Exchange Street, Portland

Exchange Street, situated in the charming Old Port of Portland, is a bustling commercial thoroughfare. It serves as a home to various high-end fashion boutiques alongside several locally owned enterprises. Additionally, you can find a couple of delightful coffee shops, including one that also functions as an Internet café. In 2015, the opening of Exchange Street Studio brought an independent ballet school and dance studio to the area.

Historically, Exchange Street served as a prominent location for numerous printing presses and newspapers. Positioned strategically at the intersection of Congress Street and opposite Portland City Hall, the Press Herald Building was constructed in 1923. It underwent an expansion in 1948 to become the headquarters of the Portland Press Herald. Following a renovation in 2015, the building was transformed into the elegant Press Hotel.

Exchange Street is renowned as the primary center of activity in the Old Port. However, in the years leading up to the 1970s, both Exchange Street and the surrounding Old Port district had fallen into disrepair and abandonment. The process of gentrification took root in the early 1970s and has continued transforming the area ever since.