Tommy's Park is a small public park in the Old Port district of Portland, Maine. It is located at the northwestern corner of the intersection of Middle Street and Exchange Street. Its official address is Middle Street.[1] It stands across Exchange Street from the slightly larger Post Office Park.
| Tommy's Park | |
|---|---|
 The park in 2024, viewed from Middle Street | |
| Type | Park |
| Location | Portland, Maine, United States |
| Operated by | City of Portland, Maine |
The lot was formerly home to a one-storey structure connected to both the Oxford Building at 185 Middle Street and 80 Exchange Street.[2]
A prominent feature of the park was a trompe l'oeil mural painted on the gable end of 80 Exchange Street. The second mural at the location,[3] it was designed and painted in 1986 by local artist Chris Denison. It was removed during building restoration work in 2018, and was repainted to a design by South Portland artist Will Sears.[4][5]
Between and 1983 and 2021, Mark Gatti operated his Mark's Hot Dogs stand in the park.[6][7][8][9]
The park contains the city's visitor-information booth.[10][5]
Tommy's Park is mentioned in The Killing Kind, a 2015 novel by John Connolly.[11]
References
edit- ^ Tommy's Park – City of Portland
- ^ "Looking Back Through Time: Around Portland Nearly a Century Ago". Maine Day Ventures. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "Greater Portland Landmarks - Timeline Images". Greater Portland Landmarks. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "Making a Landmark". The Maine Mag. 2019-07-30. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ a b "Post Office Park/Tommy's Park". Press Herald. 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Voornas, Lori VoornasLori (2021-06-11). "Portland Legend, Mark The Hot Dog Guy, Calls It Quits After 36 Years". Q97.9. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Staff, P. O. P. (2015-10-05). "Mark's Hot Dog Stand Serves up Hot Dogs for a Cool City". Portland Old Port: Things To Do in Portland, Maine. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "Dogging it for 36 years: Portland food fixture Mark Gatti". Press Herald. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "Mark Gatti relishes 30 years of (hot) dog days in Portland". Press Herald. 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ vp-kirstie (2020-01-24). "Visitor Information | Visit Portland". Visit Portland | Travel Planning | Official Tourism Website. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Connolly, John (2015-08-25). The Killing Kind: A Charlie Parker Thriller. Simon and Schuster. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-5011-2264-4.
