Description
This view of Main Street shows the variety of retail businesses that defined downtown Bangor including Freese’s Department Store, Farrar Furniture, and Dodge Clothes. This photo was taken during the 1940s when the trolleys were still running through Bangor.
A. Langdon Freese opened Freese’s in 1892 as a men’s clothing store and expanded it to include women’s clothing in 1916. After a fire in 1922, it was remodeled and expanded to include the upper level of the store. Freese’s was not only the anchor store in downtown Bangor, it was also Maine’s largest department store and a symbol of Maine’s strong retail climate. Unable to compete with the new Bangor Mall, Freese's finally closed its doors in January, 1985.
View additional information about this item on the Maine Memory Network.
