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A CONTEMPORARY VIEW BY JAMES HIGGINS
Foreword by Senator Paul E. Tsongas
�I
�I
�I
�A CONTEMPORARY VIEW BY JAMES HIGGINS
MILL TOWN GRAPH ICS
�I
Published by:
Mill Town Graphi cs
PO. Box 2168
Highlands Station
Lowell, Ma. 0 1851
Copyright
©
1983 by James Higgi ns
Poem on page 26 "The Old Worthen' first appeared in Apple Tree Review
8,
© 1982 by Paul Marion. Reprinted by permission of autho r. Poem on page
11 6 ' Monument to Misery' fi rst appeared in a limited edition pamphlet
entitled Maine to Califomia, © 1983 by Paul Marion.
All rights reserved . N o part of th is book ma y be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without th e written permission of the publi sher except
in the case of brief excerpts for use in criti ca l articles o r reviews.
Library of Congress Catalogi ng in Publication Data
Higgi ns, James
Lowell, a contemporary view
1. Lowell (Mass.)- Descripti o n- Views. I. Tltle.
F74.L9H57 1983 974.4 ' 4
Library o f Congress Catalog Card Number 83-62536
ISBN 0-914613-03 -0
Design by Joa n Ross
Printed by Merca ntile Printi ng Company
Printed in th e Un ited States of Ameri ca
�FOREWORD
Lowell is the story of proud, enduring and diverse
people. The city's architecture is a testament to the
genius of those who capitalized on the great potential
they saw in the enormous hydro resource of the Merrimack River. Together today, the turn of the century
architecture and the present day people form contemporary Lowell-still a city of diversity: ethnically,
socioeconomically, and culturally.
Yet there is a commonality among Lowellians
which is an emotional forte; and that is the desire to
push ahead for progress. Collectively the result has
been an innovative effort to redefine Lowell's place in
contemporary times. The twilight that once paled the
city is giving way to a bright new spirit of progress. The
hope for opportunities that drew nineteenth century
immigrants to Lowell now draws twentieth century
immigrants to Lowell. Native Lowellians, whose rightful despair in the historical ebb of the lost textile industry cannot be denied, see the glimmer of rekindled
hope and faith in the future .
Lowell today is a vibrant community of people
who reflect the city's rich human heritage. Lowen A Carrtemporary View frames the spirit of the city.
~C';:;-
�I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For their help and support I thank the following: Walter
Hickey, Alex Kidaloski, Louis Karabatsos, Ed Dows, Carol
Kierstead, the Lowell National and State Parks, Martha Mayo
and Catherine Quinn at the University of Lowell, Sam
Crayton, ]im St. Clair, Ray LaPorte, Leo Panas,
and the Lowell Art Association.
I thank Cary Curwitz of Mercantile Printing for being
a nice guy
I wish to express my thanks to the good people on the
staff of the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission for their
continuing support of my work.
I am also grateful to Roland LaRochelle, my ·passport to the
mills", for his support and his genuine kindness and enthusiasm.
This book was supported in part by a grant from the
Massachusetts Arts Lottery Council, as administered by the
Lowell Arts Council. I thank them for helping me
bring this book to the public.
�INTRODUCTION
The Lowell of U .S. history books is the city that
was planned for the purpose of mass-producing cotton
cloth through an ingenious combination of hydropower
and the integrated factory system . Founded in the first
half of the 19th century, Lowell quickly became world
famous. After prosperity and growth came decline and
despair. The future bleak, Lowell, like other old New
England mill towns, was labeled "a depressed area". But a
blend of inspiration, hard work, good timing, and political savvy transformed the community Once again the
city drew national attention as a model-this time an
example of revival.
The most dramatic of recent events occurred in
1978, when the Congress established Lowell National
Historical Park, declaring Lowell the most appropriate
place to tell the story of how the Industrial Revolution
began in America. Now the "new" Lowell overlaps the
old. As a tour guide in a canal boat explains the tech-
nology of 1826, companies upstream imagine the
technology of 1996.
A mill city whose fame is grounded in work,
Lowell remains a city of workers. It's not a rich or fancy
place, for the most part, yet it has a solid, no-nonsense
kind of attractiveness. And a further look, lit with inspiration, shows the real beauty in its design. There is very
little that is pretentious about this city You have to like
Lowell to love it.
In the 1800's thousands of new people came to
Lowell to work, determined to make a living in
America. That diverse pool created Lowell's personality
The cultures met and clashed and coalesced-a microcosm of the nation. The trend continues with Hispanic,
Southeast Asian, and a mixture of European families.
