The Time and Temperature Building, originally known as the Chapman Building, and officially 477 Congress Street, is a 14-story office building on Congress Street in downtown Portland, Maine. The building, which replaced Preble House (a successor to the mansion of Commodore Edward Preble),[3] is named after a large three-sided four-element eggcrate display screen on the roof that flashes the local time and temperature. It was built in 1924 as a 12-story building, with Maine's first indoor shopping center on its ground floor.[4][5] It sits across Preble Street from the 10-story Fidelity Trust Building.[5] Until the 1970s, these buildings were Portland's only skyscrapers.[6]
| Time and Temperature Building | |
|---|---|
 The building viewed from Center Street | |
  Time and Temperature Building Location within Maine | |
| Former names | Chapman Building |
| General information | |
| Type | High-rise building |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | Portland, Maine, United States |
| Address | 477 Congress Street |
| Coordinates | 43°39′26″N 70°15′36″W / 43.6571°N 70.2599°W |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Renovated | 1996 |
| Owner | TT Maine Venture LLC |
| Height | 184 ft (56 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 14 |
| Lifts/elevators | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Herbert W. Rhodes |
| References | |
| [1][2] | |
The building, one of Portland's tallest, is visible from miles away, including from Peaks Island across the harbor, and it has become a landmark to Portlanders who depend on it for the sign's time and temperature, but also mariners sailing into Portland harbor.
Time and temperature sign
editThe time-and-temperature sign was added to the building in 1964.[7] In the 1970s, the Portland Savings Bank ran a summertime competition to guess when the sign would first register a temperature of 90 °F (32 °C).[7]
Maine law prohibits flashing messages on signs visible from state highways, but in 1991, the Maine Legislature passed a grandfather clause exemption to allow the Time and Temperature building to use advertising to cover operating costs.[8] A new sign was installed in 1999, which as well as the time and temperature, broadcasts messages consisting of two lines, each with four characters.[8] Advertising messages have included "WMTW NEWS", from television station WMTW-TV, whose studios were located in the building from 1999 until 2015,[9] and "CALL JOE", from advertising lawyer Joe Bornstein.[8] When a snowstorm is severe enough to result in a snow emergency, the sign flashes the words "PARK BAN", to remind people not to park on the street.[8]
In 2010, when a malfunction resulted in the sign going dark, around 60 concerned people contacted the building's owners to let them know.[8]
History
edit
The Chapman Building was designed by local architect Herbert W. Rhodes, who also designed the nearby hotel The Eastland.[10] In 1964, Casco Bank, the owner of the building, added two stories, and installed a flashing time-and-temperature sign on the roof.[7] The addition was incongruent with the original style of the building, but a major renovation in the 1980s more naturally integrated it into the lower floors.[citation needed]
In 1995, millionaire philanthropist Elizabeth Noyce's Libra Foundation purchased the building.[11][7] Renovations were completed in 1996,[1] and a new time-and-temperature sign was installed on the roof in 1999.[8] In 2003, the Libra Foundation sold the building to 477 Congress LLC, a subsidiary of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates.[7][5] By 2016, occupancy dropped to 60%, as lack of maintenance had caused tenants to vacate the building.[7] The building was taken into foreclosure by Wells Fargo on May 11, 2016.[7] Building ownership passed to CW Capital Asset Management, a loan servicing company. An inspection in November 2017 by the Portland Fire Department found 19 fire-safety violations.[12] The building was sold at auction for $9.3 million in October 2018 to TT Maine Venture.[4]
In 2023, a planned conversion of the building into a hotel was put on hold due to labor shortages.[13]
References
edit
- ^ a b "Time and Temperature Building, Portland". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "477 Congress Street". The Skyscraper Center. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Ledman, Paul J. (2016). Walking Through History: Portland, Maine on Foot. Next Steps Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-9728587-1-7.
- ^ a b Anderson, J. Craig (December 21, 2019). "Time & Temperature Building's new owners vow to bring back Portland icon's 'glory days'". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c Turkel, Tux (November 30, 2003). "Portland's Time and Temperature Building". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020 – via UrbanPlanet.org.
- ^ "A Snapshot of Portland, 1924: The Taxman Cometh". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Anderson, J. Craig (May 12, 2016). "Portland's Time & Temperature Building lands in foreclosure". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Kim, Ann S. (October 12, 2010). "Time out for Portland landmark". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Anderson, J. Craig (April 18, 2014). "WMTW moving to Westbrook studio occupied by WPME, WPXT". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Bibber, Joyce K.; Shettleworth, Earle G. Jr. (2007). Portland. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 52, 80. ISBN 9780738550336.
- ^ Bell, David; Jayne, Mark (2006). Small Cities: Urban Experience Beyond the Metropolis. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 9781134212217.
- ^ McGuire, Peter (November 22, 2017). "Inspection reveals 19 fire-safety violations at troubled Time & Temperature building". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Herald, Kay NeufeldPress (July 28, 2023). "The future of Portland's Time & Temperature Building is back in limbo". Press Herald. Retrieved July 28, 2023.