45th Parallel Gift Shop Globe
Perry, Maine
Opened in 1994, closed in 2022, the 45th Parallel was a gift shop just south of the actual 45th parallel, which crosses US Highway 1 just up the road. Owner Phil Pascorelli told us that map-fan travelers often stop to take photos of the store's globe monument signs, believing that they mark the cartographic line. The confusion is understandable because the actual monument -- the oldest of many 45th parallel markers in the U.S. -- is nearby, small, unexciting, and easy to miss.
Phil sold 45th Parallel t-shirts, sweatshirts, post cards, and stickers -- but his cartographic booty only comprised a small fraction of his stock, which included everything from home furnishings to a genuine stuffed lion. "I just try to make it interesting for everybody," said Joe, adding that the ability to plot the 45th parallel in the 1890s -- when the monument was erected -- still impressed him.
Although the 45th Parallel was the only line-of-latitude-themed store that Phil was aware of, he said that there was a 45th parallel restaurant on Deer Island, just a few miles east, across the border in Canada.