Portland's Chinese Restaurants

Attorney, amateur historian, author, and former MHS trustee, Gary Libby, joins us to talk about his long history of researching and publishing on Maine's Chinese community, as part of special programming relating to Maine Restaurant Week. Gary will share history and collection highlights from the variety of Chinese restaurants that have existed in Portland over the years. This talk is also related to the MHS exhibit, From Chop Suey to Washington Pie: Maine Menus, which will be on display in the Shettleworth Lecture Hall in March and April.

Gary is the author of “Historical Notes on Chinese Restaurants in Portland, Maine” (2006), published in the journal Chinese America: History and Perspectives, as well as the book They Changed their Sky, about Maine's Irish Community. A Portland native, he attended high school and college in Maine, and received his law degree from the Duke University School of Law. He has practiced in Portland since 1976.

Speaker: Gary Libby