County of site: Cumberland County
Location of site: 138 Congress St., Munjoy Hill, Portland
Built By: Lemuel Moody
Built in 1807
Purpose of site: To signal the city ships have arrived, and signal ships as to where to dock, etc
According to ebay listing this card is from 1918
Marker Text from inside the observatory:
"In 1807 when Lemuel Moody (1767-1846) proposed his observatory atop Munjoy Hill, the area was sparsely populated, with open meadows for grazing cattle. The elevation and unobstructed views of the waterfront and harbor made it ideal location for a signal tower.
Fifty years after the observatory was built, there were still only 23 houses on Munjoy Hill. As the population grew through the 1800s, a building boom took place. Apartment houses and single family homes began to fill the neighborhood, and mansions were built along the Eastern Promenade, one of the two grand boulevards that had been laid out on each end of the city in 1836. Many associated with the sea and the waterfront -- chip builders, captains, sailors, merchants, and chandlers -- made the Hill and Promenade their home. By the turn of the century, the neighborhood and evolved into a dynamic melting pot of ethnic, religious, economic, and social diversity -- a diversity that still strives today.
Since its construction, the Portland Observatory has served as a physical and symbolic landmark for the city. As a sentinel to the city's shores, the tower looms large on the skyline. It has served as a watchtower in war and as a welcome sight for sailors returning from the sea. Families of mariners looked to the tower to announce their loved one's return after months -- and sometimes years -- at sea.
The Observatory never would have been built without the vision and determination of a group of Portland citizens who, lead by Captain Lemuel Moody, gathered in 1807 to form the Portland Monument Ground Association.
190 years later, in 1997, another group of citizens formed the Portland Observatory Restoration Trust , and joined the City of Portland to save the landmark. Their decision was bold: not merely to repair the ailing tower but to undertake a full restoration and to take steps to ensure its preservation for future generations. The restoration was completed in the spring of 2000. Greater Portland Landmarks operates the Observatory as a historic site, offering public tours and educational programs."