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Lawrence, MA
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Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,043. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are the county seats of Essex County. Lawrence is also part of the Merrimack Valley.
Manufacturing products of the city include electronic equipment, textiles, footwear, paper products, computers, and foodstuffs. Lawrence was, for a while, the residence of Robert Frost, where he published his first poem.
HistoryFounding and rise as a textile centerEuropeans first settled the area in 1640. The site of the city -- formerly parts of Andover and Methuen -- was purchased in 1845 by a group of Boston industrialists headed by the wealthy merchant and congressman Abbott Lawrence, the community's namesake. The city was incorporated in 1853.
The Bread and Roses strike of 1912The industrialists, most prominently Lawrence, established textile mills near sources of abundant waterpower. Working conditions in these mills were unsafe and in 1860 a factory collapsed, killing 88 workers. As immigrants flooded into the United States in the late 19th century, the native population of Lawrence was replaced by unskilled workers from Ireland, Italy, Quebec, Germany and a wide assortment of other foreign lands.
Manufacturing products of the city include electronic equipment, textiles, footwear, paper products, computers, and foodstuffs. Lawrence was, for a while, the residence of Robert Frost, where he published his first poem.
HistoryFounding and rise as a textile centerEuropeans first settled the area in 1640. The site of the city -- formerly parts of Andover and Methuen -- was purchased in 1845 by a group of Boston industrialists headed by the wealthy merchant and congressman Abbott Lawrence, the community's namesake. The city was incorporated in 1853.
The Bread and Roses strike of 1912The industrialists, most prominently Lawrence, established textile mills near sources of abundant waterpower. Working conditions in these mills were unsafe and in 1860 a factory collapsed, killing 88 workers. As immigrants flooded into the United States in the late 19th century, the native population of Lawrence was replaced by unskilled workers from Ireland, Italy, Quebec, Germany and a wide assortment of other foreign lands. In 1912 the so-called Bread and Roses strike or the Lawrence textile strike, one of greatest labor actions in American history, began when mill owners increased the speed of factory looms, and subsequently lowered wages for thousands of women and child workers. The Massachusetts National Guard, private and city police countered 23,000 strikers for two months, resulting in numerous deaths and mass arrests. Immigrant groups normally mistrustful of one another banded together in the common cause of higher wages. When police and National Guard assaulted a group of women and children, public outcry forced mill owners to capitulate. The striking workers won wage increases for themselves and thousands of workers across New England. One of the major companies involved in the strike was the American Woolen Company, led ironically by a Portuguese immigrant, William Madison Wood who had risen through the ranks in the textile industry.
Post-War historyLawrence was a great wool-processing center until that industry declined in the 1950s. The decline left Lawrence a struggling city. The population of Lawrence declined from over 80,000 residents in 1950 to approximately 64,000 residents in 1980, the low point of Lawrence's population.
Urban renewalLike other northeastern cities suffering from the effects of Post World War II industrial decline, Lawrence has often made efforts at revitalization, some of them controversial. For example, half of the enormous water-powered Wood Mill, once the largest mills in the world, was knocked down in the 1950s. Nothing has been built on the site other than a quarter-mile long parking lot. More significantly, under the guise of "urban renewal", large tracts of downtown Lawrence were razed in the mid-1970s and replaced with a parking lots and a three story parking garage connected to a new Intown Mall intended to compete with newly constructed suburban malls. The historic Theater Row along Broadway was also razed, destroying ornate movie palaces of the 1920s and 1930s that entertained mill workers through the Great Depression and the Second World War. Additionally, the city's main post office, an ornate federalist style building at the corner of Broadway and Essex Street, was razed. Most of the structures were replaced with one-story, steel frame structures with large parking lots, housing such establishments as fast food restaurants and chain drug stores, fundamentally changing the character of the center of Lawrence.
Lawrence also attempted to increase its employment base by attracting industries unwanted in other communities, such as waste treatment facilities and incinerators. From 1980 until 1998, private corporations operated two trash incinerators in Lawrence. Activist residents successfully blocked the approval of a waste treatment center on the banks of the Merrimack River near the current site of Salvatore's Pizza on Merrimack Street.
Troubles of the 1980s and 1990sHispanic immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico began arriving in Lawrence in significant numbers in the late 1960s, attracted by cheap housing and a history of tolerance toward immigrants. In 1984, tensions between remaining working class whites and increasing numbers of Hispanic youth flared into a riot, centered at the intersection of Haverhill Street and Railroad Street where a number of buildings were destroyed by Molotov cocktails and over 300 people were arrested.
Lawrence saw further setbacks during the recession of the early 1990s as a wave of arson plagued the city. Over 200 buildings were set alight in an eighteen month period in 1991-92, many of them abandoned residences and industrial sites.
