Portland Observatory

Kirk was a wonderful tour guide. Before starting the tour, he asked each of us where we were from and related that to a lot of the history that he informed us about Portland. Take the tour to the top! The view is beautiful! The wooden stairs may be a little scary to walk on, but not too bad. It may not be for those who have trouble walking. This observatory is the signal tower that used to notify the city what ships were approaching the harbor. It is amazing that it is still standing. At every floor we discussed a piece of Portland history. It was a great experience and very informative.

The observatory itself has beautiful views. I give the observatory 4 stars.
Our tour guide? 0 stars. And that’s being generous. We were a family of 4, two preteen daughters and a mid-30’s couple. There was an early-60’s couple with us on the tour. The tour guide spoke directly to the other couple and never made eye contact with us or our kids. Our kids aren’t allowed to be on their cell phones on tours– they have to be respectful and ask appropriate questions. She would not let them ask any questions– and they had relevant and appropriate questions.
We wanted to jump off the tower and run away. I felt so trapped.
It was the most ignored I’ve ever felt on a tour. She actually held things up like the flags and turned her back to us and showed it to the other couple and wouldn’t let us see. As we moved to see, she turned them away from us.
It was incredibly disappointing. I don’t need to be catered to, but at least pretending like we exist would be a nice start.
My daughters are both history buffs and left incredibly frustrated.

Great experience! Everything from the initial greeting to the informative tour guide and the amazing views. Looking out at the greater Portland area was awesome with the architecture, the water and the views of the city. I live in Denver and I will tell you that I never wanted to leave.
Coastal cities are so much more impressive in my opinion.

Take it to the Top
On our third visit to Portland, we can’t believe we missed this wonderful bit of early Portland history.
Take the tour, our guide added much to the experience. The views, the history and the wood timber construction are a wonder.
Note: This tour goes up a very narrow wooden staircase. This tour is not for the mobility challenged.

Cool views 360 degrees. 6 flights up. Free the day I went so it was a great deal. Not sure what regular admission is. Not sure I would pay much to go up but it was very pretty up there.

Great piece of history right in Downtown Portland. It’s not a lighthouse in the middle of the city; it’s the only remaining signal tower in North America. It was used to signal to the city what ships were coming into the harbor. Your guide takes you up to the top floor by floor, discussing the history bit-​by-​bit on every level. It’s nice since it’s not a straight, athletically challenging, run to the top. After learning all about the building you are rewarded with a great view of the city.

The observatory seems to be well maintained and the staff was knowledgable. Each floor has some displays and the guide tells you all about what it was like to be around Portland in the 1700s. It’s interesting and cool and stuff and the view is nice. Worth it if you have time otherwise no need to squeeze it in.

This is supposedly the last surviving maritime observatory in the United States. They have tours every 30 minutes, and each tour has a different guide, so your experience may vary based on which guide you get.
What is a maritime observatory, and how does it differ from a lighthouse? How was the observatory built in 1807 using primitive technology, and how did it remain a viable for-​profit business between 1807 and 1923? Why is Fore Street curvy and why are so many of the buildings along it built using bricks rather than wood? Why was Portland such a busy port in its past, and why did it use to have grain silos on the waterfront?
These were just some of the questions that I learned the answer to on my tour of this building. Yeah, at the end you get a great panoramic view of Portland (as well as Mt. Washington), but on the way up you learn not just the history of the Observatory, but the history of Portland.

It’s worth going here once if you’re on vacation. They offer AAA discounts for admission. I’m not sure what the tour schedule is like, but we waited for roughly 15 minutes. It might be worth calling ahead. The tour guide was a nice little old man who was knowledgeable of the history of the observatory and the city of Portland. He also gave us some tips on other places to check out in the area.

Super cool building; a true structural marvel.
The bonus: by going up to the tour you get to get a gorgeous 360 degree view of Portland from up top of the observatory! The tour was worth the price: you have to be ready to walk up all the stairs, but the views up top are well worth it.
The tour guides are all volunteers who love history and Maine and apparently have to be pretty fit to keep going up and down these all day long. The tour is discounted for Portland residents (only $ 5) and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something short and fun to do for a day.

Pros: Last surviving maritime signal tower in the US with sweeping view of Casco Bay.
Cons: Tour is over-​priced. Guides can’t provide anymore information than what is written on the displays.

