Ryan W. Owen, Writer and Photographer
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 […]
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The story of those fritters at Skip’s was also the story of John Kydd, a blacksmith at Lowell’s Boott Mills who wanted a career change 90 years ago.
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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.
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Over five years in and I’ve finally gotten around to creating a Facebook page for Forgotten New England. Please stop by, like the page, peruse the posts, and enjoy! I’ll be posting regular content as we build the page, and community. https://www.facebook.com/forgottennewengland/
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We made the November/December issue of Merrimack Valley Magazine, with an article on Chelmsford’s Thanksgiving Forest, just one of the many impressive open spaces in this Merrimack Valley town. Located just a few minutes south of Chelmsford’s town center, the article on Thanksgiving Forest is especially timely, with the Annual Day before Thanksgiving Walk approaching this […]
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As far as hiking trails go in Eastern Massachusetts, Groton’s Gibbet Hill offers an interesting story, as well as spectacular views. Pronounced “jib-bet” and meaning ‘gallows,’ the name for the hill off Groton’s Route 40 comes from another hill in England and was named by Groton’s English settlers when they first came to the area in the 17th […]
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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.
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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.
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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 […]
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With spring finally here, if you are looking for
family-friendly (and dog-friendly) hiking trails in the Merrimack Valley, don’t overlook Chelmsford’s Thanksgiving Forest, sometimes also known as the Thanksgiving Ground Forest.
Forgotten New England 