5 Things You Didn’t Know About Portland, Maine’s Time and Temperature Building

It's one of the most iconic buildings in all of Maine and has a century-old history that you may not know about.

Portland, Maine's Time & Temperature Building has been a landmark for people in the greater Portland area for most of the past 100 years.

Here are 5 things you may not know about Portland's most well-known landmark, the Time and Temperature Building.

1. The Time and Temperature Building Turned 100 years old in 2024

What is known as the Time and Temperature Building today, opened in 1924 on Congress Street in Portland. It had 12 floors until 1964 when the former Casco Bank, who owned the building, added two more floors bringing it to 14. Looking at the picture above, you can easily see the two-story addition at the top. It was the tallest commercial building in Portland at the time of its completion.

2. Its Actual Name is the Chapman Building

The original name of the building was The Chapman Building but new owners changed the name to "Time & Temperature" building since that's what Mainers called it ever since the sign went up on the roof.

3. It Originally Had an Arcade

We don't mean a video arcade. In this case, it's a shopping arcade that was on the first floor of the Time and Temp building when it opened. It was Maine's first indoor shopping center. You can see a photo of what it looked like here.

4. The Time and Temp Sign Wasn't Added Until 1964

The same year that the two additional floors were added, the iconic Time and Temperature sign was also installed on the roof of the building and can be seen from I-295 and many vantage points throughout Portland and South Portland and even on Peaks Island.

Maine passed a billboard law in 1978 banning any advertising signs in the state but made an exception in 1991 for the Time and Temp building to allow advertising on the sign to pay the costs to operate it. That's why you'll see CALL - JOE on the sign as The Law Offices of Joe Bornstein pay for the advertising.

In 1999, a new sign was installed that was very similar to the old one and remains on the roof of the building today.

5. The Time and Temperature Building is Currently Empty

According to Wikipedia, the Time & Temperature Building ownership has changed hands many times over the years, but more frequently beginning in 1995 when philanthropist Elizabeth Noyce's foundation bought the building and completed renovations in 1996.

It was sold again in 2003. By 2016, the building had fallen into disrepair again and had lost over half its tenants due to a lack of maintenance on the building. The owners were foreclosed on and ownership was transferred to an asset management company. The Portland Fire Department did a fire-safety inspection in 2017 and found 19 violations.

Today the building has no tenants and plans to turn the building into a hotel were put on hold in 2023 due to a lack of workers.