The Modern Mile

From horsecars to highways, this two-part talk traces how transportation shaped Forest Avenue over 150 years. It covers the rise and fall of Maine’s electric railway system, from the first horsecar line in 1863 through the final trolley run in 1941, then examines how the automobile transformed Forest Avenue into Portland’s first auto mile. Postwar traffic engineering prioritized speed over neighborhoods, leaving a dangerous street that residents and city leaders are now working to reclaim.