Down East magazine, has been publishing since August 1954, and continues as one of Maine's most prominent monthly magazines. Their web site's history page provides the following description:

"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.

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Submissions from 2020

The 34 Beer Taps at Novare Res Bier Café, W. G.

The A-Frames of Route 27, B. K.

The Big Three, W. G.

The Blaze-Orange Beanie, Brian Kevin

The Cutting Edge, Andrew C. Miller

The Gawler Family, B. K.

The Great Maine Scavenger Hunt (2020), Alexandra Hall

The Joy of Flax, Virginia M. Wright

The Parable of the Sower, Laura Poppick

There and Back Again, W. G.

"There's Just Something Here That Gives Us This Sense of Identity", Brian Kevin, interviewer and Kathryn Olmstead

The Return of the King?, Ted Williams

The Sam Hayward Ripple Effect, Michaela Cavallaro

The Scent of the Coast, Jennifer Lynn Craig

The Way Life Was

The Whole Maine Catalog, Brielle Hardy, Emily Silvia, and Brian Kevin

Timelines: A Governor Tries to Steal an Election, Brian Kevin

Timelines: June 1934, Elizabeth Arden Invents the Destination Spa, Susan Geib

Timelines: Lafayette National Park Becomes Acadia, Brian Kevin

Timelines: "Living the Good Life" Gets a New Life, Melissa Coleman

Timelines: Maine Gets Its Northern Crown, Will Grunewald

Timelines: Maine Launches the Last Five-Masted Schooner, David Shribman

Timelines: Mainers Form a State (Not a Commonwealth), Brian Kevin

Timelines: Percival Baxter Has a Mountaintop Epiphany, Andrew Vietze

Timelines: September 1980: Maine's Moose Hunt Charges Back, Rob Sneddon

Timelines: The Lady from Maine's Awkward Confrontation, Rachel Slade

Timelines: The Waterville Panthers Became New England Champs, Ronald Joseph

Tower Outage, W. G.

Trace Evidence, Kathryn Miles

Undeleted, Virginia M. Wright

Virtually the Same Thing, W. G.

"We're in the Business of Buying Scenery", Brian Kevin

While Self-Isolating, Get Sauced, W. G.

Woven Together, Will Grunewald

Submissions from 2019

5th Annual Down East Reader Photo Contest

A Kitchenware-lover's Banquet, Amy Sutherland

An Island Supper, Sam Sifton

Antiques Roadshow, Virginia M. Wright

Art: In the Moment, Will Grunewald

A Thomaston Turnaround?, Malcolm Bedell

Backstrap Bar & Grill, Will Grunewald

Beach Guide, Brian Kevin, Bridget M. Burns, and Jen Hazard

Beaking Out! A Dilettante's Guide to the Fine Feathered World of Maine Birding, Nicholas Lund, Brian Kevin, Maggie Nevens, and Willy Blackmore

Best of Maine 2019, The Editors

Blight Snack, Kathryn Miles

Breaking New Ground, Sara Ann Donnelly

Burnt Out, Jesse Ellison

Cage Fight, Joel Crabtree

Captain Harpswell, Brian Kevin

Charting a New Course, Philip Kiefer