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Readers of this blog know that I’ve been writing a book about the origin and impact of Lowell National Historical Park. Titled Mill Power, the book is expected to be available this coming summer. Following are a few paragraphs about the roots of the park, discussed in much greater detail…
Read More »Peter Aucella, Assistant Superintendent at Lowell National Historical Park recently received the Department of the Interior’s Superior Service Award for his 24 years of vision, planning, and efforts associated with the Lowell Summer Music Series and the development of Boarding House Park. Each year, the series draws some 30,000 people…
Read More »The Mills Weren’t Made of Marble New York Times (September 07, 1992) Youngsters who are made to troop through America’s historic landmarks might reasonably conclude that in the past, rich was typical. Ordinary people are shown mainly as servants, or as slaves, in the sumptuous mansions and town houses that…
Read More »The following essay was written in 2005 for the Sunrise public affairs radio program of WUML-FM at UMass Lowell. The weekday morning show was broadcast for a few years under the guidance of executive producer Chris Dunlap. I was reminded of the essay by this week’s news reports about August…
Read More »The National Park Service is 97 years old today. The following is an excerpt from the law that made Lowell, Massachusetts, part of the system of national parks in America.—PM . Public Law 95-290 95th Congress June 5, 1978 (H.R. 11662) Lowell National Historical Park 16 U.S.C. 410cc. An Act…
Read More »One more bit of commentary about the notion of distinctive cities or particular heritage sites as works of art in themselves. Cultural critic Lucy Lippard mentions Lowell’s national park in her book about the power of special places, The Lure of the Local. The following passage is from my manuscript…
Read More »Dick’s post about public art in cities prompts me to add this thought from my book-in-progress about the origin and impact of the national park in Lowell. In the early planning phase, advocates used the term urban cultural park for what they were envisioning for Lowell. That terminology changed when…
Read More »I have seen them all, and the 2013 Lowell Folk Festival was a five-star event, if that’s the highest ranking possible. Now, can I saw something about the setting? The downtown looked fabulous. From Market Street to the Boott Cotton Mills, and in between, the historic district offered stunning views…
Read More »With the Lowell Folk Festival coming this weekend, here is some background on the event. As some of our readers are aware, for the past two years I’ve been writing a book about the origin and impact of Lowell National Historical Park. What follows is an excerpt from a chapter…
Read More »In the past few years at the Lowell Summer Music Series at Boarding House Park, I have been struck by the superlative musicianship of the artists presented by the organizers, Lowell National Historical Park and the Lowell Festival Foundation. Night after night the featured artists and their bands demonstrate the…
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