Maine Places to Love: Parkside

Portland’s Parkside neighborhood, on the north side of the city’s peninsula, takes its name from Deering Oaks, the 55-acre, multi-use park that dates to 1879 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. A mix of house styles – many multifamily, many architecturally distinctive – and high-profile local businesses, Parkside is where you can find Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs, and the venerable Expo, where the NBA G League Maine Red Claws play.

April 18, 1994: Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs Triple-A baseball team, opened. Its seating capacity is now 7,368.
$900: The cost to build the skaters’ “waiting room,” better known as the Castle, in Deering Oaks. The building was designed by Portland architect Frederick A. Tompson in 1894.
April 11, 1897: The first Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Sacred Heart on Mellen Street. The site was the chapel, since the church was not fully built. (portlandcatholic.org)
260 acres: Size of the Nathaniel Deering farm (est. 1761). From it, 55-acre Deering Oaks Park was created, beginning in 1879. (tclf.org/landscapes/deering-oaks)
To market, to market: A farmers market is held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, April through November, at Deering Oaks. (portlandkidscalendar.com)
Edson B. Hadlock, Jr.: The Sea Dogs stadium’s name honors the man who taught physics, coached Portland High baseball from 1950-1978, and is in the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. (wiki; baseballpilgrimages.com)
$80,944: The cost of building The Expo, also designed by Frederick Tompson, in 1914. Today, it’s the home court of Boston Celtics affiliate the Maine Red Claws.
Historic blocks: A portion of Parkside, bordered by High, State and Mellen streets and Park Avenue, is in the Deering Street Historic District. (portlandmaine.gov)
Standing since 1924: “The Hiker” statue in Deering Oaks “commemorates the American soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion and the Filipino-American War.” (publicartportland.org)
2 million a year: Number of potato doughnuts handmade by the Holy Donut, which opened on Park Avenue in 2012 and has expanded to two more locations. (theholydonut.com)

Sign In: