Michael Lisicky's new book revives Portland's Porteous department store

Michael Lisicky wants you to remember Porteous. The department store historian’s new book, You’ll Enjoy Shopping at Porteous, hit shelves Oct. 27, and it arrives at a moment when the physical space at 522 Congress St. tells its own story of endurance. Though the building has housed the Maine College of Art & Design for over three decades, the Free Street entrance still bears the original Porteous signage. The Portland Press Herald reported that Lisicky sees this survival as rare among antiquated retail structures.

“What’s interesting about Porteous is that the building is still so alive.”

Lisicky said. “You don’t get that a lot in these old districts and structures. These department stores struggled when the buildings became too antiquated.”

The timing matters because department stores have largely vanished from American cultural life. When these institutions closed at their peak popularity in the 1980s, newspapers ran eulogies and posted memories from readers.

“Now there will be maybe a blip (in the paper) because (department stores) are no longer part of our culture.”

Lisicky observed. Yet Porteous occupies a unique space—literally. The building remains functional and visible, even as the retail concept itself fades from memory.

Nine Decades on Congress Street

The Porteous, Mitchell & Braun firm began in 1873 in Connecticut before taking over its Portland space from a previous department store. For nearly nine decades, the flagship dominated downtown Portland, particularly during the holidays and its yearly Christmas traditions. Archival photographs from the Portland Public Library Special Collections and Archives show the store’s evolution: Christmas shoppers browsing on Dec. 28, 1960; elaborate holiday displays on Dec. 27, 1971; and the bustling Congress Street exterior during the 1970 holiday season. The book chronicles not just the Portland location but the chain’s expansion across three states and its competition with the development of the Maine Mall and other retail competitors.

The Final Days

The end came gradually. On May 23, 1990, customers walked through the renovated main floor on the day management announced the Congress Street store would close, and the location finally shut its doors in February 1991. For Lisicky, these stores were never abstract. A career oboeist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra until retiring last year and moving to Portland, he grew up accompanying his mother to local department stores.

“They’re anchoring cities. They’re employing thousands. So you think they’re going to be there forever.”

he said. When closures began sweeping the country in the 1980s, he turned to libraries and microfilm machines, eventually traveling the country to document final days. His column on departmentstorehistory.net led to his first book about Baltimore’s Hutzler’s, followed by 10 more volumes.

Voices from Portland

The new book weaves archival newspaper advertisements and photographs with interviews from former employees and prominent Mainers. Gov. Janet Mills recalled childhood visits:

“As a child, my eyes widened with awe to see the mannequins decked out in the latest styles and the professional displays of colorful kitchenware, rugs, and housewares. But for my mother and me, it was the women’s and girls’ clothing and shoes that always caught our attention. Porteous, Mitchell, and Braun offered something for everyone.”

Lisicky also spoke with Portland Mayor Mark Dion and 106-year-old Sally Wigon, owner of Wigan Office Supply, whom he described as a “spitfire of a lady” with memories stretching to the 1920s and 1930s. Wigon remembered her mother’s shopping preferences with precision, noting that while Porteous offered cosmetics, a hair salon, and dresses, it lacked the food and coffee shop found at competitors like Macy’s.

Beyond Portland

Lisicky expanded the narrative to include Maine’s other retail landmarks.

“You should not write a book about a retailer in Maine without doing your due diligence and discussing (other retailers).”

he said.

“Portland, Bangor and Lewiston are all different, and they had their iconic stores.”

The book covers Freese’s in Bangor and Peck’s in Lewiston alongside the Portland flagship.

Sharing the Stories

Lisicky will present the book twice this winter. The first talk takes place Nov. 14 from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Russell Room at Falmouth Memorial Library, 5 Lunt Road in Falmouth. The second follows Dec. 3 from 6:30-8 p.m. in Community Room A&B at Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Road in Cape Elizabeth. His hope is that the book triggers personal memories.

“A person gets the book, and they look at it, and then their mind starts to open up.”

he said.

“Their stories come out, and then people like to tell you these stories.”

As 522 Congress St. continues its second life as an arts college, the question lingers whether the stories in Lisicky’s book can keep Porteous as vivid in memory as the signage remains on its walls.

Worth a look