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Lowell is a city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Located in Middlesex County, Lowell (along with Cambridge) was a county seat until Massachusetts disbanded county government in 1999.[3] With an estimated population of 111,640 in 2018,[2] it was the fourth-largest city in Massachusetts as of the last census and is estimated to be the fifth-largest as of 2018, and the second-largest in the Boston metropolitan statistical area.[4] The city is also part of a smaller Massachusetts statistical area called Greater Lowell, as well as New England's Merrimack Valley region.
Incorporated in 1826 to serve as a mill town, Lowell was named after Francis Cabot Lowell, a local figure in the Industrial Revolution. The city became known as the cradle of the American Industrial Revolution, due to a large series of textile mills and factories. Many of the Lowell's historic manufacturing sites were later preserved by the National Park Service to create Lowell National Historical Park.[5] During the Cambodian genocide, the city took in an influx of refugees, leading to a Cambodia Town and America's second-largest Cambodian-American population.[6]
Lowell is home to two institutions of higher education.
History
Founded in the 1820s as a planned manufacturing center for textiles, Lowell is located along the rapids of the Merrimack River, 25 miles northwest of Boston in what was once the farming community of East Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The so-called Boston Associates, including Nathan Appleton and Patrick Tracy Jackson of the Boston Manufacturing Company, named the new mill town after their visionary leader, Francis Cabot Lowell,[7] who had died five years before its 1823 incorporation. As Lowell's population grew, it acquired land from neighboring towns, and diversified into a full-fledged urban center. Many of the men who composed the labor force for constructing the canals and factories had immigrated from Ireland, escaping the poverty and Potato Famines of the 1830s and 1840s. The mill workers, young single women called Mill Girls, generally came from the farm families of New England.
By the 1850s, Lowell had the largest industrial complex in the United States. The textile industry wove cotton produced in the South. In 1860, there were more cotton spindles in Lowell than in all eleven states combined that would form the Confederacy.[8] Yet the city did not simply finish raw materials produced in the American South, but rather became involved in the South in another way, too. Many of the coarse cottons produced in Lowell eventually returned to the South to clothe enslaved people, and, according to historian Sven Beckert, "'Lowell' became the generic term slaves used to describe coarse cottons."[9] The city continued to thrive as a major industrial center during the 19th century, attracting more migrant workers and immigrants to its mills. Next were the Catholic Germans, followed by a large influx of French Canadians during the 1870s and 1880s. Later waves of immigrants included Portuguese, Polish, Lithuanians, Swedes, Greeks, and eastern European Jews. They came to work in Lowell and settled in ethnic neighborhoods, with the city's population reaching almost 50% foreign-born by 1900.[10] By the time World War I broke out in Europe, the city had reached its economic and population peak of over 110,000 people.
The Mill Cities' manufacturing base declined as companies began to relocate to the South in the 1920s.[10] The city fell into hard times, and was even referred to as a "depressed industrial desert" by Harper's Magazine in 1931, as the Great Depression worsened. At this time, more than one-third of its population was "on relief", as only three of its major textile corporations remained active.[10] Several years later, the mills were reactivated, making parachutes and other military necessities for the World War II effort. However, this economic boost was short-lived and the post-war years saw the last textile plants close.Lowell is located at 42°38′22″N 71°18′53″W (42.639444, -71.314722).[16] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.5 square miles (38 km2).13.8 square miles (35.7 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) of it (5.23%) is water.
Physical
Lowell is located at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord rivers. The Pawtucket Falls, a mile-long set of rapids with a total drop in elevation of 32 feet, ends where the two rivers meet. At the top of the falls is the Pawtucket Dam, designed to turn the upper Merrimack into a millpond, diverted through Lowell's extensive canal system.
The Merrimack, which flows southerly from Franklin, New Hampshire to Lowell, makes a northeasterly turn there before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport, Massachusetts, approximately 40 miles downriver from Lowell. It is believed that in prior ages, the Merrimack continued south from Lowell to empty into the ocean somewhere near Boston. The glacial deposits that redirected the flow of the river left the drumlins that dot the city, most notably, Fort Hill in the Belvidere neighborhood. Other large hills in Lowell include Lynde Hill, also in Belvidere, and Christian Hill, in the easternmost part of Centralville at the Dracut town line.
