"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 2020
North by East: "In Shah We Trust", Will Grunewald
North by East: Kuplink, Kuplank, Pétanque!, Jaed Coffin
North by East: Larger Than Life, Joel Crabtree
North by East: Maine Dispatches, Down East staff writers
North by East: Maine or Bust?, Will Grunewald
North by East: Pretty State of Affairs, Buzz Poole
North by East: Rock of Ages, Will Grunewald
North by East: See Saws, Will Grunewald
North by East: See the Forest for the Trees, Will Grunewald
North by East: Service, Please!, Frances Killea
North by East: Sharp as Ever, Kaitlyn Schwalje
North by East: Sign of the Times, Peter Andrey Smith
North By East: Some Barn!, Joel Crabtree
North by East: The Art of Peace, Jaed Coffin
North By East: the Day the Music Died, Kate McCarty
North By East: The Movies: Back to the Future, W. G.
Oddball Museums, V. M. W.
Old Home Place, David Howard
Our Cheese Culture, V. M. W.
Our Favorite (Loud) Maine Sounds, B. K.
Out of the Classroom, Onto the Front Line
Panel Discussion, Sara Anne Donnelly
Path Breaker, Jesse Ellison
Port in a Storm, Jaed Coffin
Portland Lives Up to the Hype, B. K.
Pour Farmers, Will Grunewald
Pour One Out, Joe Ricchio
Pre-Digital Connectivity, Michael Burke
Rick Charette's Greatest Hits, Joel Crabtree
Rockport Has a Lot of Views, Virginia M. Wright
Room with a View: A Sense of Time, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Farewell My Lovelies!, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Home on the Range, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Interesting Times, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Little Moose Island, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Memory and Desire, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room With a View: Ode to an Apple Tree, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Singing in the Half-Light, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room With a View: The Art of Sauntering, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: The First Years, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Wonderful Things, Susan Hand Shetterly
Roots Run Deep, Rachel Slade
Royal Tannenbaums, Jesse Ellison
Second Helpings, Jesse Ellison
Segment One, Brian Kevin and Pamola Creative photographers
Seguinland, Anne Witty
Shoptalk: Blade Runners, Sara Anne Donnelly
Simply Gourd-geous, W. G.
Snack to the Future, Joel Crabtree
Stalking the Antlered Lamp, Virginia M. Wright