Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total
population of 105,167. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County.6 Founded as a planned manufacturing center
for textiles along the Merrimack River northwest of
Boston, it was a thriving industrial center during the 19th century, attracting
many immigrants and migrant workers to its mills. With the decline of its manufacturing in the 20th century, the city fell into
deep hard times but has begun to rebound in recent decades. The former mill district along the river is partially restored and is
a part of the Lowell National Historical Park.
History
-
Geography
Lowell's canal system - today
Lowell is located at 42°38′22″N, 71°18′53″W (42.639515,
-71.314588).1 It can be reached by
automobile from Interstate 495, US Route
3, the Lowell Connector, and Massachusetts Routes 3A, 110, 113, and 133. It can be reached by passenger
train from Boston's North Station on the MBTA Lowell Commuter Rail Line (stops at
the Gallagher Transportation Terminal).[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 37.7 km² (14.5 mi²). 35.7 km² (13.8 mi²)
of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (5.23%) is water.
Lowell has 5 zip codes, 4 are geographically distinct general zip codes and 1 is for
PO-boxes only (01853).
The zip code 01850 is the northeastern section of the city, north of the Merrimack River and east of Beaver Brook. This area is known as Centralville. Christian Hill is located here in the
area east of Bridge Street. Lower Centralville refers to the section closest to the Merrimack River.
The zip code 01851 is the southwestern section of the city, bordered to the east by the Lowell Connector and to the north by
the railroad. This area is commonly referred to as the Lowell Highlands. The Lower Highlands refers to the portion of this area
closest to downtown. Middlesex Village, Tyler Park and Drum Hill are in this zip code.
The zip code 01852 is the southeastern section of the city. It is south of the Merrimack
River and bordered to the west by the Lowell Connector, towards the south. This zip code includes Lowell's city offices,
downtown, Belvidere, Back Central and South Lowell. Belvidere is the mostly residential area south of the Merrimack River, east
of the Concord River and north of the Lowell and Lawrence railroad. Belvidere Hill is an Historic District along Fairmount St.
Lower Belvidere refers to the section west of Nesmith Street. Back Central is an urban area south of downtown towards the mouth
of River Meadow Brook. South Lowell is the area south of the railroad and east of the Concord River. Other neighborhoods in this
zip code are Ayers City, Bleachery, Chapel Hill, the Grove, Oaklands, Riverside Park, Swede Village and Wigginsville, but their
use is mostly antiquated.
The zip code 01854 is the northwestern portion of the city and includes Pawtucketville and the Acre.
The surrounding towns (clockwise from north) are Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tyngsborough. 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, New Hampshire. See
Greater Lowell.
Lowell received an "All-America City" award in 1999, and was a finalist in
1997 and 1998.[1]
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 105,167 people, 37,887 households, and 23,982 families
residing in the city. The population density was 2,948.8/km² (7,635.6/mi²). There
were 39,468 housing units at an average density of 1,106.7/km² (2,865.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.60%
White, 16.52% Asian, 4.21% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.48% from other races, and 3.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.01% of the population. Lowell is home to the
second largest Cambodian population in the United States after Long Beach, California. There are an estimated 25,000 Cambodians living in the city of Lowell, but local community leaders estimate the number to be around 35,000
[2].
There were 37,887 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were
non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from
45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,192, and the median income for a family was $45,901. Males had a median
income of $33,554 versus $27,399 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$17,557. About 13.6% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Lowell has a Council-manager government. There are nine city councilors
and six school committee members, all elected at large in a non-partisan election. The
City Council chooses one of its number as mayor, and another as vice-mayor; the mayor
serves as chair of the council, serves as the seventh member of the school committee, and performs certain ceremonial duties. The
administrative head of the city government is the City Manager, who is responsible for all
day-to-day operations, functioning within the guidelines of City Council policy, and is hired by and serves at the pleasure of
the City Council as whole. As of September 2006, the City Manager is Bernard F. Lynch and William F. Martin Jr. is the Mayor.
As of August 2005, Lowell is part of one Massachusetts Senate district (First Middlesex, represented by Steven C. Panagiotakos
(D)) and three Massachusetts Representative Districts (Sixteenth Middlesex, represented by Thomas A. Golden, Jr. (D), Seventeenth
Middlesex, represented by David M. Nangle (D), and Eighteenth Middlesex, represented by Kevin J. Murphy (D)). It is part of the
Fifth Massachusetts Congressional District, represented by Niki Tsongas (D).
Points of interest
The Boott Mill complex now converted to a museum.