The Concord, or Musketaquid (its original name), forms from the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers at Concord, Massachusetts. This river flows north into the city, and the area around the confluence with the Merrimack was known as Wamesit. Like the Merrimack, the Concord, although a much smaller river, has many waterfalls and rapids that served as power sources for early industrial purposes, some well before the founding of Lowell. Immediately after the Concord joins the Merrimack, the Merrimack descends another ten feet in Hunt's Falls.
There is a ninety-degree bend in the Merrimack partway down the Pawtucket Falls. At this point, the river briefly widens and shallows. Here, Beaver Brook enters from the north, separating the City's two northern neighborhoods, Pawtucketville and Centralville. Entering the Concord River from the southwest is River Meadow, or Hale's Brook. This brook flows largely in a man-made channel, as the Lowell Connector was built along it. Both of these minor streams have limited industrial histories as well.
The bordering towns (clockwise from north) are Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tyngsborough. The border with Billerica is a point in the middle of the Concord River where Lowell and Billerica meet Tewksbury and Chelmsford.
The ten communities designated part of the Lowell Metropolitan area by the 2000 US Census are Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, and Westford, and Pelham, NH. See Greater Lowell.
Education
Colleges and universities
With a rapidly growing student population, Lowell has been considered an emerging college town.[46] With approximately 12,000 students at Middlesex Community College (MCC) and 18,500 students at University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell is currently home to more than 30,000 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students, and the location of some of the top research laboratories in Massachusetts. UMass Lowell is the second largest state university and fifth largest university in Massachusetts, while MCC is the second largest Associate's college in Massachusetts.[47]
Middlesex Community College
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Lowell Public Schools operates district public schools. Lowell High School is the district public school. Non-district public schools include Greater Lowell Technical High School, Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School,[48] Lowell Community Charter Public School,[49][50] and Lowell Collegiate Charter School.[51]
Lowell Public Schools is an above average, public school district located in Lowell, MA. It has 14,247 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1.[52]
Lowell High School students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Lowell High is 29 percent. The student body makeup is 50 percent male and 50 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 68 percent with a student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1.[53]
Infrastructure
Transportation
Lowell can be reached by automobile from Interstate 495, U.S. Route 3, the Lowell Connector, and Massachusetts Routes: 3A, 38, 110, 113, and 133, all of which run through the city; Route 133 begins at the spot where Routes 110 and 38 branch off just south of the Merrimack River.[70] There are six bridges crossing the Merrimack River in Lowell, and four crossing the Concord River (not including the two for I-495).
For public transit, Lowell is served by the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA), which provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services to the city and surrounding area. OurBus has daily bus service to Worcester and New York City. Other service includes Merrimack Vallery Regional Transfer Authority (MVRTA) Route 41 to Lawrence, and the Sunshine Travel bus to Mohegan Sun.
Lowell is also served by the MBTA's commuter rail Lowell Line, with several departures daily to and from Boston's North Station.
The Lowell National Historical Park provides a free streetcar shuttle between its various sites in the city center, using track formerly used to provide freight access to the city's mills. An expansion to expand the system to 6.9 miles was planned but rejected in 2016.[71]
In addition to several car rental agencies, Lowell has four (4) Zipcar rental locations convenient to Gallagher Terminal, the Downtown, and the three (3) University campuses (North, South and East).
Hospitals
Lowell General Hospital
Saints Medical Center
Arts and culture
Monthly Calendar of Events and Entertainment
Click Link to See Current Events and Entertainment
Click Link to See Weekly Live Music Events
Click Link for Tsongas Center Events
Annual events
February: Winterfest - celebration of winter. (Also, Lowell's Birthday)
March: Lowell Women's Week[72] - A week of events recognizing women's achievements, struggles, and contributions to the Lowell community past and present. Irish Cultural Week - A celebration of Irish history and hulture within the Greater Lowell community.
April: Lowell Film Festival[73]- Showcases documentary and feature-length films focusing on a variety of topics of interest to the Greater Lowell community and beyond
May: Doors Open Lowell[74] - A celebration of preservation, architecture, and design where many historic buildings that normally have limited public access are open for viewing
June: African Festival[75] - A celebration of the various African communities in and around Lowell
July: Lowell Folk Festival - A three-day free folk music and traditional arts festival attended by on average 250,000 people on the last weekend in July
August: Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival[76] - celebrates Southeast Asian culture
September: Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race[77] - From the crossroads of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics comes a spectacular racing spectacle!
