Then and Now: Merrimack Mills’ New Block and LHS
Lowell’s New Block boardinghouse stood on Dutton Street for over 120 years before it fell to mid-century ‘progress’ in 1966.
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The Prince Grotto and Its Place in Lowell Restaurant History
When it opened just before Memorial Day in 1959, Lowell’s Prince Grotto Restaurant promised big things. “New England’s finest Italian restaurant,” they said, catered to “those who know and appreciate fine foods elegantly served.” And for nearly thirty years, the Prince Grotto served fine Italian, American, and French cuisine from its well-hidden alcove down Carter […]
Read MoreLowell in the Civil War: Gorham Street’s Camp Chase
Nearly 160 years ago, Civil War General Benjamin Butler built Camp Chase on the site of the Lowell middle school that now bears his name.
Read MoreLaunching Today: FNE’s Guide to Lowell’s Neighborhoods
Today, we’re publishing our new guide to the history of Lowell’s neighborhoods! Get the link here.
Read MoreThe Real Ghost Story Behind Lowell Cemetery’s Witch Bonney
There’s a witch in Lowell Cemetery, ‘they’ say. As the legend goes, when the bodice of her dress slips below her waist, her ghost roams the streets of Lowell.
Read MoreHarvard Brewery – A Lowell Tale of Fires, Wartime Enemy Sympathizers, and Prohibition Raids
That Harvard Brewery building stares at you, like it has a secret. Because it does. When you pull in to park at Lowell’s Target, those twelve little windows peer forward, each covered with corrugated sheet metal that’s been painted the color of pistachio ice cream. (Why?) That Harvard Brewery building has ghosts like anything that […]
Read MoreAnother First in Lowell History: The Soda Fountain
Whether you call it pop, tonic, soda, or just plain Coke, the soda fountain owes its modern form to one Gustavus D. Dows who ran a drugstore with his brother at 213 Central Street in Lowell in the mid 1850s.
Read MoreLowell Catholic & The History of 530 Stevens Street
Have you ever stepped inside 530 Stevens Street? Within those walls that now house Lowell Catholic, there’s history.
Read MoreOld Group Photos: Someone Else’s Ancestors
Maybe you love to stare into the faces of those captured in long-ago photographs and search for a lost image of a long-dead ancestor. Maybe you just like old photos. In our family, we’ve had an old group photograph from 1924 for … well, since it was taken in 1924. The story behind the photograph […]
Read MoreLowell’s Early History, Hidden in Plain Sight.
Where would you find the site of Lowell’s first kindergarten, first day nursery, first night school, and first foray into community education? Where would find one of the city’s few buildings remaining from the 1820s? Would you go to one of the city’s downtown parking garages? Probably not, but that’s just where you’d see all […]
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