Understanding the Changing Nature of the Back Cove through an Historic Lens

Understanding the Changing Nature of the Back Cove through an Historic Lens

Saturday, November 15th, 1pm-2:30pm

University Events Room, 7th Floor, Glickman Family Library

University of Southern Maine, Portland Campus

Presenter: Libby Bischof, Executive Director, Osher Map Library and Professor of History, University of Southern Maine

Please join the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, and the Collaborative for Bioregional Action Learning & Transformation (COBALT) as we continue our 2025-2026 Back Cove Lecture Series with an illustrated historical lecture looking at the 19th and 20th century history of the changing nature of Portland's Back Cove and surrounding areas.

Presenter Bio:

Libby Bischof is Executive Director of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, Professor of History, and the inaugural University Historian at the University of Southern Maine, where she has taught courses in Maine History, History and Photography, Popular Culture, and Public History for the past 18 years. A visual and cultural historian of the 19th and 20th centuries, Bischof is interested in the ways in which friendship informs cultural production, especially in relation to landscape and place. A public historian, Bischof believes deeply in site-based, hands-on education, and the ways in which teaching local and regional history can lead to deeper civic engagement. She lives with her husband and children in Gorham, Maine, and when she’s not working, she’s either reading, swimming, hiking, or sending postcards.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Bedford Street garage for $4.15/hour.