The three black-and-white photographs below come from the Portland Press Herald’s print photography archives, and were originally published in the Sept. 6, 1963, Evening Express alongside a story about the Franklin Arterial urban renewal and highway construction project.

The accompanying caption stated that “planning director William Dickson calls attention to Franklin Street as one of the problems facing the city… These views show the street, largely residential in character but marked for the past ten years to be widened eventually as a new main road for cars crossing the midtown area. The widening, when it comes, will mean a new burden on relocation housing in Portland, Dickson warns.”

Find more historic photos from the Press Herald archives at www.pressherald.com/flashback.

beforeafter

Two views of Franklin Street at the corner of Congress, looking northwest toward Back Cove. Of the buildings that existed in the 1963 photo, only the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception’s Parish Hall and an adjacent apartment building (just visible along the right edge of these photos) remain.

Historic photo: uncredited, from the Portland Press Herald print archives; 2013 photo: John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

beforeafter

Two views of Franklin Street at the corner of Congress, looking southeast toward Portland Harbor. The 1963 photo shows the historic extent of Lincoln Park, which lost about an acre of land during the widening of Franklin Street. Just visible at the end of the street in both photos is the Maine State Pier.

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Historic photo: uncredited, from the Portland Press Herald print archives; 2013 photo: John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

beforeafter

Two views of Franklin Street at the corner of Cumberland Avenue, looking northwest toward Back Cove.

Historic photo: uncredited, from the Portland Press Herald print archives; 2013 photo: John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Interactive design by Christian MilNeil/online producer

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