The faces in these photographs speak for themselves.
The people are no more ordinary than they are
spectacular.
Paul Marion
�TO ELI, JESSE, AND ANNA
I
�A CONTEMPORARY VIEW
I
�LOWELL, MASSACHUSETIS
Location : Northeastern Massachusetts
Population: Approximately 93,000
Main Industry: Computer electronics
�3
�LOWELL NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
'The first summer that we gave tours, one of the first questions
a visitor would ask was, "where's the park?"-when they were
standing in the park. l'here are no boundaries that are visible.
In a very real sense the city of Lowell is the park. This is a
difficult concept for people whose image of a national park
is Yosemite or Yellowstone."
-Maude Salinger-
�5
�RESTORATION OF THE WANNALANCIT MILLS
This former textile mill is now the site of the Wannalancit
Office and Technology Center. "You come in and see this thing
in its grubbiest state, with the oil stained floors and cotton
dust, and then turn it all around. It's much more satisfying
than building new buildings."
-Mal FryerDobroth & Fryer
�7
�CULBERT'S VARIETY AND GIFf SHOP
"One of the best things about having our own store is that
we're in contact with the neighbors. Some of the regular
customers come in to talk and they talk in French,
especially the older ones . We love Pawtucketville.
We have a real neighborhood store and feel that
the people like our being here."
-Florette Culbert-
�9
�LOWELL BOYS CLUB
"It was founded in 1900 with the purpose of offering
boys adult guidance while they were growing up.
The club felt that those kids, whose parents
mostly worked in the mills and lived in low income
housing, could use the assistance. Our focus
today has not changed greatly from that.
We're primarily a jock image. But it's a big facade,
a come on to bring the kids in. We have to be
more attractive than the streets ."
- lack GlazebrookExecutive Director
��BRIDGE STREET TO KEARNEY SQUARE
•rt's kind of lonely, like an outpost out here at night.'
- Arthur PetrenA&L Taxi
�13
�RIALTO THEATER MARQUEE
A bowling alley now occupies the interior of the Rialto
Theater. "I used to play the Rialto once a month. We had a trio
called the ]ivin' Joes', we impersonated the Ink Spots. I have
three sons, they're all on the road now, playing in a band ."
-Owen Matthews-
�15
�BEAUTY CONTEST, PUERTO RICAN FESTIVAL,
NORTH COMMON
"We started the festival because we wanted to let them know
who we are, what our culture is. We are U .S. citizens."
- lose Nieves-
16
�SALO~
SOCIA
SALONICA SOCIAL CLUB
'The club is important to the new immigrant who needs a
place to socialize. We have over a hundred members. They
come down to play pinochle, casino and backgammon .
On Saturdays we cook a meal.
It's a social club, a benevolent club."
- Tarsey Georges-
17
�BELMONT STREET RESIDENCE
'The owner told us that a builder wanted to tear the house
down , sell the mantles, sell everything and build condos here.
She didn't want that to happen so she sold the house to us."
-Zen and Sue Mierzwa-
�19
�THE NEW ENGLAND GOLDEN GLOVES,
LOWELL MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM
'There's not many places for these kids to go for amateur
boxing and for a lot of them, it's their only way out. With the
exception of Madison Square Garden, we're the largest amateur
boxing show on the east coast. When a kid walks down the
aisle from Liberty Hall and up that red carpet, he's got 4000
sets of eyes on him. When he walks into that ring, he's in the
same ring as Marciano, Hagler, and Sugar Ray Leonard. They
all fought here. The Gloves are a tradition in Lowell. It's lasted
for 38 years and it'll last for another 38 years."
- Norman LombardiNew England Golden Gloves Director
�21
�THE SHARPE FAMILY
Ruth Ann is a member of the Board of Directors at
Community Teamwork, Inc. and is president of their elderly
program . "I've been working in Lowell for 41 years. I started in
the Merrimack Mills and when they closed down, I went to
the shoe factory on Jackson Street."
- Ruth Ann Sharpe-
�23
�RESTORATION OF THE MARKET MILLS
'There were two fires there and the City Council had at one
point a motion on its agenda to tear it down. It was like the
phoenix that rose up from the ashes."
- Fred Fau stLowell Historic Preservation Commission
�25
�THE OLD WORTHEN
•.. . this creaking tavern scribbled with slogans of mill rats,
rock 'n rollers, mind guerillas, unknown poets, love-nuts,
wild card jokers, the whole shootin' match-and there near
a window scratched big with flair, 'Edgar Allan Poe loves Mary
Carr,' no doubt scrawled the night El Raven allegedly slept in
the back hall, a legend session like the day Kerouac held court
or the secret time Dylan's party locked the door or last week
when some guy waved a pistol .. :
�27
�JAR STATUE
&
DRAPE SHOP
·1 go to New York to buy the dolls. They're all handmade
and I sell every one."