The Porland Observatory was a fantastic stop on our New England Road Trip, and I’m so glad we stopped here. So interesting. It was $ 9 when we went, but they gave us the AAA discount ($ 8). We went on a cold, breezy day in late September, and while it was cold at the top, the view was great.
Our tour guide was Jim, who was fantastic. We ended up with another couple on his last tour of the day (around 3pm), so he said we could spend as much time at the top as we wanted, which was great. You could tell that he really enjoyed «working» at the Observatory (in quotations because it’s all volunteer work), and we spent about 30 minutes at the top talking about the surrounding area and local legends/​gossip and extra tidbits that may not have made it on the regular tour. We were really lucky to catch Jim at the time we did.
If you’re worried about the climb, don’t be. It’s about 6 stories, but you stop on each floor, so you’re really only climbing one flight, then stopping for 5 – 7 minutes, then another flight, etc. Totally doable for most people.

Interesting to learn about the building, some of the history of Portland, and to see the view of Portland and Casco Bay. Recommend.

An excellent experience overall that gave us an opportunity to learn about the history of Portland. We found our volunteer guide to be friendly, interesting, and engaging. He was a bit scattered at times, and seemed to know more about the history of Portland than the actual structure itself– but this was just fine with us.
I understand that this place was in poor repair for a number of years, but it’s now a protected site by the National Park Service and state.

The husband and I were in Portland for only one day and stumbled across the Observatory. We were initially disappointed that we couldn’t climb to the top by ourselves, but we ended up liking the tour. It’s volunteer led by locals and it gave us a good sense of the history of Portland as well as the surrounding geography. Everyone in our tour group were first time visitors to Portland, so our guide pointed out some other places of the interest that we might be interested in visiting.
The climb is not strenuous at all (if you’re climbed the Bunker Hill monument in Boston, it’s nothing like that) and you pause on every floor as the guide tells you about the observatory. There are chairs to sit down on if you need them.
We were there on an overcast, dreary day, but the view from the top was still very nice and I enjoyed snapping some pics of Portland.

Obsertevory now turned meusum. Price is expensive. $ 7 per adult and you will finish in 20 min. Guide did not have speciic information but had only general knowledge. Guide was more interested in the tourist and not the tower. Only good thing is to get a great view of the city.

It’s a pretty good tour; you get a sense of local history & time at the top to take photos of Portland. It’s a good spot to take panoramic photos. Go on a clear sunny day if possible.

For a nice view in an old lighthouse, the Portland Observatory is a good stop to make. This was the first place we checked out when we arrived and enjoyed the views and making our way up with a little tour with some Portland lighthouse edumacation. The top can be a bit chilly and really windy so beware of getting hair whipped.

Whenever I’m traveling to a new town, I love to climb up church spires, clock towers, whatever is available to get a good look down at the city I’m visiting. In Portland, this need was met with the Observatory.
You have to climb up in a small group led by a tour guide. These guides are all volunteers, so you know they are here because they truly love what they do — sharing the history of Portland with guests. Our guide was named Bill, and he knew everything I could have wanted to know about the Observatory and Portland itself at the time of its construction.
The tour stops at each level (there are 4) to give you additional perspective on the work involved in the initial construction and the two subsequent restorations of the tower. There are many pictures, maps, and diagrams to show what Portland looked like 200 years ago when construction began and how important the tower was to the port city.
The climb up the tower is relatively untaxing. The steps are a touch uneven (as they were back in 1807), but there is a handrail. I can’t see it posing much of a problem to small children or older adults.
The top offers an incredible 360-​degree view of the city and harbor. The entire trip up is worth is for the view of the sailboats in Casco Bay. Magical.

A place
to see
the sea.
Portland Observatory is a 86 feet high tower located in Munjoy Hill. It was built in 1807, and is now a museum. There’s a cool little giftshop at the bottom floor where we bought some postcards and trinkets. and to get to the top you have to climb some rather creaky wooden steps. Not a bad climb and the tour guide stops at every floor and talks about the history of the observatory. I think our tour guide was named Judy, and she knew just about everything there was to know about that place. She also was kinda funny in a dry sort of way.
The best part is when you get to the top. We were fortunate to have a sunny, clear day, and we could actually see Mt Washington in the distance. Looking south gave great views of the bay and islands. The Portland Observatory is a cool place for anyone interested in history or just wants some great views.