Portland selects ‘First Light Commons’ as name for waterfront park

 A 2024 rendering shows the design of a new waterfront park at the corner of India and Commercial streets. A committee has recommended naming the park "First Light Commons." (Courtesy city of Portland) A committee tasked with naming a new waterfront park in Portland has chosen “First Light Commons,” a nod to both Wabanaki and African American history. The City Council will formally vote on the proposed name Monday, but construction of the 3.5-acre park at the corner of Commercial and India streets [began in April](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/08/portland-to-break-ground-on-new-waterfront-park-years-in-the-making/) and is expected to be complete this year. Following at least five years of planning and fundraising, the parking lot and old queuing lines for the former Nova Scotia ferry will become a network of walking and biking trails, with trees, native plantings, lawn areas, space for events or food trucks, lighting and more. After the city issued an open call to the public for name suggestions, the sustainability and transportation committee chose three finalists and then eventually voted to recommend First Light Commons to the full council. According to a committee memo, the use of “First Light” is meant to evoke the Wabanaki communities that lived here before Europeans arrived — with “waban” meaning light. Related [Portland to break ground on new waterfront park years in the making](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/08/portland-to-break-ground-on-new-waterfront-park-years-in-the-making/) “Maine being a geographic location that gets first light at sunrise on the American continent, the name First Light further echoes this Wabanaki meaning,” the memo states. Advertisement The committee said Portland’s role as a “last stop” on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves gives the word “light” a double meaning — “reaching Portland was a light at the end of the Underground Railroad tunnel,” the memo states. Until now, the city has been referring to the park as Portland Harbor Common, and the committee opted to retain the use of the term “commons” due to its ability to evoke “a public place in which all are welcome to gather.” The public campaign seeking suggestions resulted in 325 submissions, and a subcommittee met four times between March and May to review the options. Names invoking Portland’s indigenous heritage were popular, as were tributes to Marcia Noyes, a 50-year advocate for Portland’s parks and trails, Kevin Fahrman (the “Valentine’s Day Bandit”) and lobster (“Langosta”). Other finalists chosen by the committee were Freedom Commons and the original name, Portland Harbor Common. The same committee this spring chose Rising Eddy as the name of the former Kiwanis pool that’s slated to open in a few weeks, although [not everyone has agreed](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/09/rising-eddy-isnt-right-for-portlands-new-pool-letter/) with the choice. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [portland maine](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/portland-maine/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/andrew-rice) [Andrew RiceStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/andrew-rice) Andrew Rice is a staff writer at the Press Herald covering the city of Portland. He's been working in journalism since 2012, joining the Sun Journal in 2017, then the Press Herald in 2026. He lives in. [More by Andrew Rice](https://www.pressherald.com/author/andrew-rice)