PORTLAND, Maine — Better late than never for an annual springtime tradition in Portland.
On Thursday, the city's duck house returned to the pond at Deering Oaks Park. It was supposed to go in last week but was postponed.
The miniature Victorian house was built in 1886 for the city's centennial parade. A year later, it was installed at the park and has become a rite of passage for spring ever since.
There was a lot of work that had to be done to the house over the winter. When city workers took it out, it was in pretty rough shape. The city said it was in the shop for three months and is as good as new. The house usually gets fixed up every five years, but in this case the work had to be moved up.
It isn't the first time the house has made a comeback after some serious damage.
In 1987, it was in such bad shape that the city planned to build a new one. But Roger Knight of Smiling Hill Farm was able to restore it then.