-Louis Ayala-
�29
�HYDRO GENERATOR, MAIN POWER, BOOTT MILLS
Canal powered hydro generators still contribute to Lowell's
power supply. The power used to go directly to the mills but
today it's fed into a common grid for distribution throughout
the city.
�31
�W).
HOARE SEAFOODS
"Years ago everybody ate fish on Fridays. Now they eat meat.
It's hurt the business. In some rich districts, like Belmont, the
business has stayed the same because they know that fish is
beneficial to their health. But places like Lowell and Lawrence,
the mill towns, people have been eating fish for so many years
on Fridays that when they had a chance to eat meat, they
stuck with it."
-Bill Hoare-
��WORLD OF GAMES VIDEO ARCADE
34
�ENTRY TO THE NOW VACANT SUFFOLK KNITTING COMPANY
35
�WANG LABORATORIES
"[ came from an area with not much future in this kind of
work. When I started at Wang, I enrolled in in-house training
and graduated from the twilight tech program . There's a lot of
opportunity here."
-Elaine Vohar-
�---3'7
�FISHER RECITAL HALL, UNIVERSITY OF LOWELL
"I would like to see a program that deliberately attempts to
wed high technology to the study of music at this college.
Nowhere are we taught the complete concept of technology
and the Arts to prepare us for beyond the year 2000.
In a sense we could become pioneers."
- Gerald LloydDean, College of Music
�39
�CARMELA TYMOWICZ
Carmela standing with her Mother's Day present from her
husband Joe. "I brought Carmela over from Italy in '51 and
three months later she was working in the mills. Everything
was rough but nobody was sad. Just like on TV with our
old friend 'no welfare' Archie Bunker."
-Joe Tymowicz-
�41
�MASSACHUSETTS MILLS STAIRWAY
Workers have been treading these stairs for more than 140
years. "They were all beginning to sag. I had to reinforce them
with channel irons running top to bottom and an angle iron
for every stairway."
- Walter Coan-
�43
�EL SHOW SIN NOMBRE
The show without a name airs weekly on Sunday afternoons,
sponsored by WJUL, Unitas, and the Lowell Arts Council.
�45
�SOFfBALL UMPIRES, HENRY ALLEN PARK
"We have rules and interpretation meetings, clinics, and annual
test. We're a professionally run organization. It's a lot better for
the umpires to know the rules than to play the game over."
-Charles Shlimon-
�47
�ELENI BLETSIS
"She doesn't speak any English. She came over from Greece
after her husband died because the rest of the family were
here. Her two sons own Star Pizza downtown ."
- Eleni Bletsis-PitarysNiece
�49
�CARDOSO'S DENTAL LABORATORY
50
�ALEX'S SHOE SHINE PARLOR
51
�THE MERRIMACK RIVER
'The river is a lot cleaner today than 10, 15 years ago. A lot of
these murky strea ms that were contributing their mess into the
Merrimack have been diverted to waste water plants. Trout
and salmon are being stocked in the river now. Before, they
never would have survived."
-Charlie PanagiotakosWater Chemist
�53
�DAY CARE VOLUNTEER, SALVATION ARMY
"It's not common for us to get many teenage volunteers."
-Major Robert DriesSalvation Army
�55
�SUNNY AND TOM DOWLING
Sunny and Tom live in the Jonathan Bowers 'Round House' on
Wannalancit Street, built in 1872 by the owner of a carriage
factory and amusement park. "One day in November, 1970,
I was looking through the Boston Globe and saw a listing
under Castles. It was the only one."
- Sunny Dowling-
�57
�NATIONAL PARK TROLLEY
When I applied for thi s job, one of the questions on the
application was, "why should we hire you?" I told them that
I was interested in trains ever since I was a kid . I used to go
to Lowell High and every time the swi tch engine came down
the track, I'd go sharpen my pencil by the window
and watch the train go by."
-Moose the Motorman-
�59
�DUBLINER ROAD RACE
60
�TOUR DE LOWELL BICYCLE RACE
61
�THE HUL FAMILY
'The Communists took away our culture, turned it into a
paga n culture. If we stay outside of Cambodia nobody will
starve us, cheat us, or force us to lose our freedom. We think
about what happened . We think about our future ."