October: Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival[78] - A celebration of the works of Jack Kerouac and his roots in the city of Lowell
October: Bay State Marathon and half marathon
Points of interest
Among the many tourist attractions, Lowell also currently has 39 places on the National Register of Historic Places including many buildings and structures as part of the Lowell National Historical Park.
Lowell National Historical Park: Maintains Lowell's history as an early manufacturing and immigrant city. Exhibits include weave rooms, a waterpower exhibit, and paths along 5.6 miles of largely restored canals.
Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest: Hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing trails in an urban state forest
University of Massachusetts Lowell: State University
University of Massachusetts Lowell Radiation Laboratory: The site of a small nuclear reactor at the school
Vandenberg Esplanade: Walking, biking, swimming, and picnicking park along the banks of the Merrimack River. Contains the Sampas Pavilion.
Western Avenue Studios:[79] Largest complex of artists studios in the United States at 122 Western Avenue.
Jack Kerouac's birthplace: In the Centralville section of the city at 9 Lupine Road.
Armenian Genocide Memorial: "A Mother's Hands" Monument at Lowell City Hall.
Bette Davis's birthplace: In the Highlands section of the city at 22 Chester Street.
Rosalind Elias's birthplace: In the Acre neighborhood at 144 School Street .
Lowell Cemetery: burial site of many of Lowell's wealthy industrialists from the Victorian era, as well as several U.S. Congressmen, a Massachusetts Governor, and a U.S. Senator. 77 Knapp Avenue.
Edson Cemetery: burial site of Jack Kerouac, John McFarland, Passaconaway and William Preston Phelps. 1375 Gorham Street.
The Acre: Lowell's gateway neighborhood where waves of immigrants have established their communities.
Yorick Building: Former home of the gentlemen's club the "Yorick Club", currently a restaurant & function facility (Cobblestones).
Little Cambodia: In 2010, the city began an effort to make it a tourist destination.[80]
Culture
In the early years of the 1840s when the population quickly exceeded 20,000, Lowell became very active as a cultural center, with the construction of the Lowell Museum, the Mechanics Hall, as well as the new City Hall used for art exhibits, lectures, and for the performing arts. The Lowell Museum was lost in a devastating fire in the early morning of January 31, 1856,[81] but was quickly rehoused in a new location. The Lowell Art Association was founded in 1876, and the new Opera House was built in 1889.[82] Continuing to inspire and entertain, Lowell currently has a plethora of artistic exhibitions and performances throughout a wide range of venues in the city:
Museums and public galleries
119 Gallery[83]
Arts League of Lowell & All Gallery[84]
The American Textile History Museum (closed in 2016)[85]
Ayer Lofts[86] Artist Live-work Lofts
The Boott Cotton Mills Museum: Lowell National Historic Park
Brush Art Gallery and Studios[87]
Gallery Z & Artist Cooperative[88]
The Lowell Gallery[89]
Mill No. 5 - an eclectic indoor mall/streetscape featuring artisanal foods and hand-made items, live music and The Luna Theater, and independent film venue.[90]
National Streetcar Museum[91]
The New England Quilt Museum[92]
Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center: Lowell National Historic Park
Whistler House Museum of Art - Art museum in birthplace of James McNeill Whistler.
Western Avenue Studios (The Loading Dock Galleries)[93] - A converted mill with over 300 working artists and musicians.
UMass Lowell Galleries[94]
Interactive and live performances
Angkor Dance Troupe[95] - Cambodian classical and folk dance company and youth program[96]
Arts League of Lowell[97]
Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell[98] - local history library and archive
The Gentlemen Songsters[99] The Lowell Chapter of The Barbershop Harmony Society -Causing Harmony In The Merrimack Valley.
The Hi Hat - acoustic performance stage located at Mill No. 5.
The Luna Theater - Independent film theater opened in 2014 and located inside Mill No. 5.
Lowell Memorial Auditorium - Mid-sized venue for live performances.
Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra[100] - Community orchestra presenting free concerts and offering youth programs
Lowell Poetry Network[101] - A network of area poets and appreciators of poetry who host readings, receptions, and open mics.
Lowell Rocks[102] - Lowell nightlife and entertainment web site promoting performances at local bars and clubs
Lowell Summer Music Series[103] - Boarding House Park
Merrimack Repertory Theater - Professional equity theater
Play by Player's Theatre Company - critically acclaimed community theater
RRRecords - Internationally known record label and store
Sampas Pavilion - Outdoor amphitheater on the banks of the Merrimack River
Standing Room Only Players - musical review troupe
UMass Lowell Department of Music Performances[104]
The United Teen Equality Center[105] A by teens, for teens youth center promoting peace, positivity and empowerment for young people in Lowell.
UnchARTed[106] - Gallery, studios, cafe, bar, and performance space in downtown Lowell
Sports, Teams and Athletic Venues
Boxing
Boxing has formed an important part of Lowell's working-class culture. The city's auditorium hosts the annual New England Golden Gloves tournament, which featured fighters such as Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Marvin Hagler. Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund both began their careers in Lowell, the subject of the 2010 film The Fighter.[107] Arthur Ramahlo's West End Gym is where many of the city's boxers train.[108]
Teams
University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks, NCAA Division I Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Track & Field, Field Hockey, Volleyball
Lowell Spinners - Class A short-season professional baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox
Lowell All-Americans - NECBL (Collegiate Summer Baseball)
New England Riptide - National Pro Fastpitch League (Major League Softball)
Lowell Nor'easter[109] - Semi-Professional football team (New England Football League)
Greater Lowell United FC - Semi-Pro soccer team (NPSL)[110][111]
Twin towns and sister cities
City State Year
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges France 1989
Berdiansk Ukraine 1997
Bamenda[149][150] Cameroon 2002
Limerick City Ireland 2013
Phnom Penh Cambodia 2015
Honors
2010, Lowell designated as a "Green Community"[151]
1997 and 1998, Lowell was a finalist for the All-American City award.[152]
1999, Lowell received an All-American City award.[152]
Lowell is a city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Located in Middlesex County, Lowell (along with Cambridge) was a county seat until Massachusetts disbanded county government in 1999.[3] With an estimated population of 111,640 in 2018,[2] it was the fourth-largest city in Massachusetts as of the last census and is estimated to be the fifth-largest as of 2018, and the second-largest in the Boston metropolitan statistical area.[4] The city is also part of a smaller Massachusetts statistical area called Greater Lowell, as well as New England's Merrimack Valley region.
Incorporated in 1826 to serve as a mill town, Lowell was named after Francis Cabot Lowell, a local figure in the Industrial Revolution. The city became known as the cradle of the American Industrial Revolution, due to a large series of textile mills and factories. Many of the Lowell's historic manufacturing sites were later preserved by the National Park Service to create Lowell National Historical Park.[5] During the Cambodian genocide, the city took in an influx of refugees, leading to a Cambodia Town and America's second-largest Cambodian-American population.[6]
Lowell is home to two institutions of higher education.
History
Founded in the 1820s as a planned manufacturing center for textiles, Lowell is located along the rapids of the Merrimack River, 25 miles northwest of Boston in what was once the farming community of East Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The so-called Boston Associates, including Nathan Appleton and Patrick Tracy Jackson of the Boston Manufacturing Company, named the new mill town after their visionary leader, Francis Cabot Lowell,[7] who had died five years before its 1823 incorporation. As Lowell's population grew, it acquired land from neighboring towns, and diversified into a full-fledged urban center. Many of the men who composed the labor force for constructing the canals and factories had immigrated from Ireland, escaping the poverty and Potato Famines of the 1830s and 1840s. The mill workers, young single women called Mill Girls, generally came from the farm families of New England.
