Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 105,167. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County.^GR6 Founded as a planned manufacturing center for textiles along the Merrimack River northwest of Boston, it was a thriving industrial center during the 19th century, attracting many immigrants and migrant workers to its mills. With the decline of its manufacturing in the 20th century, the city fell into deep hard times but has begun to rebound in recent decades. The former mill district along the river is partially restored and composes part of the Lowell National Historical Park.

History

Main article: History of Lowell, Massachusetts

The site of Lowell, the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord rivers, was a rendezvous point for the Pennacook Indians in pre-Columbian times. In the 17th century before King Phillip's War, the Christian Indian village of Wamesit occupied the site, and was part of East Chelmsford, which was settled in 1655.

Lowell was a planned city; its site was chosen for the water power made available by the rapid descent of its rivers, as shown by the presence of Pawtucket Falls on the Merrimack and the Wamesit Falls on the Concord River. It was officially incorporated as a town in 1826, and became a city in 1836, named after Francis Cabot Lowell. A member of two prominent Massachusetts families, Francis Cabot Lowell traveled to Manchester, England to study its mill system for possible reproduction back home. He was forbidden to make any sketches of the looms in use, so it is believed that he resorted to memorizing their construction. By the 1850s, Lowell was the second largest city in New England, with nearly six miles of canals - the largest power canal system in the world - running her factories. It is considered by many to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.

Nineteenth century Lowell was an important center for the textile industry, in particular an important source for cotton cloth. Its textile mills, which line the Merrimack River, were the largest, most modern mills of their time. Lowell was one of the first industrial towns to employ women, in what became known as the Lowell system. Women from agricultural communities throughout the region would take jobs in the mills of Lowell for one, two, or more years, then move on to marriage, return to their family farms, or emigrate west to the frontier. The women of Lowell's mills were innovators not only in their roles as industrial workers, but as labor organizers.

As an important industrial town, Lowell soon became a magnet for immigration. Lowell's population swelled rapidly with a flood of immigrants from Canada, particularly Quebec and New Brunswick, from Northern England, Ireland, and later from Poland, Greece, and other parts of central and eastern Europe. This ethnic diversity lent to Lowell a unique cultural identity.

The city and its industries declined severely during the Great Depression of the 1930s (though signs of decline can be seen as early as the 1890s), and were not saved by a short-lived revival due to World War II. The textile companies moved south, where labor costs were cheaper, and jobs in Lowell became scarce. The infrastructure and architecture of Lowell began to suffer, as mills were repurposed as warehouses and canals were less scrupulously maintained. As the economic fortunes of the city suffered, so did the quality of life in the city.

Sports became an important part of Lowell's cultural life, especially football. Though parts of it are set in a small town, Jack Kerouac's book The Town and the City captures some of the importance of football in Kerouac's youth (Kerouac was himself a local football star). Semi-pro baseball, hockey, and boxing (e.g., the Golden Gloves) were also important parts of the city's cultural life.

The large number of Roman Catholic immigrants to the city made the Catholic Church a powerful force in Lowell's cultural life, with many churches and church organizations, Catholic schools such as Keith Academy and the Franco-American School, and two Catholic hospitals (now merged as Saints' Medical Center). The Greek Orthodox Church, too, played a significant part in enriching the communities of Lowell.

Lowell's economy became dependent upon smaller scale industries and the retail stores of the downtown shopping district, as well as its new role as part of Boston's growing suburban sprawl. The rise of the shopping malls in the 1960s and 1970s encouraged the major retailers to leave their downtown stores for climate-controlled complexes which were more attractive to shoppers in New England's winter weather, and there was a precipitous decline in pedestrian presence in the city.

Also, the sometimes excessively forward-looking thought of the post-war years was extremely damaging to the fabric of the city. Beginning before World War II, Lowell became the first city to make use of newly available Federal urban renewal funds. The city took - largely by eminent domain - and demolished the crowded and dilapidated Greek section of Lowell's very poor Acre neighborhood. This was a tightly knit and well-established immigrant community. In the place of the old wooden tenements and shops, a suburban-style brick housing development was constructed - many of the Greeks never returned. This de-urbanization process accelerated after the War, again most noticeably in the Acre, in the French-Canadian section. Entire blocks of Triple Decker housing were torn down and entire streets, most noticeably Moody Street (familiar to Kerouac readers) were cut off or totally de-mapped to "calm" traffic. Meanwhile, many Victorian buildings downtown were radically altered to be more "modern"; in some cases permanently. Stone ornamentation was removed, cast iron and brick storefronts and facades were replaced with plastic and aluminium, windows were resized or removed. Many structures were torn down to make way for more parking.

