Downtown, Up River Bangor in the 1970s by Emily Stoddard Burnham

Step back into the heart of 1970s Bangor, Maine—a decade of transformation, grit, and community spirit captured in vivid detail. Downtown, Up River takes you on an evocative journey through the Queen City’s streets when downtown was the beating heart of daily life, long before malls and suburban sprawl changed everything.

Emily Stoddard Burnham brings her keen eye for local history to this fascinating exploration of Bangor during a pivotal era. Through carefully curated photographs and stories, you’ll rediscover the shops, theaters, and gathering places that defined the city’s character. These pages preserve the texture of everyday life—the lunch counters where neighbors met, the department stores that anchored downtown, the street corners where generations crossed paths.

This is more than a nostalgia trip. It’s a window into how communities evolve, how downtowns rise and fall and rise again. Whether you remember browsing downtown Bangor’s storefronts yourself, or you’re discovering this chapter of Maine history for the first time, Downtown, Up River offers something rare: a chance to walk familiar streets as they once were.

Perfect for history enthusiasts, longtime Mainers, and anyone fascinated by the story of American downtowns, this book belongs on your shelf alongside your other treasured local histories. It’s the kind of book you’ll find yourself returning to, discovering new details each time you turn the page.

A thoughtful gift for anyone who calls Bangor home—or once did.