Portland Observatory — Attraction in Portland

We went a year ago not sure how much maybe 25 each it seemed a little pricey but we just wanted to find something new to do. (And later I realized how desperately they need the money to maintain a very old very important historical landmark) Parking very limited we were lucky to find street parking outfront They were waiting for us and already started the 1st floor tour and then we went up.. each floor got smaller and smaller and each floor the guy explained more of the story and history of this landmark. I would assume people just pay the money to take photos at the top and not even care about what the tour guide has to say but even though I was dehydrated from taking and edible and not bringing my water I found the information to be very interesting because it's not something you learn about every day and at the time it was a cornerstone in the local trade. This building is very old and it costs a lot of money to maintain and the workers there are there because they value the landmark for what it is and do not want to see it destroyed and I can respect that and know they don't get the apprication they deserve for it. Yes there was only a 5 minute window to stay at the top and take your pictures the breeze was great the view was great. Overall for the price and experiance I would say to at least go once because its supporting them keep the place open and it's something interesting to...

Lovely visit to the Portland Observatory.

We had intended on a self-tour but were told that self tours would start at 4:30pm…and that before that time, you would have to take a toured guide up the tower. As there was a scheduled guide about to start soon…we opted to take the guided tour. At that time (mid-week in late August around 12pm) there were only four of us on that tour.

Our tour guide, an older woman, was wonderful. As we ascended the tower during the 45-minute tour, we stopped off at each floor and she explained a bit about the tower and its history. Lots of interesting facts!

We made it to the top to take in some amazing views of the area.

Tours are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6-16 and free for those 5 and under.

The stairs (there are about 100) throughout the tower are spiral-ish…so be careful of your foot placement on the narrowed parts of each step while ascending and descending.

Street parking signs can be a bit tricky in the area reading “…no parking on the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th ___day of the month…” Be sure to properly read those signs and park...

THIS IS A MUST ON YOUR VISIT TO PORTLAND! GO WHEN YOU CAN DO THE DOCENT GUIDED TOUR! So we decided to go check out the Portland Observatory just to see the views. When we saw that the admission was $10($8 for seniors), we thought about bailing out. We are so glad we didn’t. Just stepping inside and meeting the people working there, Peg and Faye, was worth the price of admission. They were so kind and helpful. I would highly recommend going when you can get the docent guided tour. The guided tours run about every half hour but only during certain hours of the day, depending on the day of the week. You can do self guided tours when the docents aren’t giving tours but you would be missing out. Faye was our assigned docent for the tour and she was fantastic! So full of interesting information and enthusiastic. It was such a joy to spend time with her. The 30 minute tour seemed to fly by! We couldn’t get enough! And the views of Portland are amazing! We could even see Mt. Washington! JUST DO IT! YOU...