In the 1960s, Lowell's original mills, the Merrimack Mills, and their boarding houses were destroyed to make way for a high-rise low-income housing tower. This helped spur a new generation's political activism. They worked to revitalize the city by capitalizing on its important place in industrial history and its cultural diversity through a number of political and economic organizations, most notably The Lowell Plan. The three most important factors in this revitalization were the University of Lowell, the Lowell National Historical Park, and the computer industry.

In 1975, the Lowell Technological Institute, an engineering college (originally the Lowell Textile Institute from 1928 to 1953, and the Lowell Textile School from 1895 to 1932), merged with Lowell State College (originally the Massachusetts State Normal School at Lowell), a state college which had traditionally specialized in teacher education, to form the University of Lowell (which was renamed the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in 1991). The University was well placed to serve as an engine for the growth of the new technology industries in the Merrimack Valley region.

Due to Lowell's history, it was the first American city to be declared a National Historical Park. The opening of the Lowell National Historical Park in 1978 served a central role in the revitalization of the city. As the expansion of the University of Lowell's mission drew young people from across Massachusetts to the city to live, the new National Park drew visitors, even tourists from across the region and across the country to learn about Lowell's role in an important transitional period in American history. The Park also inspired major improvements in the city's infrastructure and the rehabilitation of many buildings that had fallen into disrepair, as well as drawing attention to some of Lowell's forgotten natural resources. The National Park served as a focal point for community pride, and helped to motivate many projects important to the city's further development. Many of the original textile mill buildings have been renovated to hold museums, offices, and condominium housing.

Lowell's economic growth in the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s was also driven by the success of Wang Laboratories, for which it served as the international headquarters until the late 1980s. With the transition to microcomputers (personal computers) in the mid to late 1980s, the market for Wang's minicomputers collapsed, while a leadership transition from the founder, Dr. An Wang, to his son Fred Wang, made the company unable to adapt to changing market conditions, and Wang Industries folded during the economic recession of the late 1980s.

Through the next decade, Lowell continued to suffer from economic and cultural turbulence. With the decline of economic power, the city's influence in the political life in the region declined. Unemployment demoralized the city's working middle class. New waves of immigrants from Latin America and Southeast Asia faced resistance from the settled populations descended from earlier immigrants, and the drug trade took a terrible toll on the children of both populations.

However, Lowell's prosperity grew throughout the 1990s and its reputation has improved dramatically. The resurgence of the area's technology industry and the growth of new service industries have once again revitalized the downtown, while the increasingly more diverse ethnic fabric of the city gives it great cultural depth. The public and private funds that have been invested in Lowell in the past few decades have been paying off greatly.

Today, Lowell has a large Franco-American population, most of whom are French-Canadians who migrated down from Quebec and Northern Maine, and a large Irish-American population. There is a very large and thriving new generation of Cambodians who have put down roots there after escaping Pol Pot, as well as Laotians, Vietnamese, and Hispanics, particularly Puerto Ricans (roughly 15 percent of the population).

It offers Lowell High School, a campus of the University of Massachusetts, a branch of Middlesex Community College, several theaters, many popular restaurants, small live music clubs, an American Hockey League affiliate team now called the Lowell Devils (whose home ice is the Tsongas Arena), and a minor league baseball team called The Lowell Spinners (whose home field, LeLacheur Park, was designed by the architecture firm HOK Sport).

Lowell's musical influence is largely felt through the Lowell Folk Festival, the largest festival of its kind in the U.S., and the School of Music at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The Lowell Folk Festival got its start in 1990 after Lowell hosted the National Folk Festival from 1987 to 1989. The music school is best known for its reconstruction of George Antheil's Ballet Mechanique, which was premiered in 1999 on the University campus.

