Historic Portland Building Saved by Gorham Savings Bank – See the History in Photos

One of the last buildings left standing from the old Grand Trunk Railroad in Portland has been saved after Gorham Savings Bank purchased the building with plans for new offices. 

Gorham Savings Bank already owned the first floor of the building at the corner of India and Commercial streets and completed the purchase of the remaining two floors as the property become attractive with the proposed redevelopment of the adjacent Portland Company Complex, which was originally owned by the Grand Trunk Railroad as well. The bank plans to renovate the building into new office spaces and will take steps to make sure it is properly preserved.

The Grand Trunk building was built in 1903 and served as the offices for the railroad and steamship company. The building that stands at the corner of India and Commercial streets in Portland was part of a beautiful railroad station.

The railroad station was torn down in the 1960's with the decline of passenger rail service, but the office building continued to be used until the mid 1980's as freight service on the Grand Trunk line from Portland to Montreal remained active.

In this photo you can see what the building and rail yard looked like in 1978.

And here's a comparison photo of what the area looked like in 1978 and 2010.

The rail yard behind the office in the shot below is now Thames Street, The Ocean Gateway Terminal and a walking path around the Eastern Prom.

This is what it looks like today

Rail service to the waterfront ended in the 80's when an arsonist set fire to the rail trestle connecting the Deering area with the Portland Peninsula. A few years later the railroad was sold and just a few months ago the current owners stopped servicing Portland completely when it became too costly to run from Lewiston to the B&M Baked Beans plant.

The Grand Trunk office building had been on Greater Portland Landmarks list of building in peril, but with the new purchase and planned renovation, it appears this century old part of Portland History will be here for many more years to come.