Summertime and Portland is Easy, But This Was Not [PHOTOS]

A few days ago, I posted some pictures of a historic place within the boundaries of Portland.  Quite the place!Some of us know this place, the Thomas Gill House, was all that stood in it's neighborhood after a horrendous fire...or, two.  Lots of us know that the house is a french-fry throw from a favorite "social establishment."

The address changed from #8 to #52 Center St. in Portland, at one point when the street was rezoned. And, the Thomas Gill House has seen a variety of tenants.  Starting with Gill, himself, #52 was his store-front, then a welcoming tenement house,  and "Fraternity" House. (In the 1800's a frat house was, "a place of pleasant resort where people, especially young people, may be surrounded by wholesome and elevating influences." CREDIT: Maine Irish Heritage Trail Portland Site Number 25 by Matthew Jude Barker.

As we've learned over the years, many of Portland's historic buildings have been used for other things...which is good, because you don't want to see a great structure go un-used.  And, new tenants mean the place is kept up. No longer housing a "fraternity", the Thomas Gill House now hosts a chiropractor's office, a power and energy consultant and a design company. All small business people, as Thomas Gill, himself, was, when the house was first built.

There you go.  I've had a good time checking out Portland for our Quest. There's a lot to our town--get out and see it all.  Enjoy the Holiday!