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Thundertubs Feb 16, 2009 3:58 AM

Lowell, MA
 
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...MA/lowell2.jpg
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February 15th, 2009.
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Lowell (pop. 105,000) is the fourth largest city in Massachusetts after Boston, Worcester, and Springfield.
It is one of the oldest industrial cities in the US and is built on a network of canals on the Merrimack River.
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Coming into town on Chelmsford St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020900.jpg

Public housing on Gorham St, south of downtown.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020902.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020903.jpg

South St, looking towards the mills
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020904.jpg

Summer St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020906.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020907.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020908.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020910.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020912.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020914.jpg

Middlesex St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020915.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020916.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020917.jpg

Garnet St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020921.jpg

Middlesex again
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020922.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020923.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020924.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020925.jpg

Revere St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020926.jpg

Jackson St. The mill on the right has been refurbished as condos. The other one, perhaps someday.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020927.jpg

The Appleton Mill
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020928.jpg

One of the canals. They have names, but I don't know them.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020930.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020932.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020935.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020938.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020940.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020941.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020942.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020934.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020945.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020946.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020951.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020952.jpg

Middlesex and Elliot St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020953.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020954.jpg

Elliot St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020957.jpg

Central St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020959.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020960.jpg

Central and Jackson
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020961.jpg

Market St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020962.jpg

Central/Prescott
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020963.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020965.jpg

Bridge St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020966.jpg

The Sun Building
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020967.jpg

Cox Bridge
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020969.jpg

Merrimack St, the main drag in downtown Lowell
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020970.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020971.jpg

Palmer St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020972.jpg

Old firehouse, turned into a restaurant
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020974.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020975.jpg

Middle St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020976.jpg

Merrimack St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020977.jpg

City Hall
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020978.jpg

Market & Dutton
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020980.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020981.jpg

Worthen Street towards City Hall
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020982.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020983.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020984.jpg

Market Street, west of downtown
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020985.jpg

O’Brian Terrace public housing. There seemed to be a large Dominican population in the area. Lowell also has the second largest Cambodian population in the US after Long Beach, CA. The city is over 10% Cambodian, which is the highest percentage in the US.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020987.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020988.jpg

Market at Lewis St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020989.jpg

Abandoned public housing on Lewis St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020990.jpg

The only residential areas I hit were adjacent to downtown to the south and west, which tended to be on the grittier side.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020992.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020994.jpg

Quiet Sunday morning
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020995.jpg

Another canal
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020996.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020997.jpg

Suffolk St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020998.jpg

Near Cabot St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1020999.jpg

Looking back towards downtown on Market
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030001.jpg

Salem St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030002.jpg

Cabot St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030003.jpg

Merrimack St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030004.jpg

Detail on City Hall
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030005.jpg

Back downtown
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030006.jpg

Merrimack at John St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030008.jpg

Some fixed up mills by the river
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030009.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030010.jpg

Mills with Centralville neighborhood, north of the river, in back
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030012.jpg

Hill in Centralville
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030013.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030015.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030016.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030018.jpg

French St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030021.jpg

Canal
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030022.jpg

Cox Bridge
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030024.jpg

Merrimack, upriver towards Nashua, NH
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030025.jpg

Downriver towards Lawrence, MA
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030027.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030028.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030030.jpg

The Concord River
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030033.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030034.jpg

Merrimack River from the Hunts Fall Bridge
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030039.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030040.jpg

The Concord River, at left, joins the Merrimack
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030043.jpg

On a hill north of the river
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030044.jpg

Downtown
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030046.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030049.jpg

Merrimack St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030051.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030052.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030053.jpg

E. Merrimack & High St
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030054.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030055.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030056.jpg

Jackson & Gorham, heading back
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030057.jpg

Appleton & Gorham
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/P1030058.jpg

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Here's a few shots from early September of 2005, for a warmer look at things
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/IMG_2715.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/IMG_2717.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/IMG_2718.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/IMG_2721.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/IMG_2724.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...A/IMG_2725.jpg

Lowell is one of those cities where almost every square inch is potentially interesting. I didn't even touch any neighborhoods more than a few blocks form downtown. They seemed pretty neat driving in and out. Perhaps another day...

This concludes the Merrimack River cities trilogy:
LAWRENCE - HAVERHILL

stepper77 Feb 16, 2009 7:39 AM

Definitely some nice buildings in there and lots more potential. Great photos, thanks!

