BUYTICKETS:207.774.0465 www.portlandstage.org 25A Forest Ave, Portland, ME SPONSORED BY M AY 2 0 1 8 4 1 Clockwise from top left: maine craft distilling; library of congress; meaghan maurice; bramhall Congress Street: the Chastity belt? Today it’s dotted with bars, specialty shops, and galleries, but Congress Street was once a haven for kink. Before reopening as one of Portland’s favorite music venues, the State Theatre screened adult films, and in the late 1980s, you could catch a porno matinee at the building that hosts Geno’s Rock Club. the air like a hallelujah. The after-work crowd has started to pack the floor, but we snag one of the dartboards along the back wall and go through the motions of a game. It’s hard to be confident when one friend, Stefan, dares us to call out numbers as he ticks them off one by one. His girlfriend strolls up with, “Call any number. I’ll do it with my eyes closed.” Atta girl! We can’t possibly continue this crawl without checking into Lincoln’s, the speak- easy below Market Street. Though I’ve been to this bar more than enough times to know where the door is, it gets me every time. Lincoln’s makes for the perfect night- cap joint with its $5 drinks, meaning the bar is usually packed. It’s closing in on 10 p.m., more friends have gathered, and while it’s hard to hear even yourself, the crowd is in a great mood. Groups line the walls, lounging over sofas and corner tables. One posse is nestled in the back of the bar where entertainment typically sets up, its center- piece a vintage velvet couch–a likely spot for the spirit of Kitty to hold court at the end of a night. As a romantic, I paint a pic- ture of busty corsets, coat tails, and bawdy jokes told through wheezing laughter and sing-alongs. You can learn more about Catherine Landrigan in Matthew J. Barker’s The Irish of Portland, Maine: A History of Forest City Hibernians. You’ll find she wasn’t handed an easy life. She lost all of the wealth she’d made for herself in the 1866 fire, leaving her destitute in a shanty, where she died at 56. But, as tragic as Kitty’s life ended, she was a self-made woman known to sailors and local politicians alike. I’d have loved just one round with the Queen of the Port- land Night. n