This year brought some of the most sweeping and visible changes in recent memory to downtown Bangor.
Businesses came and went, months-long construction projects launched and amenities designed to make downtown Bangor more inviting appeared.
Bangor city councilor Sue Hawes said she believes the transformation downtown Bangor underwent in the last 12 months is the product of years of work to improve the area, especially along the Bangor Waterfront. Even small things like new landscaping or lighting along sidewalks have made the downtown more inviting and easier to navigate, she said.
“I think downtown looks vibrant and healthy,” Hawes said. “When you walk downtown and a river cruise is in, you see people walking around who look happy and excited to be here.”
Though Hawes said she’d like to see an “anchor store” come to downtown, she credited Downtown Bangor Partnership, a local nonprofit, for bringing new activities, opportunities and energy to the area.
“Hopefully they’ll continue their goals of increasing business and development there and move the downtown forward,” Hawes said.
Betsy Lundy, executive director of Downtown Bangor Partnership, said the organization is “thrilled” by the recent developments and improvement downtown, including new public art projects and the remodeling of Pickering Square. These efforts, she said, improve the area for those who live, work and visit the community.
“In 2025, we will continue to focus on raising awareness of Bangor’s considerable resources and assets: beautiful natural and built environments, unique experiences, and of course, the warm and welcoming people who live and work here,” Lundy said.
Here’s a look back at the biggest changes downtown in 2024.
Businesses opened, relocated and closed
Two new cocktail lounges opened around the corner from one another in downtown Bangor this year: Barliman’s and The Key Room. In the few months they’ve been open, both have become known for their specialty drinks and speakeasy-type atmospheres.
Mainely Juice opened on Main Street in August and The Emporium Spooky Goods & More opened on State Street in September.
Jess Stuart also opened Cool Girl Collective, a women’s consignment store, in her spray-tan salon, Glowgetters, in May. The store allows women to resell their gently worn clothing, shoes and accessories.
The year also brought the closure of several longtime businesses that were staples in downtown Bangor for years.
Bangor’s arts landscape also suffered two notable losses when Bangor Arts Exchange, a small arts venue, and Queen City Cinema Club, a bar, restaurant, private movie theater and entertainment venue announced their closures within a few days of one another this past fall.
Stuart moved her two businesses, Glowgetters and Cool Girl Collective, into the former Queen City Cinema Club space after its closure, and shares the space with Dream in Gold, Jazmin Horne’s handmade jewelry business.
Rebecca’s Gift Shop on Main Street closed in early 2024 after nearly 40 years in business when owners Rick and Rebecca Vigue retired.
Wicked Brew Cafe, a coffee shop on Park Street, shuttered in September after seven years in business while 14-year-old Central Street Farmhouse closed its doors a few weeks ago.
Maine Micro Artisans, a statewide retailer that sold goods made by local artists, also moved out of its location in the Bangor Mall and opened in a larger space on Washington Street in Bangor before the business shuttered in November.
Some businesses both opened and closed within the same year, such as Lavano’s, an Italian restaurant on Harlow Street that closed two months after it opened in July. The restaurant took over the former Tesoro’s location.
New public art and amenities
Bangor city leaders agreed to install six single-stall public bathrooms around the city this year using $221,700 in pandemic recovery funding. People downtown previously had to ask local businesses to use their restrooms or relieve themselves in public spaces.
Lundy also brought a six-person team charged with cleaning and patrolling the downtown to Bangor this year. The group arrived in September, launching a three-year contract with the city, and is overseen by Streetplus, an urban safety, cleaning and hospitality service.
Two new murals were also painted on Hammond Street in summer 2024 with the help of Bangor Beautiful, a local nonprofit dedicated to bringing more public art, trees and gardens to the city.
The city’s first ground mural was painted along the road shoulder on Hammond Street and adds color to the area while slowing traffic. The artwork, painted by 75 volunteers in June, features images of waves, native animals and crops, and Katahdin.
The other mural was painted by “The Color Wizard,” a Maine-based spray paint artist, on the side of a two-story building at 116 Hammond St. The image, painted in June, depicts Maine’s forest floor in spring, with a vernal pool and native flora and fauna.
Old favorites of downtown Bangor also returned.
This past spring, the Bangor Police Department brought back its downtown walking beat — an officer assigned to patrol downtown Bangor on foot — after more than two years without the position. Since officer Keith Larby started in the role in May, he has been a steady presence in the heart of the downtown area.
The city also purchased three “trolleys,” vehicles on wheels in the style of old electric streetcars, in August after a three-year hiatus. Though the trolleys aren’t used each day, they’re available during special occasions, such as Election Day, when they offer voters free rides to the polls.
Ongoing construction
Several large construction projects launched in 2024 that will change the way people navigate the city.
In January, the 18-month renovation of Bangor City Hall launched more than four years after voters approved roughly $6 million to make the building safer, more accessible and easier for residents to use. City hall staff and operations temporarily moved into the Penquis CAP building on Harlow Street for the 18 months the project is estimated to take.
The Penobscot County Commissioners also demolished the former YMCA building at the corner of Hammond and Court streets in March. The weeks-long project was intended to make the 1.6-acre plot more attractive to a potential future developer.
Crews also began tearing apart Pickering Square this summer to create new walkways, landscaping, seating and other amenities to the area. Supply chain issues in the fall, however, brought the progress to a halt, and workers will likely need to wait until next year to complete the project.
