Wow. So this is what a sizeable, intact American downtown looks like. Lowell has a population just over 100,000 and is the birthplace of Jack Kerouac. They also have a nice downtown grocery store and a Barnes & Noble. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

 

Before we got Downtown we filled up for gas and saw this. Yikes.

 

 

Now for Downtown:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Night night!

 

I like!

great job of a sharp city we dont see much of. the waterfront redevelopment is a big deal there.

 

funny, my apt building is supposedly one of the places kerouac lived in before he went on the road.

It's seen better days but great shots!

Looks like Harvard Square with canals but no Harvard.  Actually it looks like the various areas of Cambridge, MA all crammed into one area, and yes Cambridge does have a canal, but it's not as neat as these. 

Looks like an interesting  place to explore. Thanks for the photos.

Seen better days, but by all accounts it's looking better now than it has been for decades due to regeneration. Apparently it used to look like Germany did just after World War Two.

Nice set!

 

Lowell was also one of the cities that really pioneered the idea of artist-based community development, investing substantially in artist live/work space as a way to drive revitalization of the downtown. Massachusetts has really set a national example for what cultural revitalization strategies can do, particularly in old industrial towns (see http://www.artistlink.org). I definitely hope Ohio ramps up similar efforts, which have worked not only in Massachusetts but places as divergent as tiny Paducah, Kentucky, and the Friendship and Garfield neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.

It's more revitalized now than I thought. Cool.