The Golden Triangle Was The Last Undeveloped Part of Downtown Portland, Maine

The City of Portland has seen a lot of development recently. Lots of hotels, condos and office buildings have been constructed over the past decade and there's no sign of it stopping. The latest project to get underway is a building that will claim the title of the tallest residential building in Maine.

Even though we're seeing a rush of new construction, most of the downtown area of Portland has been pretty much developed already. But back in 1982, a parking lot called "The Golden Triangle" was snatched up as the last undeveloped spot left in Portland to build One City Center.

According to a 2011 article from Portland Monthly Magazine, the 160-car parking lot that was bordered by Middle, Federal and Temple streets, giving it its name of the Golden Triangle, was the most valuable piece of property in the entire state. The city was ready to cash in and sold it to a developer who built One City Center at a cost of $22 million. A steal compared to what it costs to build today. It opened in 1987 and it is now home to Townsquare Media and its radio stations.

But before the building went up, the area had a much different look. These pictures shared in the Portland Maine History 1786 to Present Facebook group show what the parking lot looked like then.

The street you see on the left is Middle Street which use to run from Monument Square to what is now the intersection of Temple and Middle. That section of Middle Street was cut off when One City Center was built and converted to a brick walkway.

The second picture shows the view of The Golden Triangle from Monument Square where you could see all the way to the Temple Street parking garage.

For comparison's sake, here are two similar, recent photos we've taken over the past couple of years. They aren't exactly in the same locations, but close.

Portland continues to evolve, so maybe in 2051 we'll compare how things have changed again.