Geography

Lowell is located at 42°38′22″N, 71°18′53″W (42.639515, -71.314588).^GR1 It can be reached by automobile from Interstate 495, US Route 3, the Lowell Connector, and Massachusetts Routes 3A, 110, 113, and 133. It can be reached by passenger train from Boston's North Station on the MBTA Lowell Commuter Rail Line (stops at the Gallagher Transportation Terminal).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.7 km² (14.5 mi²). 35.7 km² (13.8 mi²) of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (5.23%) is water.

Lowell has 5 zip codes, 4 are geographically distinct general zip codes and 1 is for PO-boxes only (01853).

The zip code 01850 is the northeastern section of the city, north of the Merrimack River and east of Beaver Brook. This area is known as Centralville. Christian Hill is located here in the area east of Bridge Street. Lower Centralville refers to the section closest to the Merrimack River.

The zip code 01851 is the southwestern section of the city, bordered to the east by the Lowell Connector and to the north by the railroad. This area is commonly referred to as the Lowell Highlands. The Lower Highlands refers to the portion of this area closest to downtown. Middlesex Village, Tyler Park and Drum Hill are in this zip code.

The zip code 01852 is the southeastern section of the city. It is south of the Merrimack River and bordered to the west by the Lowell Connector, towards the south. This zip code includes Lowell's city offices, downtown, Belvidere, Back Central and South Lowell. Belvidere is the mostly residential area south of the Merrimack River, east of the Concord River and north of the Lowell and Lawrence railroad. Belvidere Hill is a Historic District along Fairmount St. Lower Belvidere refers to the section west of Nesmith Street. Back Central is an urban area south of downtown towards the mouth of River Meadow Brook. South Lowell is the area south of the railroad and east of the Concord River. Other neighborhoods in this zip code are Ayers City, Bleachery, Chapel Hill, the Grove, Oaklands, Riverside Park, Swede Village and Wigginsville, but their use is mostly antiquated.

The zip code 01854 is the northwestern portion of the city and includes Pawtucketville and the Acre.

The surrounding towns (clockwise from north) are Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tyngsboro. The ten communities designated part of the Lowell Metropolitan area by the 2000 US Census are Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough and Westford, MA and Pelham, NH. See Greater Lowell.

Lowell received an "All-America City" award in 1999, and was a finalist in 1997 and 1998.[1]

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 105,167 people, 37,887 households, and 23,982 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,948.8/km² (7,635.6/mi²). There were 39,468 housing units at an average density of 1,106.7/km² (2,865.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.60% White, 16.52% Asian, 4.21% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.48% from other races, and 3.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.01% of the population. Lowell is home to the second largest Cambodian population in the United States after Long Beach, California. There is an estimated 25,000 Cambodians living in the city of Lowell, but local community leaders estimate the number to be around 35,000 [2].

There were 37,887 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,192, and the median income for a family was $45,901. Males had a median income of $33,554 versus $27,399 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,557. About 13.6% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

The city of Lowell is home to thirty known active street gangs, many comprised of Latino and Asian youths.[3]

Government

Lowell has a Council-manager government. There are nine city councilors and six school committee members, all elected at large in a non-partisan election. The City Council chooses one of its number as mayor, and another as vice-mayor; the mayor serves as chair of the council, serves as the seventh member of the school committee, and performs certain ceremonial duties. The administrative head of the city government is the City Manager, who is responsible for all day-to-day operations, functioning within the guidelines of City Council policy, and is hired by and serves at the pleasure of the City Council as whole. As of September 2006, the City Manager is Bernard F. Lynch and William F. Martin Jr. is the Mayor.

As of August 2005, Lowell is part of one Massachusetts Senate district (First Middlesex, represented by Steven C. Panagiotakos (D)) and three Massachusetts Representative Districts (Sixteenth Middlesex, represented by Thomas A. Golden, Jr. (D), Seventeenth Middlesex, represented by David M. Nangle (D), and Eighteenth Middlesex, represented by Kevin J. Murphy (D)). It is part of the Fifth Massachusetts Congressional District, represented by Martin T. Meehan (D).