-Narung Hul-
�63
�MERRIMACK VALLEY VIETNAM VETERANS, INC
"There are 9 men from the Merrimack Valley area that are still
missing over there. This war will never be over until all
American personnel are accounted for:
- Ron Gleason-
�65
�LUNCH TIME AT THE GRACE SHOE COMPANY
�67
�YWCA
"We do advocacy work, outreach work into the
neighborhoods. People who don't have much money to teach
their children how to swim can come here. It's affordable. This
is a whole new direction for the YWCA. Before, we were
always considered upper middle class."
-Virginia BurchellProgram Director
�69
�DON'S BARGAIN CENTER
"''m honest, I won't sell a piece of junk. I specialize in
religious merchandise. I'm a born again Christian.
Sometimes I witness to people, if they want to hear it.
My attitude is live and let live."
-Donald 1. Snow-
�71
�HALLJSSY CHEVROLET
"We've built our business on owner loyalty and trust."
- Peter Hallissy-
�73
�PRINTED PRODUCTS, BOOTI MILLS
"We do silkscreening on tee shirts and children's clothes.
A lot of kids' stuff like 'Strawberry Shortcake' and 'Care Bear'
are big right now ."
-M ike Baratta-
74
�MASSACHUSETIS COTION MILLS PAY TAG
Fo und in the Massachusetts Mills by a night watchman .
75
�THE PEARSON FAMILY
John Pearson Sr. (far left) and his son, John Pearson Jr. (far
right) are partners in both a downtown law practice and the
B.F. Butler Cooperative Bank. These are among the few family
businesses left in Lowell that are third generation .
�77
�ELEVEN EIGHTY-ONE MIDDLESEX STREET
"It was known as 'Honolulu Brown'. There's seven apartments
in there now. I've tried to hold onto the decor and the
woodwork inside but it has been difficult. It's not the best
economic set-up because of the high ceilings but it's a beautiful
example of America's history:"
- Leon LavalleePresen t Owner
�79
�FLORENCE AND RICHARD MARION
'The Arts should be part of everyday living, but
today you can't even promote Art education in
school because it's expendable:
-Richard MarionPainter
�81
�THE HAMILTON CANAL
The Courier Corporation located its corporate headquarters
here in the former Hamilton Cotton Mills. 'The canal provides
a nice backdrop. It's part of the flavor of Lowell and is one of
the reasons why companies decide to have their headquarters
in a mill building."
- Mary Gail McCarthyCourier Corporation
�83
�JERRY'S ARMY
&
NAVY STORE
"When we opened in 1955 there were lines of people waiting
to get in, and police out front for the crowd. There were no
shopping centers then. It's not like that today of course. If it
wasn't for the jean trade, we might as well give it up.
Thank Cod for jeans."
-Myron EisenManager
�85
�CASA I RADIO GIFT SHOP
"Most of the records are modern Portuguese and Brazilian, but
they have that American beat in there."
- John GoesOwner
�87
�MILL AND CANAL TOUR AT
PAWTUCKET GATE HOUSE
"State rangers that play the part of interpreters, dress in
period costumes. We take people out of history and
draw them back to tell their story It's living history"
- Dorothy lugLowell Heritage State Park
�89
�SAMPAS PAVILION CONCERT, OCTOBERFEST
"More than ten organizations got together to bring this cultural
event to the community. It's the epitome of cooperation
between the public and private sectors. They're all volunteers.
None of these people got paid except the two guys
who lugged the piano over there."
-Dick TaffeLowe/1 Regatta Foundation
�91
�ST PATRICK'S CHURCH AND
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH
A rare juxtaposition of Romanesque and Byzantine
architecture.
�93
�CIAVIS MARKET
"We get a better mixture, a healthier mixture of people
coming in here now. We specialize in Creek ethnic foods
but more non-Creeks are buying them. They come in and
ask for items that only Creeks would ask for years ago,
like pignolia nuts, chestnuts, or rose water."
- Bill Giavis-
�95
�MOTORCYCLE RIDERS
"We don't belong to any gtoup. That's the beauty of being
independent riders, you don't get harassed every time you turn
a corner."
- Vinnie Boulanger-
96
�DERBY PARK RESTAURANT
'The glass rack and bar bottom were made out of 90 year old
doors, 175 of them, that came from old tenement blocks in
Lowell. We tried to use as much historical stuff as possible to
create a rustic look, a mill town look ."
- Larry Beland-
97
�MIDWAY, PAWTUCKET BOULEVARD
�99
�THE GILMORE TRUST BUILDING
�10 1
�ZBEIDE'S MIDDLE EASTERN DANCING
'There's not many people doing sword dancing, it requires a lot
of skill. People think we have them glued on our heads."
