Photo History of the Park
1874 - Maine General Hospital opens on Western Promenade
1890 - John Calvin Stevens designs the gazebo
1905 – Olmsted Brothers prepare “City of Portland, Maine, General Plan for Park System” for Mayor James Phinney Baxter.
1908 – Statue of House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed dedicated on promenade
1914 – Construction of the Edward Davies memorial gateway to Western Cemetery
1915 – J.B. Brown “Bramhall” estate is demolished and subdivided for development
1829 – City purchases land (10 acres) for the Western Cemetery
1830s – Streets are extended to the Western Promenade
1836 - City makes initial acquisition of land parcels from the Vaughan, Merrill and Little families and lays out a drive along the Western Promenade
1841 – City purchases additional land (2 acres) for the Western Cemetery
1857 – J.B. Brown builds mansion on Bramhall Hill, improvements ($4,800) made to Western Promenade
1919 – Toboggan slide opens at Western Promenade
1924 – Ski jump built by skier Birger Olsen for the 1924 winter carnival. A crowd of over 5,000 spectators gathered to witness this event.
1937 – Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)/Works Progress Administration (WPA) work done on retaining walls along Valley St.
1975 – Bill is signed into law to protect Western Promenade by giving City Council the right to dedicate them forever (City does so in 1981)
1989 – Western Promenade nominated to National Register for Historic Places
2020 – Master Plan completed