DOWNTOWN, UP RIVER
Bangor in the 1970s
by Emily Stoddard Burnham
In Downtown, Up River, veteran journalist Emily Burnham has curated and captioned more than 150 images that showcase life in during the tumultuous 1970s in Bangor. It was an era when post-WWII sensibilities coexisted alongside a nascent counterculture, and the memories of Bangor's days as the lumber capital of the world tried to hang on amid controversial attempts to modernize the city.
On Bangor
"Bangor in the mid-twentieth century–specifically the late sixties to the end of the seventies–was the turning point for the city it is today, ever-balanced on a hinge between the past and the present. You can’t understand its story without understanding the upheavals that occurred during that time period, and how they continue to affect the way Bangor is today."
Emily Burnham, author, Downtown, Up River
A Visual Diary
"It has taken decades of effort by local people to rebuild what it took only a few years to destroy. That effort didn’t begin in earnest until the early 2000s, and continues today. The Bangor I know and love in 2023, with its thriving small business community and lively nightlife and arts scene, came to exist because of the hard work by a lot of people, who understood what had been lost, and what was possible."
—Emily Burnham
