"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 2016
Feast at the Beach, Sandy Oliver; Catrine Kelty, stylist; and Michael Piazza. photographer
Fifty under $50, Laura Serino and Irvin Serrano, photographer
Fire Escape, Lance Tapley
From Our Archives. May 1995: Burn, Barrens, Burn!, [Editorial staff writers]
From Our Archives. Summer 1959: Sand Beach Solitude, [Down East editorial staff]
Game Changer: Is Rockland about to Become Maine's Artiest Town?, Virginia M. Wright
Ghost Town, Sara Anne Donnelly and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Go Deep, Greg Peters and Jamie Walter, photographer
Guide. Art: Animal Spirits, Edgar Allen Beem
Guide. Art: Creating Man, Daniel Kany
Guide. Art: Her Art is Everywhere, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Art: On Deck, Brian Kevin
Guide. Art: The Language That He Used, Kyra Spence
Guide. Book: A Kaleidoscope of White, Brian King
Guide. Book: A Life in Verse, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Book: Inside These Walls, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Book: Lovely Horrors, Will Grunewald
Guide. Book: So You Think You Know Maine?, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Book: Steven and the Dachshund, Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos
Guide. Book: Who Are We?, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Dance: Celeste! Green's! Rock! Ballet!, Will Grunewald
Guide. Dining: Anju Noodle Bar, Joe Ricchio and Meredith Perdue, photographer
Guide. Dining: Canterbury Royale, Joe Ricchio and Mark Fleming, photographer
Guide. Dining: Center Lovell Inn, Joe Ricchio and Mark Fleming, photographer
Guide. Dining: Little Village Bistro, Joe Richie and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Guide. Dining: MK Kitchen, Joe Ricchio and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Guide. Dining: Pine Point Grille, Joel Riccio and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Guide. Dining: Scales, Elizabeth Peavey and Jared Kuzia, photographer
Guide. Dining: Toroso, Michael Cavallaro and Meredith Perdue, photographer
Guide. Dining: Union, Elizabeth Peavey and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Guide. Event: A Lot on Your Plate, Brian Kevin and Erin Little, photographer
Guide. Event: Undeadheads, Joel Crabtree
Guide. Film: Filmed (Not) on Location, Clark Shepard
Guide. Film: Scoring the Archives, Joel Crabtree
Guide. Film: World of Watercraft, Will Grunewald
Guide. Hobbies: Color Me Calm, Virginia M. Wright
Guide. Indulgence: Soakology, Sarah Stebbins and Mark Fleming, photographer
Guide. Music: Aphonic Youth, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: Four and a Quarter, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: Old Tricks, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: Peace and Quiet, Brian Kevin
Guide. Music: Young Punks, Arielle Greenberg Bywater
Guide. Nightlife: Vena's Fizz House, Joe Ricchio and Douglas Merriam, photographer
Guide. Opera: Bohemian Rhapsody, Brian Kevin
Guide. Performance: True Confessions, a Storytelling Scene Grows in Lewiston at The Corner, Sara Ann Donnelly
Guide. Theater: Out of the Shadows, Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos
Guide. Theater: So You'd Like to See Summer Shakespeare in Maine!, Brian Kevin
He Is Not the Champion, My Friend, Brian Kevin
I Dream of Dahlias, Naomi Graychase and Margaret Rizzio, illustrator
Into the Wild(ish), Brian Kevin; Dom Casserly, photographer; and Jarrod McCabe, photographer