Evening Express(Portland, Maine)
 The last front page of theEvening Express,printed February 1, 1991. | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Guy Gannett Publishing Co. |
| Publisher | Jean Gannett Hawley |
| Editor | Louis A. Ureneck |
| Founded | October 12, 1882,asPortland Evening Express |
| Ceased publication | February 1, 1991 |
| Headquarters | 390 Congress Street, Portland,Maine04101,United States |
| Circulation | 22,700 daily in 1991[1] |
TheEvening Expresswas an American daily eveningbroadsheet-format newspaper published inPortland, Maine.Founded in 1882, it was owned byGuy Gannett Publishing Co.from 1925 until 1991. As of February 1991, the Monday through Saturday average circulation was 22,700.[1][2]
TheExpress'sfinal issue appeared on February 1, 1991. The paper's demise left Portland as a one-newspaper town with thePortland Press Herald,a morning paper also owned by Guy Gannett. It remained so until the February 2009 launch ofThe Portland Daily Sun.
History[edit]
First issue[edit]
TheEvening Express'sfirst issue was printed on Thursday, October 12, 1882, by Arthur Laughlin, who was 28 years old at the time. In the first issue, Laughlin proclaimed; "With this, the first number of the Portland Evening Express, we present to the public a new penny daily evening paper, whose aim will be to give all the local news of the day up to 3 o'clock P.M." By 1889, theExpressboasted the highest daily circulation in the city.
Col. Frederick Neal Dow[edit]
In 1887, theExpresswas taken over by Col.Frederick Neal Dow,son of Portland Mayor Gen.Neal S. Dow.Dow oversaw numerous technical improvements to the paper and initiated an expansion that included the purchase of competing newspaperThe Daily Advertiserin 1910. Dow also purchased the city's Sunday newspaper, theMaine Sunday Telegram,which is still published to this day. Dow sold theEvening ExpressandMaine Sunday Telegramto Guy P. Gannett in 1925.
The end[edit]
In fall 1990, Guy Gannett Publishing Co., under the leadership of heiress Jean Gannett Hawley, announced it would cease publication of theEvening Expressthe following February, citing the nationwide circulation decline of evening newspapers and its desire to merge theExpressnewsroom with that of the morningPortland Press Herald,which Guy Gannett also owned. The final issue of theEvening Expressappeared Friday, February 1, 1991, with the headline "Goodbye", ending its 108-year run. TheMaine Sunday Telegramcontinued under Guy Gannett ownership as the Sunday edition of thePortland Press Herald.
See also[edit]
- Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970
- List of defunct newspapers of the United States
- Guy Gannett Publishing Co.
- Portland Press HeraldandMaine Sunday Telegram