Remember the Last Tour at Maine’s Thomas Hill Standpipe?

With tours of this iconic Maine landmark canceled for 2025, we wanted to take a look back at the last time visitors were able to enjoy the views from the top.

The four-times-a-year tours of Bangor’s Thomas Hill Standpipe were always something special—an extra chance for the community and visitors to take in the beauty of our Pine Tree State from a unique vantage point. It’s one thing to see the standpipe towering above the city, but during those tours, we got to see what the standpipe sees.

That brings us to the question—why exactly aren’t tours being offered for the Thomas Hill Standpipe in 2025? What happened, and why is this year different from previous ones?

On May 9th, 2024, the Bangor Water District announced that it would not be offering any tours of the Thomas Hill Standpipe in 2024, which also led to the cancellation of tours in 2025, due to needed maintenance and repairs identified during an insurance survey.

Read More: Bangor's Thomas Hill Standpipe Tours For 2024 Are Cancelled

So, with all of that in mind, when will we be able to climb the 100 steps to the top of the Thomas Hill Standpipe and once again take in the views of Bangor and beyond?

While we unfortunately don’t have an exact answer as to when tours of the Thomas Hill Standpipe will return, we’re very hopeful that the Bangor Water District will announce four new dates for 2026 sometime during the winter of 2025 into 2026. Of course, we can’t confirm that just yet—we’re simply staying hopeful… kind of like that big glowing HOPEFUL sign lit up in downtown Bangor.

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Again, we’re hopeful that the necessary maintenance can be completed quickly and smoothly so that tours can return in 2026.

Keep scrolling to see photos from October 11th, 2023—the last time tours were offered at the Standpipe in Bangor. Once you’ve checked out the photos, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to join the conversation by messaging us on the app.

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