"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 2019
North by East: Company Men, Will Grunewald
North by East: Fireside Flip-Throughs, Emmeline Willey
North by East: Saws for a Cause, Will Grunewald
North by East: Say Uncle!, Bridget M. Burns
North by East: Sign Language, Jaed Coffin
North By East; The Maine Woods: Last Stand, Philip Kiefer
North by East: Whole Yacht of Love, Brian Kevin
Nowhere Land, Virginia M. Wright and Michael D. Wilson, photographer
Oceans 7, Will Grunewald and Gabe Souza, photographer
Offshore, Gabe Souza, photographer
Once More Across the Lake, Jennifer Finney Boylan and Michael D. Wilson, photographer
Our Cups Runneth Over, Kate McCarty
Outdoors; Twilight of the Diehards: Baxter State Park retires an age-old and way cold tradition, Brian Kevin
Painted into a Corner, Edgar Allen Beem
Peak Season, Chris Bennett, Andrew Drummond, Chris Shane, and Jamie Walter
Portraits of Courage, Rogier van Bakel
Premium Channels, Minibar, In-Room Poetry, Joel Crabtree
Ramble On, Genevieve Morgan
RIP, Portland Phoenix, 1999-2019, The Editors
Room with a View: A Book is a Sneeze, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: A Gift of Birds, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a view: a winter garden, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Going to See the Ducks, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Leaving the Land, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: North Bend Road, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Paddling Together, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: Spring Rain, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: The Beautiful Bones, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room With a View; The Chicken Shed, Susan Hand Shetterly
Room with a View: To Catch the Morning Sun, Susan Hand Shetterly
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Katy Kelleher and Ian Rothwell, illustrator
Slippery Business, Willy Blackmore
Small Farms, Big Ideas, W. G.
Snow Farm, Jaed Coffin
Snow Reservations, Will Grunewald and Jennifer Hazard
Soak it Up, The Editors
Taking It to the Streets, J. C.
Tales of the Hunt, The Editors
Taste Buds, Will Grunewald
The 35 Maine-iest Foods, Mark Fleming, photographer; Catrine Kelty, food stylist; and The Editors
Theater: Knight Moves, Will Grunewald
The Cruise Ships Are Coming, Will Grunewald, Joel Crabtree, and Joyce Kryszak
The Feel-Good Film Geek of the Year, Joel Crabtree
The Goodly River, Tristan Spinski
The Great Maine Scavenger Hunt (2019), Joel Crabtree, Brian Kevin, Kendra Caruso, Jennifer Van Allen, and Virginia M. Wright
The Hoot, Will Grunewald
The Kids are Alright, Jillian Bedell
The Long Haul, Suzanne Rico
The Miller's Table at Maine Grains, Malcolm Bedell
The Monson Experiment, Amy Sutherland