Points of interest

• Canal Walk - Walking trails along the 5.6 miles of canals of Lowell
• Lowell Dracut Tyngsboro State Forest - Hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing trails in an urban state forest
• Lowell Memorial Auditorium - performance venue
• Lowell National Historical Park
• New England Golden Gloves - Boxing
• Tsongas Arena - concert venue
• Vandenberg Esplanade - Walking, biking, swimming, and picnicking park along the banks of the Merrimack River

Culture

• Angkor Dance Troupe [4] - Cambodian classical and folk dance company and youth program
• Brush With History Artist Gallery
• Lowell Rocks [5] - Lowell nightlife and entertainment web site
• Lowell Telecommunication Corporation [6] (LTC) - a community media and technology center
• Merrimack Reperatory Theater - professional equity theater
• OUtlET - a performance magazine and music publisher
• Play by Player's Theatre Company - critically acclaimed community theater
• Revolving Museum - Jerry Beck's modern art museum
• Standing Room Only Players - musical review troupe
• Western Avenue Studios - a converted mill on Western Avenue which houses over 75 working artists and musicians. These studios are open to the public on the 1st Saturday of each month from 12-5 PM.
• Whistler House Museum of Art - art museum in birthplace of James MacNeil Whistler*Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell - local history library and archive
• WUML - Noncommercial free-format college radio station (A student organization has operated the station since 1952; currently this organization controls the entire broadcast day except the hours from 5:00 to 10:00 am M-F, which are controlled by the University itself).

Sports

On April 1, 2006, Lowell held the 2006 World Curling Championships for the men's teams at the Tsongas Arena.

• Lowell Devils - AHL hockey team (formerly Lowell Lock Monsters). Affiliate of the New Jersey Devils
• Lowell Spinners - Class A short-season professional baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox
• Lowell All-Americans - NECBL (College Baseball)
• New England Riptide [7] - National Pro Fastpitch League (Major League Softball)
• University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks, NCAA Division I Hockey, and Division II Basketball, Baseball, Softball

Venues

• Edward A. LeLacheur Park Baseball Stadium, shared by Lowell Spinners and the University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Lowell Memorial Auditorium - performance and boxing venue
• Tsongas Arena - multi-use sports and concert venue (6000 seats)
• Cawley Memorial Stadium- Stadium for Lowell High School and other sporting events around the Merrimack Valley. Uses FieldTurf

Annual events

• Bay State Marathon - October marathon and half marathon
• Lowell Folk Festival - three day free folk festival attended by on average 250,000 people last weekend in July
• Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival [8] - annual summer event that celebrates Southeast Asian culture
• Winterfest February celebration of Winter

Businesses started and/or products invented in Lowell

• CVS/pharmacy
• Moxie - the first mass-produced soft drink in the U.S.
• Wang Laboratories
• Telephone numbers
• Francis Turbine
• Market Basket - Large chain of grocery stores
• cash carriers

Lowell in print

Lowell has been the subject of a number of novels. Some of the better known ones are:

• Jack Kerouac, who was born in Lowell, set several biographical novels there, including Visions of Gerard and Doctor Sax.
• Katherine Paterson's novel "Lyddie" tells the fictional story of a Lowell Mill Girl in the nineteenth century who fights for better working conditions in the hot, crowded and dangerous mills.
• In Avi's "Beyond The Western Sea Book 2: Lord Kirkle's Money" Lowell is the destination of immigrants hoping to reach America and begin new lives.

Notable residents

• James Taylor Ames, born in Lowell, noted manufacturer^[1]
• Benjamin Franklin Butler, Union general in the Civil War, governor of Massachusetts, and presidential candidate
• Michael Casey, poet
• Michael Chiklis, actor
• Bette Davis, actress
• George Bassett Clark, astronomer
• Benjamin Dean, lawyer and politician
• George Washington Dixon, entertainer and newspaper editor
• James B. Francis, pioneer of American civil engineering
• Maurice K. Goddard, former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, a driving force in creating 45 Pennsylvania state parks in his 24 years in office.
• Ryan Johnston, sportscaster and talk show host on WCAP-AM 980 in Lowell
• Jack Kerouac, author
• Francis Cabot Lowell, business man, for whom the town is named
• Ed McMahon, entertainer
• Marty Meehan, Congressman in the United States House of Representatives
• Paul Tsongas, former United States Senator and Democratic presidential candidate
• An Wang, inventor and businessman
• James McNeill Whistler, painter and etcher
• "Irish" Micky Ward, boxer
• Olympia Dukakis, actress

References

1. ^ (1967) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 

Wikipedia information about Lowell, Massachusetts This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lowell, Massachusetts". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.