6

SHOP AT L.L. BEAN

Most every visitor to Maine visits the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport at some point— and should. The store has been open at the same site since 1917, although it has grown and morphed into several buildings. Since 1951, it has been open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, originally not for regular shoppers, but for the convenience of its original primary customers, hunters and fishermen. Leon Leonwood Bean, a hunter and fisherman himself, did not want anyone’s trip to the remote Maine woods delayed by having to wait to purchase the right fishing rod, trout fly, or camping gear.

The original store has grown to become a 7-acre campus dominating the town center, easily the biggest attraction in Freeport with its parking lots and four different store buildings. The store now sells furniture and household goods as well as clothing and sporting equipment. There’s also a coffee shop, two cafes, an aquarium, a trout pond, and a kids’ play area.