North by East: Lost Art, Virginia M. Wright
North by East: Remembering David Driskell, Will Grunewald
North by East: Rising in the East?, W. G.
North by East: Rock On, Joel Crabtree
North by East: Round of A-Paws, J. C.
North by East: Sails Pitch, Will Grunewald
North by East: Shell Game, Joel Crabtree
North By East: Slope Chart, Mitch Breton