"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 2006
"What's in a Picture?" piece on a photo taken by Joseph Coburn Smith to provide, Joshua F. Moore
"What's in a Picture?" piece on Maine state senator Arnold Peabody of Houlton, w, Joshua F. Moore
"What's in a Picture?" piece on photographer Philip
"What's in a Picture?" piece on photo of a man in a primitive diving suit prepar, Joshua F. Moore
"What's in a Picture?" piece on Registered Maine Guide Charley Miller, who set u, Joshua F. Moore
"What's in a Picture?" piece on the Broiler Festival, which was first held in 19, Joshua F. Moore
"What's in a Picture?" piece on the last self-portrait taken by Chansonetta Stan, Joshua F. Moore
"What's in a Picture?" piece on the USS Montauk, which dropped anchor near Portl, Joshua F. Moore
Submissions from 2005
"150 Reasons to Give Thanks We Live in Maine," including Route 11 between Fort K
A beach house built on the footprint of a tear-down house in Biddeford Pool is t, Rebecca Martin Evarts
A boathouse adjacent to a station-master's house was once part of a Coast Guard, Patrick McManus
A brief list of the wonders of Maine's winters, which snowbirds miss when they s
According to "Pizza Marketing Quarterly," Maine has more pizza shops per capita, Andy King
A detailed article on June bugs, with information contributed by Dick Dearborn,, Ken Textor
After living in their home on the slopes of Mount Battie for 15 years, Stephen a, Edgar Allen Beem
A guide to the cryptic codes for Maine's unorganized townships and plantations,
A guide to "the Maine Hippie Trail," featuring the Hempstock festival in Starks,
A home in Deer Isle evolved into something greater than the sum of its parts thr, Joshua F. Moore
A look at Portland's Barber Foods, which has assembled Maine's most diverse work, Abby Zimet
A look behind the scenes at Maine Public Radio and its award-winning daily radio, Michaela Cavallaro
A multiple-choice Portland trivia test, containing questions about the city's hi
An article about a winter trip the author took with Maine artist Marguerite Robi, Elizabeth Peavey
An article about Fryeburg, through which winds 20 miles of the Saco River, near, Virginia Wright
An article on Aldermere Farm in Rockport, land which gentleman farmer Albert H., Richard Grant
An article on double-crested cormorants or "shags," which the Rockland-based gro, Ken Textor
An article on East Machias, a community whose ties to the past remain visibly in, Virginia Wright
An article on growing Siberian squill (Scilla sibirica), early-blooming bulbs th, Rebecca Sawyer-Fay
An article on how the author gets bitten by the antiquing bug during an off-seas, Elizabeth Peavey
An article on lichen, "a cross-kingdom alliance between a fungus and a plant (i, Richard Grant
An article on Rick Tibbetts, 47, a professional forager of every type of wild ed, Michael Sanders
An article on the $32-million renovation of the Maine State House, started in 19, Edgar Allen Beem
An article on the emblematic Maine pickup truck and what it signifies about thos, James R. Babb
An essay by author Paul Theroux on his solitary winter stay at a primitive cabin, Paul Theroux
A photo essay on Portland's Old Port bar scene on a Saturday night--when the are, Melonie Bennett
A photoessay on Sarah Jeanne's Family Hair Care in Lewiston, which offers massag, Melonie Bennett
A recap of a surprise upset fight in 1965 at Lewiston's Central Maine Youth Cent, Rob Sneddon
As taxes have increased on the Maine coast, more homeowners are renting their ho, Joshua F. Moore
At Acadia National Park, 230 employees and 2,500 volunteers build and maintain 1, Abby Zimet
At Maine's annual Becoming an Outdoors-Woman weekend, sponsored by the Maine Dep, Elizabeth Peavey
Because of the number of Maine towns choosing to become unorganized territory un, Jeff Clark
Congressman Thomas Brackett Reed Jr. of Portland is on most lists of great U.S., Jim Brunelle
Despite its gritty reputation, Rumford is more than a typical mill town. Oxford, Monica Wood
Despite Rockland's renaissance, it still retains a sense of its blue collar orig, Virginia Wright
"Dining Down East" piece on a reprint of Helen (Leidy) Hamlin's classic memoir o, Andrew Vietze
"Dining Down East" piece on Argentinean-born chef Alejandro Rave of Thistles Res, Mike Woelflein
"Dining Down East" piece on Blue Spoon on Portland's Munjoy Hill, David Iovino's, Andy King
"Dining Down East" piece on Francine in Camden, run by chef-owner Brian Hill. H, Brooke Dojny
"Dining Down East" piece on Maine native Norm Jabar and the three popular Portla, Michaela Cavallaro
"Dining Down East" piece on One Fifty Ate in South Portland, a loose cooperative, Michael Sanders
"Dining Down East" piece on Porte Rouge in Waterville, which came into existence, Michael Sanders