PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024
Greater Portland Landmarks, started in 1964, does advocacy and education and manages the Portland Observatory. Four key employees, including the former executive director, left Greater Portland Landmarks in 2023. Part-time staff and volunteer board members kept the organization going. Kate Lemos McHale started in July as the new executive director. She watched as the Portland Museum of Art pursued expansion. She described their plan as “exciting” because of its use of mass timber and its reference to Wabanaki culture. However, she thinks the museum could have integrated a 19th-century building on Free Street into the design, and she is concerned about the policy implications if that building is demolished. Lemos McHale said she remains hopeful that the two institutions will find common ground. “I think the lawsuit is necessary, and what I have advocated for is really just to find a solution.”