Brunswick’s Maine Street ranks No. 4 among nation’s charming Main Streets

Brunswick’s Maine Street landed at No. 4 on Travel + Leisure’s list of the nation’s most charming Main Streets, putting the downtown ahead of most of the country and just behind Nantucket, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Charleston. Cory King of the Brunswick-Bath-Topsham Chamber of Commerce called the ranking a compliment and a measure of how much work has gone into making downtown feel alive.

Maine Street’s pull comes from restaurants, shops, recurring festivals and markets on Maine Street and the Town Mall, and the steady draw of international cuisine. The Downeaster, sidewalk improvements and the new Brunswick-Topsham bridge have made downtown more walkable.

The Brunswick Downtown Association has held Main Street America accreditation since 2012 and operates the Brunswick Visitor Center on Station Avenue, where the Downeaster, Concord Coach, Breeze and Brunswick Link all connect. Brunswick is one of Maine’s 11 nationally accredited Main Street communities.

The Village Improvement Association, founded in 1878, still focuses on downtown trees and flowering plants, and the Maine Street plantings are a partnership between the VIA and the Brunswick Parks and Recreation Department. The Lower Mall, a tree-lined downtown park with a gazebo, has also long served as a place for performances and public functions.

The Brunswick Commercial Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 2016, and includes 37 buildings, structures or objects, most dating from 1820 to 1961. The Maine Historic Preservation Commission identifies the stretch of Maine Street between the Cabot Mill on the Androscoggin River and First Parish Church as the region’s primary commercial district from the early 19th century through the mid-20th century, with Greek Revival and Colonial Revival buildings shaping the street’s visual consistency.

Town documents show the majority of the Maine Street sidewalk reconstruction project is complete, with the west side block from Town Hall Place to Pleasant Street scheduled for construction in September and October 2026. Fourteen trees on that side are slated for removal because of declining health, while eight mature trees will remain under monitoring.

Downeaster service to Brunswick began on November 1, 2012, and the station recorded 82,872 riders in fiscal 2025. The project received $35.3 million in HSIPR funding, later supplemented by $3 million, plus about $3 million from the state of Maine. Bowdoin College is the 20th largest private employer in Maine, paid $70 million in salaries to Brunswick-area residents and spent $50 million with Maine vendors, including $4.94 million in Brunswick.