The Maine Mall in South Portland is Over 50 Years Old

The Maine Mall in South Portland is 53 years old.

That's amazing. If you follow the timeline of the mall, you can see when it was in its heyday and when the decline of malls started to happen. But when malls were the place to be, shop, and socialize, there was no place better than The Maine Mall.

The fun of this picture from a Facebook post of The Maine Mall is the surrounding area. You can recognize the triangle of IHOP, the circle building of the Sheraton, and all that empty undeveloped land. The Maine Mall started in 1971 (according to Wikipedia), two years after Jordan Marsh opened their only Maine store in 1969. The Maine Mall also included Sears. In the last 50 years, some of the biggest named stores have come and gone:

• Porteous
• Filene's
• Sports Authority
• Jordan Marsh
• Woolworth's
• Lechmere
• Linens 'n Things
• Bon-Ton
• Sears
• Forever 21

A lot has happened to the Maine Mall and the surrounding area in 50 years

So many stores have come and gone, and malls in general have had a hard time of it. They are a bit old school in an age of AI and internet shopping. But nothing beats a day at the mall. A trip to the food court, and you will definitely get your steps in if you are there at Christmas. You'd never know that the Maine Mall might be having trouble with customers by the parking lot, which is always filled.

There's a lot of nostalgia for the Maine Mall. I hope it's around for another 50 years.