During my trip to Maine at the end of October, I visited the pier at Old Orchard Beach. The pier is crawling with tourists during the summer, but was pretty much deserted this late in the year.
According to information on the pier’s website, the original pier first opened to the public on July 2, 1898, offering entertainment of all types, including concerts, dancing, lectures, and a casino located at the very end of the pier. Since that time it has been destroyed by fires and storms and rebuilt multiple times.
I remember visiting the pier as a child when my family vacationed in the area. At that time the pier had a carnival-style atmosphere with games to play and lots of junk food, like french fries and saltwater taffy.
Over the past decade or two. an increasing number of condominiums have been built. Many of the arcades and amusement park rides have disappeared.
Fortunately I still managed to find a stand open nearby so that I could indulge in some fried dough, one of the local specialties that consists of a huge ball of dough, flattened and deep-fried and then doused in melted butter and powdered sugar and cinnamon.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 