"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
Good Things from Maine: The Fabric of Her Life, Jesse Ellison
Good Things from Maine: The Fleece Goes On, Amy Sutherland
Green Acres, Katy Kelleher
Hard Water Heritage, Michael D. Wilson
Heed the Plow, V. M. W.
House Tour: Field of Dreams, Jen DeRose
House Tour: High Style, Scott Hanson
House Tour: Innkeeper's Quarters, Jesse Ellison
House Tour: Room to Grow, Sarah Stebbins
House Tour: Slopeside Retreat, Jen DeRose
Keeping the Beat, W. G.
Larva-Hate Relationship, Laura Poppick
Last Raconteur Standing?, Brian Kevin
Lobsterboat Races, Charlotte Wilder
Love Builds a Garden, Lynette L. Walther
Magnum Opus, Will Grunewald
Maine Gives Back, Down East staff writers
Maine Homes: Garden: A Cheerful Mess, Virginia M. Wright
Maine Homes: Garden: Wild and Contained, Andrew Miller
Maine Homes: House Tour: Back to the Beach, Rachel Slade
Maine Homes: House Tour: Upta Camp - For Good, Jesse Ellison
Maine Homes: House Tour: Victorian Panache, Virginia M. Wright
Maker Spaces: Two for the Road, Jen DeRose
My Favorite Place: Abdi Nor Iftin: Big Falls Preserve, New Gloucester, Jennifer Van Allen
My Favorite Place: Bill Green, Bradford Camps, T8 R10 WELS, Virginia M. Wright
My Favorite Place: David Brancaccio, Lubec Channel, Lubec, Sarah Stebbins
My Favorite Place: David Whitney, Coburn Mountain, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Dr. Marie Battiste, Nickerson Lake, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Dr. Sean Birkel, Baxter State Park, Joel Crabtree
My Favorite Place: Habib Dagher: UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center, Orono, Virginia M. Wright
My Favorite Place: Jesse Labreck, Three-Cornered Pond, Augusta, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: Virginia M. Wright: Little Hunters Beach, Acadia National Park, Brian Kevin
My Favorite Place: William King: Stonehouse Farm, Bath, Brian Kevin
My Maine, Ted Gup
My Space: Shared Vision, Virginia M. Wright
Nordic Tracks, W. G.
North by East: "In Shah We Trust", Will Grunewald
North by East: Kuplink, Kuplank, Pétanque!, Jaed Coffin
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: 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 Movies: Back to the Future, W. G.
Oddball Museums, V. M. W.