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 more Harvard Brewery – A Lowell Tale of Fires, Wartime Enemy Sympathizers, and Prohibition Raids
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Another 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.
Lowell 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.
Old 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 more Old Group Photos: Someone Else’s Ancestors
Lowell’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…Read more Lowell’s Early History, Hidden in Plain Sight.
Behind the White Fence: Lowell’s Poor Farm
It's no secret that Lowell of long ago was more rural, especially in its outskirts - which included the land where Cross Point, Showcase Cinema and Route 3 now sit today. As you drive along Lowell's Route 110 East today (also known as Chelmsford Street), you'll cross into Lowell just before you pass under Route…Read more Behind the White Fence: Lowell’s Poor Farm
3 Quick Tips to Unlock the Secrets of an Old Lowell Photo
Photographs capture a moment in time, a moment that begins evaporating just as soon as the shutter releases. Be it seconds, minutes, years, or decades later, that photograph cannot be recreated, because the moment is gone, replaced with the next, which itself disappears into another.
Like Lazarus, the Rialto Rises from the Verge of Oblivion
How you know Lowell's Rialto Building is largely determined by when you grew up. To the oldest among us, the Victorian-era building that has dominated Towers Corner for 140 years is the Rialto Theatre - famous for first trips to the movies, to movies that have long since become classics.
How would you redesign Lowell’s Flag?
In November 2014, the inspiration came to Mark. He was listening to the 99% Invisible podcast, which was running a story on how the city of Portland, Oregon wanted to redesign its municipal flag. Proponents of the change complained that the city’s flag was, basically, a city seal on a bed sheet. Mark thought about that, and wondered what Lowell’s flag looked like.
Merrimack Valley Magazine Feature! A Peek into Lowell’s Past
An article by Lowell Historical Society Curator Ryan W. Owen appears in the May/June 2016 issue of Merrimack Valley Magazine, which hits Greater Lowell newsstands soon. Lowell has lots to see, and do! Some of Lowell's best history-related points of attraction are featured in the article, A Peek into Lowell's Past. The list includes the downtown…Read more Merrimack Valley Magazine Feature! A Peek into Lowell’s Past
