Maine State Pier

The Maine State Pier is a municipal-owned deepwater marine facility and music venue located at the intersection of Commercial Street and Franklin Street on the eastern waterfront in Portland, Maine.^[1][2]

Quick Facts Location, Coordinates ...

Maine State Pier

Casco Bay Lines' Bay Mist and Aucocisco III berthed at the pier
Location	Commercial Street, Portland, Maine, U.S.
Coordinates	43.6571°N 70.2482°W / 43.6571; -70.2482 / 43.6571; -70.2482][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"},"html":"Coordinates: 43°39′26″N 70°14′54″W / 43.6571°N 70.2482°W / 43.6571; -70.2482"}">

Close

Located to the north of Maine Wharf, it was completed in 1924. In the mid-2000s, competing proposals were examined to redevelop the Maine State Pier into a tourist destination, but difficulties with state regulations and the late-2000s recession halted proposed redevelopment.^[3] In 2009, the first annual Portland Lobster Fest was held at the State Pier.^[4]

In 2009, the Portland City Council approved spending $2.4 million to redevelop the end of pier. Improvements included the creation of an outdoor music venue.^[5] In 2011, rapper Wiz Khalifa and others appeared at the venue. In 2016, Maine native Howie Day performed "Collide" and other songs at the pier. In '07, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals from Vermont played there. Boston acts Guster played there in '09, and Rachel Platten in 2015. The venue has a maximum capacity of 3,000.^[6]

During the 2011 Portland mayoral campaign, several candidates, including former State Senator Ethan Strimling made the lack of redevelopment at the Maine State Pier a key campaign issue. Many of Strimling's largest campaign donors were employees of Ocean Properties, one of the companies which sought to redevelop the pier during the 2000s.^[7]