Lowell, Massachusetts (Part 9)

Doors Open Lowell - May 2007

Doors Open Lowell is an annual spring event in which many privately owned buildings around the city allow visitors in. Participants range from historical structures to newly renovated (or being renovated) living space. This year, like last years, it rained. Fortunately, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't take my camera along. I stayed downtown this year, where most of the buildings are located, and took other pictures on my way around.

This is the Lowell Masonic Temple. I've always been amused that a city so known for its Catholic population has in it such a large building dedicated to an organization that seems to be largely about being Protestant. However, I have a feeling that that viewpoint is largely due to the Masons being so secretive. I have been in the basement of this building many times for blood drives, but had never been in the main structure. The main doors are giant metal things, and inside is a surprisingly fancy series of rooms. As you can see, the inside of the building is fairly elaborate. The third picture is of a room that's ceiling is used for a light show dating to the 1930s - the lighting is capable of showing a sky from day to night and back.

At one point, this building on Merrimack St, in view of the current building, was the Masonic Temple. Built after the Civil War, this building once had a Mansard roof, which seems like it was popular at that time. There are few surviving Mansards today it seems, because like this building, they don't do well in fires. The fire that severely damaged this building caused the Masons to move down the street.

The Moody Street Feeder Gatehouse. Although I'm not sure exactly what the purpose of the Moody Street Feeder is, it is a canal that runs underground between the Merrimack and Western Canals, underneath...Moody Street. Built at the same time the Northern Canal was built in the late 1840s, it was one of the finishing touches to Lowell's 6 mile long canal system. This gatehouse holds (held...) three gates that controlled the flow into (out of?) the feeder. I like to think there's a race of mutants living in the feeder, but then again, I read the X-Men or maybe watched Ninja Turtles too much as a kid. The brick archway across the street mimics the facade of Huntington Hall, which was the downtown Lowell train station many, many years ago. The floor above it was a public meeting space called Huntington Hall. After Huntington Hall, this space was taken by the YMCA. When the YMCA left, the bricked-over vault that was under the lot, covering the Merrimack Canal, was exposed, and they built this wall.

Inside the gate house. The first picture is the counterweight required to drop a gate. Of the three gates, one is up, one is down, and one is missing, said the tour guide. He also said that the first year this gate was in operation, it had to be manually cranked up by a series of gears. Not a job I'd want, but then again, considering the size of the huge wooden gates in here, I'm not sure I'd trust the counterweight to not fall on my head either. The curved spokes on the gear in the second picture, which I think is the ratchet between the gate and the counterweight, imply that it's holding back quite a bit of weight, and has been for 160 years. The third picture is the pulleys. All of this equipment was forged at a time when nothing at all like modern metalworking existed.

Saint Anne's church, the outside of which is on page 1 is an Episcopal church dating from the 1820s. The boxed pews remind me of Boston's famous Old North Church. A local Boy Scout is working on the bells for his Eagle Project.

Other buildings

This patch of grass in front of City Hall has two monuments in it - the first, the Ladd and Whitney monument is the gravesite of three Union soldiers, who were among the first Union deaths in the Civil War. They were killed in the Baltimore Riots. The second commemorates the Union victory in the war, and is titled Winged Victory. It was a gift from one of the Ayers.

Although it was originally a much plainer building, this building served as Lowell City Hall (and also the library I believe) until the more ornate buildings were completed in the 1890s. Today it is an office building

The older part of Lowell High School, which is actually the oldest building and a much larger addition. The new building is on page 1. They don't build them like this anymore.

Merrimack Street.

The Albion Block. This building is interesting because there are two distinct parts. The simpler part is from the 1840s, the newer part is 40 years newer. When Palmer Street was built (previously there was no cross street between Shattuck and Central) the small lot left on the corner was replaced with the more ornate part. At some point, the Mansard roof on the old part burned down, and the roofline was at least matched. The small building on the leftover spot theme continues with the white building behind it, and the fire station behind that was built in the 1880s, after the new road came through. I heard somewhere that they built this street because it took firefighters far too long to get around downtown, due to the length of the block.

These two buildings on Central Street are great examples of post Civil War Victorian architecture, even though both buildings have lost their original ornate roofs.

These two signs at Towers Corner were readable when I was little. One is for Phoenix Beverages, the other is for Highland Cleaners. The number for Highland Cleaners (4369?) is barely visible now. It used to say Glenview above that I think, Glenview being the old operator-assisted dial code for Lowell. GL is 45 of course. Cafe Aiello, a trendy coffee shop which opened in the last few years, posted their sign over the old Phoenix Beverages one.

Lowell Juvenile Court. At one point, this was the Post Office. In the next few years, a new courthouse will be opening down the street and this building, along with the District and Superior Courts, will all be vacant I guess. I bet that'll be a great condo unit, with a private clock and bell tower. The rear unit with the fireplace complete with tree growing out of it will be a hit as well.

JAM/Hamilton Canal Progress

Last March, I took some pictures down here, talking about big changes taking place. See last year here

Work on the B&M building is moving along (last year). Middlesex Community College bought it up to make into a dance studio, shattering my dreams of a bowling alley or movie theatre.

The new JAM garage popped up like something out of SimCity. Built in pieces far away from Lowell, it was brought in and built like a puzzle I guess. Whoda thunk construction could be outsourced? Last year there was nothing here at all... As of this writing, they still hadn't made Middlesex Street two ways. The day they did it, I went to check it out. Not only is it far more dangerous now to get around people who have double-parked, but oncomming traffic going across Central Street almost hit me, since the road switches from one way to two way, and people in the left hand lane are suddenly driving into oncomming traffic. It's also a much slower drive now, and this road is technically route 110. Apparently tourists think our streets are confusing or something, I don't know. If they're worried about them, I'd actually draw some lines on the road and get some more traffic signs instead of complicating traffic flow.

The Marston Building on Middlesex Street next door (last year). I was inside during Doors Open Lowell. Seven residential units and a commercial unit are planned. Should be interesting...

And next door to the Marston Building, which is next to the garage, is the Lowell Transitional Living Center. This backs the new apartments in the Appleton Mills buildings on Jackson Street. This is apparently the largest shelter outside of Boston. Middlesex Street is notorious as a street with a serious drug problem. Parallel Appleton Street is known for its er..."nightlife." They are really making ambitious plans to turn one of the most depressed parts of Lowell into one of the most Yuppie-ish.