Portland City Hall
Portland City Hall
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
17 reviews
Excellent
5
Very good
8
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
1
NHjo
Saco, ME13,191 contributions
Oct 2021
Portland City Hall is a u-shaped granite building that was built in 1909 and sits on a rise above Old Port. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's one of the more majestic city halls I've seen. (My favorite city hall in Maine, though, is the one in Bath).
Written 17 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Not my real name
Peaks Island, ME92 contributions
Dec 2019 • Solo
I’m in and out of City Hall a lot. Paying my taxes, registering the car, attending City Council meetings... it is a city hall. It may look cool from the outside and Merrill Auditorium is spectacular. But overall, the city hall building is nothing fancy (unless you are the City Manager or sit in Council Chambers). The higher up you are in the food chain, the better your digs. Great workers btw.
Written 5 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tim B
Portland, ME19 contributions
Aug 2017 • Friends
City Hall is not that exciting, but it's attached to the Merrill Auditorium. The auditorium is the venue for many pop concerts, opera, ballet, and the excellent Portland Symphony Orchestra. It's a fairly small venue - 1900 seats. Sound is actually best in the balconies, but the room is acoustically excellent overall. It's also the home of the nationally famous and recently restored Kotschmar organ, a huge pipe organ with amazing sound and a fantastic array of special effects. Great by itself, as part of the symphonic repertoire, and even for popular silent-movie nights. Search for Merrill Auditorium on Wikipedia for more info and links.
Written 8 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David P
Montreal, Canada46 contributions
Sept 2019
As a tourist, there is absolutely not point in going to Portal (don't believe the lonely planet like I did). not much to see not much to do and the place for some reasons was packed with junkies. The city hall is about the only building that look like something. You'd better stop in town nearby the sea before or after.
Written 6 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alex B
Providence, RI715 contributions
May 2019 • Solo
This magnificent Beaux-Arts building is the seat of municipal government for Portland. It’s impressive at any time of day, but it looks especially good at night when it’s lit up in bright (and sometimes colored) lights.
Written 27 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
beeedell
Phoenix, AZ526 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
Up on Congress street, this is a photo-op for sure, especially if the weather is nice. It also puts you in a great part of the town that's off the wharf.
Written 6 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NHjo
Saco, ME13,191 contributions
Apr 2019 • Solo
Portland City Hall takes up a whole city block and majestically sits on a rise above the city. The architecture is breathtaking, especially the ornate clock tower, and was designed by the same firm that did the NYC library. It's also attached to the Merrill Auditorium, a huge performance venue that has its own historic piece, a Kotzschmar pipe organ from 1911 that was the second largest in the world when it was built and remains the largest pipe organ in Maine today. Haven't visited the inside of City Hall yet -- that's next on the list.
Written 15 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tammyBaltimore_Md
Baltimore, MD3,834 contributions
Oct 2018 • Friends
Rich in history to know how old all these buildings are and the fires that destroyed this quaint town 4 separate times over the decades.
Written 16 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
patraveller2007
Philadelphia, PA1,189 contributions
Jun 2018 • Solo
Unless you are an architecture buff, Portland City Hall does not carry much excitement. It is a beautiful old classic building, but to me not a must see.
Written 15 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravellingMan113
Portland, ME112 contributions
Apr 2018 • Friends
Carrère and Hastings, the architects of New York Public Library and the US House and Senate office buildings, designed this beautiful public building. Go through the front door (but be sure to read the plaques on either side of the front door first, detailing some of Portland's history) and admire the gorgeous marble spiral staircase up to the second floor. At times, the cupola is open to the public, but not usually. It is a treat to go up, see the clockworks and the special views of the city. The weather vane on top is also cool, a golden 1600's era ship. At the back is Merrill Auditorium, a beautifully restored public performance space that holds about 2,000. It is home to the Portland Symphony Orchestra and the Portland Concert Association and the site of many concerts and other performances. It also includes the Kotzschmar Pipe Organ, the second largest in the world when it was installed in 1912. Come and see one of the organ concerts.
Written 28 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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