By the 1850s, Lowell had the largest industrial complex in the United States. The textile industry wove cotton produced in the South. In 1860, there were more cotton spindles in Lowell than in all eleven states combined that would form the Confederacy.[8] Yet the city did not simply finish raw materials produced in the American South, but rather became involved in the South in another way, too. Many of the coarse cottons produced in Lowell eventually returned to the South to clothe enslaved people, and, according to historian Sven Beckert, "'Lowell' became the generic term slaves used to describe coarse cottons."[9] The city continued to thrive as a major industrial center during the 19th century, attracting more migrant workers and immigrants to its mills. Next were the Catholic Germans, followed by a large influx of French Canadians during the 1870s and 1880s. Later waves of immigrants included Portuguese, Polish, Lithuanians, Swedes, Greeks, and eastern European Jews. They came to work in Lowell and settled in ethnic neighborhoods, with the city's population reaching almost 50% foreign-born by 1900.[10] By the time World War I broke out in Europe, the city had reached its economic and population peak of over 110,000 people.
The Mill Cities' manufacturing base declined as companies began to relocate to the South in the 1920s.[10] The city fell into hard times, and was even referred to as a "depressed industrial desert" by Harper's Magazine in 1931, as the Great Depression worsened. At this time, more than one-third of its population was "on relief", as only three of its major textile corporations remained active.[10] Several years later, the mills were reactivated, making parachutes and other military necessities for the World War II effort. However, this economic boost was short-lived and the post-war years saw the last textile plants close.Lowell is located at 42°38′22″N 71°18′53″W (42.639444, -71.314722).[16] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.5 square miles (38 km2).13.8 square miles (35.7 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) of it (5.23%) is water.
Physical
Lowell is located at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord rivers. The Pawtucket Falls, a mile-long set of rapids with a total drop in elevation of 32 feet, ends where the two rivers meet. At the top of the falls is the Pawtucket Dam, designed to turn the upper Merrimack into a millpond, diverted through Lowell's extensive canal system.
The Merrimack, which flows southerly from Franklin, New Hampshire to Lowell, makes a northeasterly turn there before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport, Massachusetts, approximately 40 miles downriver from Lowell. It is believed that in prior ages, the Merrimack continued south from Lowell to empty into the ocean somewhere near Boston. The glacial deposits that redirected the flow of the river left the drumlins that dot the city, most notably, Fort Hill in the Belvidere neighborhood. Other large hills in Lowell include Lynde Hill, also in Belvidere, and Christian Hill, in the easternmost part of Centralville at the Dracut town line.
The Concord, or Musketaquid (its original name), forms from the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers at Concord, Massachusetts. This river flows north into the city, and the area around the confluence with the Merrimack was known as Wamesit. Like the Merrimack, the Concord, although a much smaller river, has many waterfalls and rapids that served as power sources for early industrial purposes, some well before the founding of Lowell. Immediately after the Concord joins the Merrimack, the Merrimack descends another ten feet in Hunt's Falls.
There is a ninety-degree bend in the Merrimack partway down the Pawtucket Falls. At this point, the river briefly widens and shallows. Here, Beaver Brook enters from the north, separating the City's two northern neighborhoods, Pawtucketville and Centralville. Entering the Concord River from the southwest is River Meadow, or Hale's Brook. This brook flows largely in a man-made channel, as the Lowell Connector was built along it. Both of these minor streams have limited industrial histories as well.
The bordering towns (clockwise from north) are Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tyngsborough. The border with Billerica is a point in the middle of the Concord River where Lowell and Billerica meet Tewksbury and Chelmsford.
The ten communities designated part of the Lowell Metropolitan area by the 2000 US Census are Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, and Westford, and Pelham, NH. See Greater Lowell.
Education
Colleges and universities
With a rapidly growing student population, Lowell has been considered an emerging college town.[46] With approximately 12,000 students at Middlesex Community College (MCC) and 18,500 students at University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell is currently home to more than 30,000 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students, and the location of some of the top research laboratories in Massachusetts. UMass Lowell is the second largest state university and fifth largest university in Massachusetts, while MCC is the second largest Associate's college in Massachusetts.[47]
Middlesex Community College
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Lowell Public Schools operates district public schools. Lowell High School is the district public school. Non-district public schools include Greater Lowell Technical High School, Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School,[48] Lowell Community Charter Public School,[49][50] and Lowell Collegiate Charter School.[51]
Lowell Public Schools is an above average, public school district located in Lowell, MA. It has 14,247 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1.[52]
Lowell High School students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Lowell High is 29 percent. The student body makeup is 50 percent male and 50 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 68 percent with a student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1.[53]
Infrastructure
Transportation
Lowell can be reached by automobile from Interstate 495, U.S. Route 3, the Lowell Connector, and Massachusetts Routes: 3A, 38, 110, 113, and 133, all of which run through the city; Route 133 begins at the spot where Routes 110 and 38 branch off just south of the Merrimack River.[70] There are six bridges crossing the Merrimack River in Lowell, and four crossing the Concord River (not including the two for I-495).