- Canal Walk - Walking trails along the 5.6 miles of canals of Lowell
- Lowell Dracut Tyngsboro State Forest - Hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing trails in an
urban state forest
- Lowell Memorial Auditorium - performance venue
- Lowell National Historical Park
- New England Golden Gloves - Boxing
- Tsongas Arena - concert venue
- Vandenberg Esplanade - Walking, biking, swimming, and picnicking park along the banks of the
Merrimack River
Culture
- Angkor Dance Troupe [3] - Cambodian classical and folk dance company and youth program
- Brush With History Artist Gallery
- Lowell Rocks [4] - Lowell nightlife and
entertainment web site
- Lowell Telecommunication Corporation [5] (LTC) - a community media and technology center
- Merrimack Reperatory Theater - professional equity theater
- OUtlET - a performance magazine and music publisher
- Play by Player's Theatre Company - critically acclaimed community theater
- Revolving Museum - Jerry Beck's modern art museum
- Standing Room Only Players - musical review troupe
- Western Avenue Studios - a converted mill on Western Avenue which houses over
100 working artists and musicians. These studios are open to the public on the 1st Saturday of each month from 12-5 PM.
- Whistler House Museum of Art - art museum in birthplace of James
MacNeil Whistler
- Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell - local history library and
archive
- WUML - Noncommercial free-format college radio station (A student organization has operated the
station since 1952; currently this organization controls the entire broadcast day except the hours from 5:00 to 10:00 am M-F,
which are controlled by the University itself).
Sports
On April 1, 2006, Lowell held the 2006 World Curling
Championships for the men's teams at the Tsongas Arena.
Venues
Annual events
- Bay State Marathon - October marathon and half
marathon
- Lowell Folk Festival - three day free folk festival attended by on average
250,000 people on the last weekend in July
- Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival [7] - annual summer event that celebrates Southeast Asian culture
- Winterfest - celebration of winter in February
Businesses started and/or products invented in Lowell
Lowell in print
Lowell has been the subject of a number of novels. Some of the better known ones are:
- Jack Kerouac, who was born in Lowell, set several biographical novels there, including
Visions of Gerard and Doctor Sax.
- Katherine Paterson's novel "Lyddie" tells the fictional story of a
Lowell Mill Girl in the nineteenth century who fights for better working conditions in
the hot, crowded and dangerous mills. She also discovers true friendship, love, and how to handle the hardballs of life. Lyddie
is a brave and intelligent young girl searching for a way to make money in order to save her farm. She and her brother eventually
get separated and work for their dream. While they work, their mother and their small family fight to survive.
- In Avi's "Beyond The Western Sea Book 2: Lord Kirkle's Money" Lowell is the
destination of immigrants hoping to reach America and begin new lives.
- "Call The Darkness Light" written by Nancy Zaroulis. A novel about a young woman left alone
in the world following the death of her father. Tells the story of the difficult life of a mid 19th century Lowell Girl and the
realities of the textile industry.
Notable residents
- Charles Herbert Allen Governor of Puerto
Rico
- James Taylor Ames, born in Lowell, noted manufacturer[2]
- Benjamin Franklin Butler, Union general in the Civil War,
governor of Massachusetts, and presidential candidate
- Michael Casey, poet
- Michael Chiklis, actor
- Bette Davis, actress
- George Bassett Clark, astronomer
- Benjamin Dean, lawyer and politician
- George Washington Dixon, entertainer and newspaper editor
- James B. Francis, pioneer of American civil engineering
- Maurice K. Goddard, former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources, a driving force in creating 45 Pennsylvania state
parks in his 24 years in office.
- Ryan Johnston, sportscaster and talk show host on WCAP-AM
980 in Lowell
- Jack Kerouac, author
- Walker Lewis, radical African American abolitionist and early Mormon Elder
- Richard M. Linnehan, NASA astronaut and veterinarian
- Francis Cabot Lowell, business man, for whom the town is
named
- Christopher Makos, photographer, artist.
- Ed McMahon, entertainer
- Marty Meehan, Former Congressman in the United States House of Representatives, current
Chancellor of UMass/Lowell
- Leonard Pollard, Decorated Police Officer and TOP COP Award Recipient
- Paul Tsongas, former United States Senator and Democratic presidential candidate
- An Wang, inventor and businessman
- James McNeill Whistler, painter and etcher
- "Irish" Micky Ward, boxer
- Olympia Dukakis, actress
- Vince Vouyer, male pornographic actor
- D-Tension, hip hop producer and artist, music journalist Boston Phoenix, radio DJ 101.7 FM WFNX
References
- ^ City of Lowell - Location. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
- ^ (1967) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Coordinates:
42.639515° N 71.314588°
W
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
