Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Freeport wants to regulate the colors of buildings

Folks who can%26#39;t understand why list regulars consistently recommend the outlet shopping in Freeport would do well to look up a story in today%26#39;s Portland Press Herald. see pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php… Preservationists, up in arms over a Freeport store that was painted bright purple last summer, are pushing a ';historical pallett'; of paint colors for the downtown business district.

What sets Freeport apart from other outlet shopping areas is its look; the outlet stores took over a typical New England downtown; stores are housed in clapboard capes and federal style brick buildings as opposed to the generic shopping center architecture found in other outlet areas.

My personal favorite is the McDonalds. When the fast food restaurant moved into town, the city fathers wouldn%26#39;t let them tear down a clapboard house to erect the Golden Arches. So, the McDonalds had to adapted the existing building to accommodate their needs.

Freeport wants to regulate the colors of buildings

Freeport is a very pretty, upscale town with a certain look and its appeal would be greatly diminished if it had an ';anything goes'; strategy on zoning. Michelle--you are right on the mney with this one.

Freeport wants to regulate the colors of buildings

Just for those from away the purple pet store while very bright is on the out skirts of town and does not negatively impact the charm of Freeport, in my opinion, in any way. That is not to say if all of Freeport chose to do the same thing it would be a good thing- so I do agree with MicheleS that some rules being followed has helped Freeport maintain a feel not seen in other outlet areas. I especially like the fact McDonald’s has no audio attached to their drive through window? although the first time through when I moved to the area years ago I was a little confused!


We were in Freeport earlier this week for a 7 day trip to visit three colleges (Colby, Bowdoin, and Bates). We chose to stay in Freeport because we%26#39;d been there last year and although we%26#39;re not people who shop as a leisure activity, Freeport is a very nice place to stay while visiting the whole area.

We knew our daughter would be busy on her own during campus meetings and overnights -- so Freeport gave us a lovely place to walk around during the day. If it didn%26#39;t look the way it does --there%26#39;s no way we would have chosen to stay there, so I completely agree with Michele. And of course we ended up buying quite a bit -- so the aesthetics of Freeport certainly play a role in its economic condition.

We noticed a lot of new commercial building construction in progress -- so we were wondering if the new buildings would retain the overall charm of the existing shops. Hope so!


We%26#39;ve visited Freeport many times, staying at the Harraseeket Inn, and have brought half of a dozen couples with us over the years. Each and every one of them has said at the onset that they don%26#39;t ';shop'; on vacation, and staying in an outlet town did not sound good.

They all changed their minds once they got to Freeport. They loved the way the town looked in the fall, strolling the sidewalks, and all of them ended up shopping. McDonald%26#39;s is across the street from the Inn, so it was fun to take their photo in front of it.

We will be there next weekend, I%26#39;d hate to see so many bright colors.

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