"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 2005
"North by East" piece on statistics relating to the costs of the now-obsolete Ma
"North by East" piece on Ted Ames, Stonington lobsterman, marine biologist, and
"North by East" piece on the Casco Bay Lines $3 million passenger ferry, Aucocis
"North by East" piece on the closure of the venerable Boom Chain restaurant in G
"North by East" piece on the extremely small chance that a devastating tsunami w
"North by East" piece on the final Eastern Maine Class A basketball tournament h
"North by East" piece on the first live transatlantic standard radio broadcast b
"North by East" piece on the five warmest February days on record for Portland,
"North by East" piece on the growing number of Maine boats that are protected in
"North by East" piece on the increasing number of Mainers who are going to denti
"North by East" piece on the influx of retirees to the state, which has the thir
"North by East" piece on the landlocked Coast Guard Loran Station outside Caribo
"North by East" piece on the naming of the new Penobscot River bridge between Pr
"North by East" piece on the new glass-enclosed skywalk at the University of Sou
"North by East" piece on the perhaps too great success of the reintroduction of, Edgar Allen Beem
"North by East" piece on the pros and cons of a failed proposal in the Legislatu
"North by East" piece on the redesign of license plates for legislators, which a
"North by East" piece on the Rev. Arlene Tully of the Pleasant Street United Met
"North by East" piece on the Run of the River Committee in Skowhegan, which want
"North by East" piece on the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, w
"North by East" piece on the shifting and ambiguous boundary definitions given b
"North by East" piece on the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine's proposed amendment
"North by East" piece on the state's first commercial lobster hatchery in Stonin
"North by East" piece on the thoroughbred horse, Rockport Harbor, who is owned b
"North by East" piece on the town of Greenwood, which is noted for having unusua
"North by East" piece on the urban legend that Portland has more restaurants per
"North by East" piece on the Web site for the town of Franklin, created by Mike
"North by East" piece on this month's 21st annual Maine-Nebraska Friendship Seri
"North by East" piece on three sightings of mountain lions in Lincoln County in
"North by East" piece on Upper Kennebec Valley Memorial High School in Bingham,
"North by East" piece on Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Anim
"North by East" piece with a "helpful guide" for those who confuse Portland, Mai
"North by East" piece with some statistics on Portland, including population bre
"North by East" piece with statistics on automobiles in Maine in 1905--the year
"North by East" piece with statistics on the Scotia Prince, the seasonal ferry b
"North by East" piece with statistics on visits to Maine's ski slopes from 1984-
"North by East" statistic on Maine's teen pregnancy rate, which dropped from 14.
"North by East" statistic on the decline of the sardine industry in Maine, from
Olivia Cabot has fearlessly made over a sedate townhouse on Portland's West End, Virginia Wright
Painter Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) can be said to have "invented Monhegan" throug, John Hadley
Paramedic Kevin McGinnis of Hallowell has analyzed Maine's emergency medical ser, Andrew Vietze
Peaks Island, with a year-round population of 1,000 that triples in the summer,, Wayne Curtis
Portland dining guide and restaurant directory.
Profile of and interview with Maine native Eli Pariser, 24, who leads the online, Joshua F. Moore
Profile of ceramic artist Cathryn Schroeder Hammond, who lives with her husband, Edgar Allen Beem
Profile of Dennis and Martha "Marty" Gleason, owners of Gleason Fine Art in Boot, Edgar Allen Beem
Profile of Jill Hoy, one of the state's premier plein air painters, and her husb, Edgar Allen Beem
Profile of Lucinda Yates, of South Portland, who went from homelessness to headi, Virginia Wright
Profile of Marion Gray, 80, of Port Clyde, who has been conducting Handel's "Mes, Edgar Allen Beem
Profile of Michael Heath, 44, executive director of the Christian Civic League o, Jeff Clark