Board your air-conditioned transport for a scenic drive through Portland, voted one of America’s “most livable towns” by Forbes Magazine. You’ll travel along the Eastern Promenade, which features breathtaking views of Casco Bay and the Calendar Islands. You’ll continue on past the Portland Observatory, the new Arts district, and Old Port, the city’s thriving commercial and business community. Then you’ll head out for some of Maine’s historic lighthouses. Standing strong on Casco Bay’s coastline is a trio of lighthouses that are architecturally different yet talk about the same purpose. Designed to help ships get around Portland’s rocky shoreline, many have been restored and each offers a glimpse back at Maine’s history.
The Portland Breakwater lighthouse is well known locally as the “Bug Light” because at 27 feet in height, it’s shorter than the common lighthouse. Built in 1875 and considered by many as the most elegant of most Maine’s lighthouses, the design was modeled after an ancient Greek monument built-in the 4th century BC.
Nearby is the Liberty Ship Memorial commemorating the ships that were built during World War II. The Spring Point Ledge lighthouse beckons next. Constructed in 1891 after many vessels ran aground on the area’s dangerous rocky coast, it’s still used today as an active help to navigation. The final lighthouse is Portland Head Light the oldest lighthouse in Maine.
Commissioned by President Washington in 1797 and dedicated by the Marquis de Lafayette, it was the first lighthouse completed by the newly created U.S. Register of Historic …
