389 Congress Street
Portland, ME
This 1.5 mile, FREE, self-guided, online tour will take you through the downtown of Maine’s largest city along Congress Street and Pine Street in Portland. Along the way, you will explore 12 locations and events important to local queer history from early civil rights struggles, to LGBTQ businesses (including gay bars and bookstores), to key institutions and organizations such as The AIDS Project, ACT-UP Portland, Maine TransNet, and the new Equality Community Center.
The trail includes materials drawn from local oral histories and photographs in the University of Southern Maine’s LGBTQ+ Collection. Stepping Out was created by University faculty, students, and staff, and was made possible by a grant from the Maine Humanities Council.