Greater Portland Landmarks

Portland Unlocked is coming to the Masonic Temple on June 23!
Tickets at all levels are available now — there's something for everyone!

🏛️Building lover? Attendees will ride in the Temple's classic elevators and the program takes place in the historic Drummond Auditorium.

🦞🌲Love Maine? "Historic Maine In 3D" will feature images from across all of Vacationland, offering an intimate window into our shared past.

📷Interested in photography? The presentation takes historic stereographic images (like the Observatory image) and modernizes them to create a 3D effect!

All of these experiences are included at the General Admission level, so don't hesitate to grab a ticket today! Want a little more? Check out the VIP experience!

Buy your tickets at our website, portlandlandmarks.org/portlandunlocked today!

Observatory Stereograph Image courtesy Maine Historical Society and Maine Memory Network, MMN #72491

We celebrate the life and pioneering leadership of Gerald (Jerry) Talbot, and his significant contributions to Civil Rights and his home state as an 8th-generation Mainer. Mr. Talbot believed strongly in education about African American history and his invaluable contributions will live on. Now, as much as ever, his words are with us: "We, as people, have to support each other. We have to understand each other." GPL sends our deep condolences to Jerry's family, community, and all who were inspired by him.

Today we're finding inspiration in the work of one of Maine's own Civil Rights champions and living legends, Gerald (Jerry) Talbot. Jerry is an 8th generation Mainer, born in Bangor in 1931, eventually living in Portland with his wife Anita Cummings and their four daughters. Jerry has been a passionate advocate for civil and human rights on the local, state, and national levels and was one of a handful of Mainers to participate in the March on Washington in 1963. The following year he revived the NAACP in Portland and was elected its first president. He became the first African American legislator in the State of Maine. He was a leader in the passage of the Maine Fair Housing Bill and the Maine Human Rights Act and advocated for gun control, the treatment of migrant workers, tribal sovereignty, fair housing, and creating a state holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He sponsored the first gay rights legislation and had a harmful racial slur used as a place name removed from all maps and geographical designations in Maine. Jerry believed strongly in education about African American history – USM’s Gerald E. Talbot Collection serves as the foundation of the African American Collection in Maine. In 2006, he co-wrote and edited Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Today as ever, his words ring true: "We, as people, have to support each other. We have to understand each other." For more information about Gerald Talbot, see Americans Who Tell the Truth: https://americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/gerald-e-talbot/

(Photo via https://talbot.portlandschools.org/about/about-gerald-e-talbot)