- Helen Perry-
�103
�BOILER ROOM, BOOTT MILLS CORPORATION
"In the summertime it gets up to 120, 130 degrees in here.
But you got to get the job done. If the boilers stop working,
the company's out money."
-Ernie Boudreau-
�105
�BUDDHIST CEREMONY, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE
106
�SHAUGHNESSY TERRACE HOUSING PROJECT
107
�MEMORIAL HALL, POLLARD MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Lydia Howard has served as a catalyst and chief fundraiser for
the restoration of Memorial Hall. "I got into this because of
Urban Renewal. People in Lowell were being put out of stores
and homes. It was terrible, they were tearing down everything."
- Lydia Howard-
�109
�CITY OF LOWELL WORKERS
·Franky and I were brought up together, we chum
together. I was on a dozer for 19 years before I went
on the sweeper. Franky's been here 24 years.
We used to do the streets downtown after midnight,
but not anymore. We used to see some
beautiful things at night."
-Tom Brady-
�111
�THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Armand Mercier, Armand Lemay, and Norman Ayotte,
prominent in Lowell's politics, business, and development.
W e're three good friends . We played on the same semi-pro
baseball team in '5 1. Our roots, our family ties are in this city.
We'll be here for awhile:
- Armand Mercier-
�11 3
�BOOTI MILLS
The superstructure of Lowell's heavy industrial period is
everywhere, evidence of the once massive scale of production.
�115
�JACKSON STREET MILL
child labor
peasant pay
deadly air
slave hours
sweatshop
that's what mills
will always mean
to some of us,
no matter how many
postcards sell
�11 7
�HARVEY'S BOOKLAND
Harvey Bisson worked ten years in the Lawrence
Manufacturing Company mill before turning his hobby, books,
into a livelihood. "I've seen so many businesses come and go
on this street, but little Harvey is still here. Just say that I've
been here 22 years and will be here forever. I'm a survivor ...
the secret is to think great dreams, even if you can't
reach them . I figure when we go to heaven, I'll have the
biggest bookstore there."
- Harvey Bisson-
�11 9
�THE LAURENCIO FAMILY
"In Portugal, my father made medicine out of seaweed and sold
it to the hospitals. Here he makes his own wine and cider. He
works in the Lowell Cemetery during the week and fi shes on
weekends. He worked hard to bring all of us here:
- Freddie Laurencio-
�121
�PAWTUCKET FALLS
It all comes back to this ...
�123
���ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim lives in Lowell and works professionally as an architectural
and doc umentary ph o togra pher. Hi s wo rk has included
commissions to document many major development projects in
the area. Through a grant from the U .S. Department of the
Interior, Jim has published a series of photographic posters about
Lowell. H e is currently finishing work on a book illustrating the
cultural aspects of Ulster and the Republic of Ireland .
••
M ILL TOW N GRAPHICS
ISBN 0-914613-03-0
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Higgins, James (Jim). Lowell Books Collection, 1983-1997
Description
An account of the resource
The James Higgins book collection includes 2 copies each of 3 books related to Lowell and the Lowell area Cambodian and larger Southeast Asian communities. <br /><br />The collection is completely accessible on this site. <br /><br />View the collection finding aid for more information, <a href="https://libguides.uml.edu/uml7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://libguides.uml.edu/uml7</a>.<br /><br />-------------------- <br />SEADA would like to thank the following individuals for their work in making this collection available online: Monita Chea, Julia Huynh, and Chornai Pech.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Higgins, James (Jim). Lowell Books Collection, 1983-1997. UML 7. Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA.
Relation
A related resource
The collection finding aid, <a href="https://libguides.uml.edu/uml7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://libguides.uml.edu/uml7</a>.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lowell, A Contemporary View photobook, 1983
Subject
The topic of the resource
Black-and-white photography
Massachusetts--Lowell
Lowell (Mass.)--Pictorial works
Description
An account of the resource
"Lowell, A Contemporary View" is a photography book of Lowell, Massachusetts by James Higgins with a foreward by Senator Paul E. Tsongas.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Higgins, James
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Higgins, James (Jim). Lowell Books Collection
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Mill Town Graphics
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983
Rights
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UMass Lowell Library makes this material available for private, educational, and research use. It is the responsibility of the user to secure any needed permissions from rights holders, for uses such as commercial reproductions of copyrighted works. Contact host institution for more information.
Format
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136 p.; 27 x 27
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
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uml7_b01_f03_i001
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Lowell, Massachusetts
1980-1989
Books
Photobooks