Lowell, MA makes some progress

Smuttynose1 · #1 Posted **Oct 28, 2012, 10:21 AM**

IMAGE: Bing

The last photo thread posted here from Lowell I believe was this epic one taken in early 2009 by Thundertubs.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=165130

Having not been to Lowell since 2009 myself, I was impressed with the progress the city has made over the last 3 years. I apologize in advance for the quality of the images, as they were taken with a camera phone, but I figured it was worth it as Lowell is relatively underrepresented here.

A little about Lowell:

Home to approximately 107,000 residents, Lowell is the fourth largest city in the Commonwealth. A compact city of only 14 square miles, Lowell is approximately 25 miles to the northeast of Boston, to which it enjoys direct commuter rail access. A center of textile manufacturing, Lowell housed the largest industrial complex in the United States in the 1850s, but began to decline tremendously beginning in the late 1920s.

By 1960, Lowell had lost 20 percent of its population and had one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Though it still has much work to do, Lowell is benefiting today from new state policies that encourage smart growth, including state historic rehabilitation tax credits, stronger demand in compact multifamily housing and the continued expansion of UMass-Lowell, which now has more than 16,000 students and six buildings under construction across the city. Over 80 percent of the city's mill space is now occupied and the city is nearly as populated today as it was during its peak in 1920 (107,500 in 2011 versus 112,700 in 1920). Lowell's canal system is the largest power canal system in the United States at 5.6 miles in length.

The Boott Mills below on John Street are currently being converted to condos.

The renovation of the Appleton Mills, completed last year, is the first phase of the Hamilton Canal District Project, a $800 million mixed-use project between Downtown Lowell and the city's commuter rail station.

This old industrial building, also part of the Hamilton Canal District project, is currently being converted into lofts.

Thanks for viewing!

sterlippo1 · #2 Posted **Oct 28, 2012, 10:30 AM**

was just there friday night, great job. It sure has come a long way as has Haverhill

Yankeebiscuitfan · #3 Posted **Oct 28, 2012, 2:01 PM**

Awesome pics. It looks to me like Lowell is a nice town. There is a lot of history to be seen. Thanks for the tour.

seaskyfan · #4 Posted **Oct 28, 2012, 6:27 PM**

Great to see all the redevelopment. Thanks for sharing the photos!

simms3_redux · #5 Posted **Oct 28, 2012, 8:05 PM**

Gawgeous...my kind of town!

Shawn · #6 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 12:13 AM**

Great pics, Lowell is so much nicer than I remember as a kid. I often read articles on Boston.com about how Lowell is now the artist spot, where everyone who used to live in Fort Point Channel in Boston has relocated to. But knowing how Mass works, they'll be priced out of Lowell soon as well...

Out of all the Eastern Mass mill towns that went into serious decline in the 60s and 70s, pretty much the only one that has yet to see impressive rebounds is Lawrence. Any hope with that place? Is it still the Holyoke of metro Boston?

New England mill towns look their best in fall, especially around Halloween. Nice and Irving-Hawthorne-Lovecraftian.

kcexpress69 · #7 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 1:59 AM**

Wow!! Impressive comeback!

I'm sure it's a matter of when.not if.. that the other gritty buildings will be rehabbed into lofts!

Expat · #8 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 2:33 AM**

Great pics of a great town.

Centropolis · #9 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 3:01 AM**

excellent!

sterlippo1 · #10 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 3:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn

Out of all the Eastern Mass mill towns that went into serious decline in the 60s and 70s, pretty much the only one that has yet to see impressive rebounds is Lawrence. Any hope with that place?

No, honestly...............and it's a political cesspool to boot

OhioGuy · #11 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 3:46 PM**

Very nice!

MolsonExport · #12 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 4:17 PM**

Outstanding. I love these old brick textile mills. I remember Lowell under hard times, during my travels in the area in the mid 70s. Similar to the mills of Biddeford/Saco (Maine).

hauntedheadnc · #13 Posted **Oct 29, 2012, 7:54 PM**

What a handsome place!

Am I the only one who wonders how often skateboarders go into the drink? All those railings along all those canals... they'd be like moths to a flame.

ColDayMan · #14 Posted **Oct 30, 2012, 2:52 AM**

Awesome town.

Smuttynose1 · #15 Posted **Oct 30, 2012, 3:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn

Great pics, Lowell is so much nicer than I remember as a kid. I often read articles on Boston.com about how Lowell is now the artist spot, where everyone who used to live in Fort Point Channel in Boston has relocated to. But knowing how Mass works, they'll be priced out of Lowell soon as well...

Out of all the Eastern Mass mill towns that went into serious decline in the 60s and 70s, pretty much the only one that has yet to see impressive rebounds is Lawrence. Any hope with that place? Is it still the Holyoke of metro Boston?

New England mill towns look their best in fall, especially around Halloween. Nice and Irving-Hawthorne-Lovecraftian.

Lawrence has managed to rehab some of its mills and I believe a couple of the mills are being renovated now, but the city has huge problems.

According to Boston Magazine it's "the most godforsaken place in Massachusetts."

Lawrence, MA: City of the Damned
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articl...massachusetts/

Shawn · #16 Posted **Oct 30, 2012, 4:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smuttynose1

Lawrence has managed to rehab some of its mills and I believe a couple of the mills are being renovated now, but the city has huge problems.

According to Boston Magazine it's "the most godforsaken place in Massachusetts."

Lawrence, MA: City of the Damned
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articl...massachusetts/

Yowsers that's bad. Last I heard about Lawrence, their public high school lost its accreditation. That was probably a decade ago. Still have trouble believing anywhere in Eastern Mass could be as bad as Holyoke and Chicopee though. At least Lawrence is part of Essex County and in the middle of all of Metro North's jobs. Holyoke and Chicopee have .... Springfield?

Austinlee · #17 Posted **Oct 30, 2012, 9:15 PM**

Straight up gangsta. That is a killer town. I jerked off three times.

Wheelingman04 · #18 Posted **Nov 1, 2012, 10:42 PM**

Wow that town is awesome!!!

Columbusite · #19 Posted **Nov 2, 2012, 1:23 AM**

For just about any other American city, that overhead shot would be a "before" photo and the "after" would have a lot more parking lots. I was and am still amazed at how intact this city of 100,000 is. I've been to the coffee shop with the big green double doors and the Italian restaurant across the street. Just walking around is a treat. Oh, and the traffic is horrendous around rush hour, yet they didn't tear buildings down and quadruple the road width and whaddaya know: the place is doing just fine and businesses are able to survive, even thrive.

sterlippo1 · #20 Posted **Nov 2, 2012, 1:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Columbusite

For just about any other American city, that overhead shot would be a "before" photo and the "after" would have a lot more parking lots. I was and am still amazed at how intact this city of 100,000 is. I've been to the coffee shop with the big green double doors and the Italian restaurant across the street. Just walking around is a treat. Oh, and the traffic is horrendous around rush hour, yet they didn't tear buildings down and quadruple the road width and whaddaya know: the place is doing just fine and businesses are able to survive, even thrive.

ya, i suppose, after the place being a wreck for 30-40 years or what ever it was........then they had the good fortune to have Paul Tsongas and if it weren't for him none of it would have happened