HotelChatter

But come 2014, the building will be back in action and newly reincarnated—though developers will keep the old "Portland Press Herald" lettering on the side of the building as part of the hotel's vintage appeal. In fact, pretty much all of the exterior will be preserved because of its history, yet the inside has already been gutted.

In addition to its cool history and industrial feel (we're reminded of New York's upcoming The Refinery), the building is well-suited to becoming a hotel because "every room will have windows." Well, thank goodness for that.

The paper reports that while Portland recently received a shiny new Hampton Inn, there's plenty of space for new hotels to emerge, catering to the city's increasing appetite for nightlife, restaurants, and boutique shops.

In the past, we've watched hotels do fun things with self-published newspapers or magazines as a way to promote their amenities and local attractions to guests. Could be kind of fun to see something like that here, in a building that housed Maine's largest newspaper company for over half a century!

[Photo: Portland Press Herald]