Evergrey Feb 16, 2009 7:43 AM

that is one tough city

hauntedheadnc Feb 16, 2009 10:07 AM

I approve of this thread.

brickell Feb 16, 2009 3:13 PM

There goes my idyllic image of new england.
Thanks for the enlightening work (including the other 2 sets). It's fascinating to see so much turn into so little.

Top Of The Park Feb 16, 2009 3:17 PM

I really like it there

kcexpress69 Feb 16, 2009 4:50 PM

Wow!! Quite a city that I've never seen before!! For a city over a hundred thousand, there seems to be quite a few run down areas. I wonder what the population would be if it was all restored into loft areas!! Interesting area!! :cool:

blade_bltz Feb 16, 2009 5:36 PM

This is gritatistc. You made Lowell look orders of magnitude more depressed than Lawrence! Badass.

Brickell - from everything I've heard, Lowell is supposed to be experiencing a kind of 'renaissance.' It's definitely been through tougher times in the past.

Jibba Feb 16, 2009 6:27 PM

What a cool place. All of those canal-hugging warehouses and mills are fantastic. Thanks for another exceptional tour.

LSyd Feb 16, 2009 6:53 PM

interesting, thanks. i'd always wondered what it looked like after reading about it in history class; kind of looks like a place out of a dream.

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xzmattzx Feb 16, 2009 6:58 PM

Nice pictures. It looks like there's a whole neighborhood of mills along the rivers. Is this true?

brickell Feb 16, 2009 7:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blade_bltz (Post 4091082)
Brickell - from everything I've heard, Lowell is supposed to be experiencing a kind of 'renaissance.' It's definitely been through tougher times in the past.


I read that in the other threads after writing and can see it in some of the pictures he posted. I was referring more to the large warehouses and industrial spaces, not the city itself. They're much bigger than I'd ever expect, but sit empty. It seems almost museum like.

Prahaboheme Feb 16, 2009 9:13 PM

^Those huge empty warehouses are being renovated into condos one by one. Those that have are quite nice. In general, this city is on its way up along with Haverhill (cannot say the same for Lawrence).

hymalaia Feb 16, 2009 9:47 PM

great thread. Lowell is one of my favorite cities in all of New England. I agree with those who think it's doing better than these pix indicate, at least in relation to other MA "mill cities". Downtown is very quaint, with the mills (now lofts, I guess), historic architecture, and cobblestone streets. Commuter rail into Boston doesn't hurt I'm sure. The poster who said it's like a museum was correct, the city is milking the history for all it's worth. I believe a museum there is managed by the national park system, but don't quote me on that.

Ex-Ithacan Feb 16, 2009 9:53 PM

Lowell - a blue collar beaut. I like the dirty snow, kinda added to some of the grit. Loved the tour Tt, thanks.

stormkingfan Feb 16, 2009 10:07 PM

Last time I was in Lowell was in 2000. Back then, I noticed a big difference from when I was there in '82 when it was one dead town. Quite a bit of money has gone into Lowell. It still looks like a city out in the middle of nowhere, but, for the most part, seems like a nice oasis from near-by Boston.

You did some good coverage there!

i_am_hydrogen Feb 16, 2009 10:33 PM

Interesting shots. I've never seen Lowell before. Kerouac was born there, if I recall correctly.

yerfdog Feb 17, 2009 9:43 PM

Nice shots. I've been to the Lowell Mill Museum a few times, it's pretty cool. I hope they do manage to rehab most of those empty factory buildings before they fall completely into disrepair.

denveraztec Feb 17, 2009 10:28 PM

Grit-Tactular! I could see so much potential in most of these buildings and from some of the comments, it sounds like some rehab is happening. Cool tour!

Thundertubs Feb 18, 2009 7:22 PM

Thanks for the comments, folks. I think I walked over five miles taking these.
I didn't know much about specific Lowell neighborhoods beforehand, but have done a little research since then. It turns out the area I photographed midway through the tour, west of downtown with all the low-rise public housing is part of a neighborhood known as The Acre, and is known as Lowell's worst. It was dead quiet when I was there so I was able to get a bunch of pics. Having that as the only residential area I shot does skew the impression of Lowell in this tour a bit. The neighborhoods I saw from the car further from downtown seemed to be more stable blue collar areas, with some solid middle class areas on the outskirts.
A pretty cool city, throughout.


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