Today, it's a walk in the woods along the Presumpscot River(near where Rt. 302 crosses), and a look back to a couple of former times, when life was really bustling around here. In the summer of 1896, the approximately forty-acre Riverton Trolley Park was created in the Deering section of the city, on the banks of this river. The Park, owned and operated by the Portland Street Railroad Company, had a casino, a dining hall, a zoo, boat launch, pony rides, and a theater, and it survived til about 1930. Its run was short. The economics of the times was its undoing. Keep walking through the woods, and you'll reach my old little league field, Little League 3. My brother and I played there for the Knights of Pythias(the team was just called KP), and it was great fun. All our friends played for different teams, Pratt Abbott, Christy's Market, KP and Christy's Hardware. It was, at the time, known as the most beautiful and well-maintained field in the city. For 12 year olds, it had it all--- well-groomed grass, a green, wooden outfield fence, in-ground dugouts, and a concession stand with an announcer's booth above home plate. Alas, the field, today, is but a shadow of its former self. Like a lot of our past times; memories gone bad!http://portlandmaine.net/portland-maine-riverton-park/
This is a beautifully composed shot, Birdman, and, as always, really interesting notes to accompany it.
ReplyDeleteIt does amaze me how you remember all these things dear birdman, bro. I feel rather important to have such a gifted bro. Thanks for the memories! Most of those games I saw from the bleachers.
ReplyDelete