For public transit, Lowell is served by the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA), which provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services to the city and surrounding area. OurBus has daily bus service to Worcester and New York City. Other service includes Merrimack Vallery Regional Transfer Authority (MVRTA) Route 41 to Lawrence, and the Sunshine Travel bus to Mohegan Sun.
Lowell is also served by the MBTA's commuter rail Lowell Line, with several departures daily to and from Boston's North Station.
The Lowell National Historical Park provides a free streetcar shuttle between its various sites in the city center, using track formerly used to provide freight access to the city's mills. An expansion to expand the system to 6.9 miles was planned but rejected in 2016.[71]
In addition to several car rental agencies, Lowell has four (4) Zipcar rental locations convenient to Gallagher Terminal, the Downtown, and the three (3) University campuses (North, South and East).
Hospitals
Lowell General Hospital
Saints Medical Center
Arts and culture
Monthly Calendar of Events and Entertainment
Click Link to See Current Events and Entertainment
Click Link to See Weekly Live Music Events
Click Link for Tsongas Center Events
Annual events
February: Winterfest - celebration of winter. (Also, Lowell's Birthday)
March: Lowell Women's Week[72] - A week of events recognizing women's achievements, struggles, and contributions to the Lowell community past and present. Irish Cultural Week - A celebration of Irish history and hulture within the Greater Lowell community.
April: Lowell Film Festival[73]- Showcases documentary and feature-length films focusing on a variety of topics of interest to the Greater Lowell community and beyond
May: Doors Open Lowell[74] - A celebration of preservation, architecture, and design where many historic buildings that normally have limited public access are open for viewing
June: African Festival[75] - A celebration of the various African communities in and around Lowell
July: Lowell Folk Festival - A three-day free folk music and traditional arts festival attended by on average 250,000 people on the last weekend in July
August: Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival[76] - celebrates Southeast Asian culture
September: Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race[77] - From the crossroads of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics comes a spectacular racing spectacle!
October: Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival[78] - A celebration of the works of Jack Kerouac and his roots in the city of Lowell
October: Bay State Marathon and half marathon
Points of interest
Among the many tourist attractions, Lowell also currently has 39 places on the National Register of Historic Places including many buildings and structures as part of the Lowell National Historical Park.
Lowell National Historical Park: Maintains Lowell's history as an early manufacturing and immigrant city. Exhibits include weave rooms, a waterpower exhibit, and paths along 5.6 miles of largely restored canals.
Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest: Hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing trails in an urban state forest
University of Massachusetts Lowell: State University
University of Massachusetts Lowell Radiation Laboratory: The site of a small nuclear reactor at the school
Vandenberg Esplanade: Walking, biking, swimming, and picnicking park along the banks of the Merrimack River. Contains the Sampas Pavilion.
Western Avenue Studios:[79] Largest complex of artists studios in the United States at 122 Western Avenue.
Jack Kerouac's birthplace: In the Centralville section of the city at 9 Lupine Road.
Armenian Genocide Memorial: "A Mother's Hands" Monument at Lowell City Hall.
Bette Davis's birthplace: In the Highlands section of the city at 22 Chester Street.
Rosalind Elias's birthplace: In the Acre neighborhood at 144 School Street .
Lowell Cemetery: burial site of many of Lowell's wealthy industrialists from the Victorian era, as well as several U.S. Congressmen, a Massachusetts Governor, and a U.S. Senator. 77 Knapp Avenue.
Edson Cemetery: burial site of Jack Kerouac, John McFarland, Passaconaway and William Preston Phelps. 1375 Gorham Street.
The Acre: Lowell's gateway neighborhood where waves of immigrants have established their communities.
Yorick Building: Former home of the gentlemen's club the "Yorick Club", currently a restaurant & function facility (Cobblestones).
