FROM KITTERY TO FORT KENT
Route 1 through Maine is The second longest stretch of this longest north south highway in the United Stales. The longest stretch is in Florida, at the other end of the 2,390-niile road, but only by 4 miles.
Driving it in Maine is easy, although it will take sometime to do it right. You could, of course, just drive straight through the 529 miles, and be done in a long day.
But where’s the fun in that?
Take your time, stop overnight, and experience much if not most of Maine’s various geographic treats, from the peaks and valleys of agricultural Aroostook Countv, to the entire coast. While en route, take in a few of the unnatural attractions as well.
Maine USA Map Download Photo Gallery
Starting from kittery at the bottom, Route 1 snakes through every little coastal village. They’re all pretty full of visitors and traffic during summer, so you might as well stop and visit the art galleries, boutiques, and gift shops, and perhaps eat a lobster roll. You might even stretch your legs and take a walk on the beach.
Route 1 ends (or begins) in Fort Kent, with several signs to mark it. One reads, “This site marks the Northern terminus of Historic United States Rt. 1. originating in Key West, Florida.” The back side of the same sign reads, “This marks the beginning of United States Rt. 1, ending in Key West, Florida, 2209 miles South.” Another says simply, “America’s First Mile.”
The Portland Museum of Art, Maine’s oldest art institution, houses a collection of more than 18,000 pieces of American, European, and contemporary art, as well as many works by Maine artists. The collec lion includes paintings, pottery, porcelain, furniture, and sculpture.
The PM A also owns and operates the studio of marine and coastal painter Winslow Homer on the rocky coast at Prouts Neck. Art his torians generally agree that HomerdidnT reach his trueartistic maturity until he came to Maine. His studio was declared a National Landmark in 1966. The PMA bought and restored it in 2006 and now opens the studio tor guided tours.
Located in the heart ol the arts district dow ntown, the main PMA building the modern, award winning Charles Shipman Payson Building, was opened in 1983. Besides the Homer studio and the Payson building, the PMA owns and displays art in an 1801 Fed eral three story mansion known as the McLeilan House and in the 1911 Beaux Arts style L.LUL Sweat Memorial Galleries.
