Charles Shipman Payson Building

[1] Henry N. Cobb (of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners) designed the Payson Building, which introduced over five times more gallery space than in the adjacent, historic PMA buildings (McLellan-Sweat House, Charles Quincy Clapp House, and L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries).

[2] The building opened in 1983 after Mr. Payson donated 17 Winslow Homer paintings and ten million dollars to the museum.

[4] Cobb’s largest challenge was to create a building that provided an enjoyable and powerful location to view art while relating to the diverse conditions of its awkwardly shaped urban site.

[2] To reflect and accommodate the diversity of the Homer paintings, Cobb not only strategically placed walls to create different-sized gallery spaces but also varied the ceiling height from 12.5 to 25 to 37.5 feet (3.8–11.4 m) high.

Cobb claimed that this layout reflected the lack of grand boulevards and grids in the modest cities of New England.

[3] These clerestories also recall the viewing decks of the region’s lighthouses as well as the octagonal Portland Observatory, a major city icon.

Additionally, porthole-like windows reveal views of the Fore River, recalling Maine’s rich nautical history.

Charles Shipman Payson Building
The museum replaced the Libby Building (at right in this c.1900 view). The Free Street Baptist Church was demolished to make way for the Chamber of Commerce. The Children's Museum of Maine later occupied that building.