Little Cambodia: In 2010, the city began an effort to make it a tourist destination.[80]
Culture
In the early years of the 1840s when the population quickly exceeded 20,000, Lowell became very active as a cultural center, with the construction of the Lowell Museum, the Mechanics Hall, as well as the new City Hall used for art exhibits, lectures, and for the performing arts. The Lowell Museum was lost in a devastating fire in the early morning of January 31, 1856,[81] but was quickly rehoused in a new location. The Lowell Art Association was founded in 1876, and the new Opera House was built in 1889.[82] Continuing to inspire and entertain, Lowell currently has a plethora of artistic exhibitions and performances throughout a wide range of venues in the city:
Museums and public galleries
119 Gallery[83]
Arts League of Lowell & All Gallery[84]
The American Textile History Museum (closed in 2016)[85]
Ayer Lofts[86] Artist Live-work Lofts
The Boott Cotton Mills Museum: Lowell National Historic Park
Brush Art Gallery and Studios[87]
Gallery Z & Artist Cooperative[88]
The Lowell Gallery[89]
Mill No. 5 - an eclectic indoor mall/streetscape featuring artisanal foods and hand-made items, live music and The Luna Theater, and independent film venue.[90]
National Streetcar Museum[91]
The New England Quilt Museum[92]
Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center: Lowell National Historic Park
Whistler House Museum of Art - Art museum in birthplace of James McNeill Whistler.
Western Avenue Studios (The Loading Dock Galleries)[93] - A converted mill with over 300 working artists and musicians.
UMass Lowell Galleries[94]
Interactive and live performances
Angkor Dance Troupe[95] - Cambodian classical and folk dance company and youth program[96]
Arts League of Lowell[97]
Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell[98] - local history library and archive
The Gentlemen Songsters[99] The Lowell Chapter of The Barbershop Harmony Society -Causing Harmony In The Merrimack Valley.
The Hi Hat - acoustic performance stage located at Mill No. 5.
The Luna Theater - Independent film theater opened in 2014 and located inside Mill No. 5.
Lowell Memorial Auditorium - Mid-sized venue for live performances.
Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra[100] - Community orchestra presenting free concerts and offering youth programs
Lowell Poetry Network[101] - A network of area poets and appreciators of poetry who host readings, receptions, and open mics.
Lowell Rocks[102] - Lowell nightlife and entertainment web site promoting performances at local bars and clubs
Lowell Summer Music Series[103] - Boarding House Park
Merrimack Repertory Theater - Professional equity theater
Play by Player's Theatre Company - critically acclaimed community theater
RRRecords - Internationally known record label and store
Sampas Pavilion - Outdoor amphitheater on the banks of the Merrimack River
Standing Room Only Players - musical review troupe
UMass Lowell Department of Music Performances[104]
The United Teen Equality Center[105] A by teens, for teens youth center promoting peace, positivity and empowerment for young people in Lowell.
UnchARTed[106] - Gallery, studios, cafe, bar, and performance space in downtown Lowell
Sports, Teams and Athletic Venues
Boxing
Boxing has formed an important part of Lowell's working-class culture. The city's auditorium hosts the annual New England Golden Gloves tournament, which featured fighters such as Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Marvin Hagler. Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund both began their careers in Lowell, the subject of the 2010 film The Fighter.[107] Arthur Ramahlo's West End Gym is where many of the city's boxers train.[108]
Teams
University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks, NCAA Division I Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Track & Field, Field Hockey, Volleyball
Lowell Spinners - Class A short-season professional baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox
Lowell All-Americans - NECBL (Collegiate Summer Baseball)
New England Riptide - National Pro Fastpitch League (Major League Softball)
Lowell Nor'easter[109] - Semi-Professional football team (New England Football League)
Greater Lowell United FC - Semi-Pro soccer team (NPSL)[110][111]
Twin towns and sister cities
City State Year
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges France 1989
Berdiansk Ukraine 1997
Bamenda[149][150] Cameroon 2002
Limerick City Ireland 2013
Phnom Penh Cambodia 2015
Honors
2010, Lowell designated as a "Green Community"[151]
1997 and 1998, Lowell was a finalist for the All-American City award.[152]
1999, Lowell received an All-American City award.[152]
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