<p>The City of Portland on behalf of the First Parish Church in Portland received a CLG grant of $15,000 to complete a predevelopment investigation of the First Parish front stairs and the retaining wall adjacent to Freshman Alley in Portland, Maine. This will be a limited engineering investigation for the structural rehabilitation of the stairs and wall associated with the historic church. The granite retaining wall on the northeast side of the Parish Hall Garden is visibly bowed and in danger of failing, and the shifting granite front steps form a safety hazard. First Parish Portland, built in 1826, is located in the heart of the city, in the local Congress Street Historic District. In addition to being home to the oldest church congregation in Portland (1674), it serves as a valued community resource center for historical programming, the arts, civic groups and actions, services for the unhoused, substance recovery groups, and new Americans.</p>