Portland has two distinguishing features that separate it from other cities looking to make a difference. One fact is that it’s one of the shortest cities in America with a skyline of skimpy skyscrapers as high as a paltry 10-12 stories and residential buildings (mostly overpriced condos) topping out at 4 to 5 stories high. What’s left behind is for the average Portlander given short shrift to enjoy the city’s other attribute, views of and proximity to the water in a city known as The Peninsula, which means being surrounded on three sides by water. You’d never know it.
That has changed with the opening of Luke’s Lobster at the end of Portland Pier in the heart of downtown Portland. It has stunning views of the harbor being mere inches away from the water’s edge. It has navigated the Byzantine zoning laws that rule what’s commonly known as the working waterfront (which is more precisely the heart of the working waterfront on the western end of Commercial Street). And it handled it brilliantly and beautifully.
The dock, the pier and Luke’s at the water’s edge at the end of Portland Pier