Recent trendsRecently, a sharp reduction in violent crime starting in 2004 and massive private investment in former mill buildings along the Merrimack River, including the remaining section of the historic Wood Mill -- to be converted into commercial, residential and education uses -- have lent encouragement to boosters of the city. One of the final remaining mills in the city is Malden Mills. Additionally, Lawrence's downtown has seen a resurgence of business activity as Hispanic-owned businesses have opened along Essex Street, the historic shopping street of Lawrence that remained largely shuttered since the 1970s. In June 2007, the City approved the sale of the Intown mall, largely abandoned since the early 1990s recession, to Northern Essex Community College for the development of a medical sciences center.
Recent firesIn the morning of January 21, 2008, a massive fire swept through downtown Lawrence. The fire, fueled by high winds burned through 16 buildings, destroying 14 of them. It was traced to an abandoned nightclub that was being renovated. It didn't help firefighters that temperatures were in the low teens and wind chills were below zero. 380 residents were evacuated and many of those are now homeless. The fire destroyed many low income housing units and special-needs housing. The fire was considered suspicious by the state fire marshall because of the speed in which the building went up in flames. The investigation is still ongoing.
See link to photo essay below.
GeographyLawrence is located at (42.703741, -71.162979).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²), of which, 7.0 square miles (18.0 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (6.07%) is water.
Aside from the Merrimack River, other water features include the Spicket River, which flows into the Merrimack from Methuen, and the Shawsheen River, which forms the southeastern border of the city. Additionally, Lawrence has two power canals that were formerly used to provide hydropower to the mills - one on the north bank of the river, the other on the south. Channeling water into these canals is the Great Stone Dam, which lies across the entire Merrimack and was, at the time of its construction in the 1840s, the largest dam in the world.
The highest point in Lawrence is the top of Tower Hill in the northeast corner of the city, rising approximately 240 feet above sea level. Other prominent hills include Prospect Hill, in the northwest corner of the city, and Mount Vernon, along the southern edge of the city. Most industrial activity was concentrated in the flatlands along the rivers.
Den Rock Park, a wooded conservation district on the southern edge of Lawrence that spans the Lawrence-Andover town line, provides recreation for nature lovers and rock-climbers alike.
GovernmentLocalForm of government:
Plan B - "Weak mayor" - Mayor and city council, the councillors being elected partly at large and partly from districts or wards of the city. Party primaries prohibited.
Lawrence has an established City Charter and its form of government is a Mayor-council government. There are nine city councilors and six school committee members; most are elected by district; three city council members are elected at large. There are six districts in Lawrence and all elections are non-partisan. The Mayor serves as the seventh member and chair of the school committee. The city council chooses one of its number as president who serves as chair of the council. The city of Lawrence also elects three members to the Greater Lawrence Technical School Committee these members are elected at-large.
The current Mayor is Michael J. Sullivan; the current City Council President is Patrick J. Blanchette.
= President/Chair
= Vice President/Vice ChairEducationPublic schoolsThe City of Lawrence has a public school system managed by Lawrence Public Schools.
Elementary schools
Lawrence Family Development Charter SchoolCommunity Day Charter Public School
High schools
Lawrence High SchoolThe Greater Lawrence Technical School
Private schoolsElementary schools
Our Lady of Good Counsel SchoolSt Patrick's School
High schools
Central Catholic High SchoolNotre Dame High School
Higher educationPublic
Northern Essex Community College University of Massachusetts Lowell
Private
Cambridge College Massachusetts School of Law Merrimack CollegeMedia Newspapers The Eagle-Tribune - Daily newspaper Rumbo - Weekly newspaper Siglo 21 - Weekly newspaper The Valley Patriot - Monthly newspaper
Radio WCCM 1490 AMPower 800 AM
InfrastructureHealthcare Lawrence General Hospital Greater Lawrence Family Health Center
TransportationAirport
The City of Lawrence owns the Lawrence Municipal Airport located in North Andover, MA.
Boating
Local boating at the Greater Lawrence Community Boating Program
Bus service
Local busing options include the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority.
Rail service
Commuter rail to Boston is provided by the MBTA Haverhill/Reading Line.
Roadways
Lawrence is circled with expressways. Interstate 495 runs from the south-eastern portion of the city through the eastern edge of the city, Interstate 93 is to the west, running through Andover, Massachusetts. The final part of the circle is "The Loop Connector" (named after the The Loop shopping center) which runs through Methuen, Massachusetts, parallel to Route 113. Major street-level routes include Routes 28 (north/south) and 110 (east/west).
TelecommunicationsLawrence is served only by the 978 area code. Area code 978 was created as a split from area code 508 on September 1, 1997.
Points of interest Lawrence Public Library Essex Art Center Saint Alfio Society Inc. the organization that puts on the Feast of the Three Saints Lawrence Community Works Movement City Lawrence History Center Lawrence Heritage State Park Lawrence Experiment Station YMCA YWCANotable residents Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor John Breen, Mayor of Lawrence; First Irish-American Mayor in the United States Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003 and MTV VJ Ferdinand W. Demara, The Great Imposter William E. Donovan, major league baseball player and manager Sully Erna, Godsmack, lead singer Robert Frost, poet Robert Goulet, singer Steve Holman, voice of the Atlanta Hawks William S. Knox, US Congressman from March 4, 1895 to March 3, 1903 Thomas J. Lane, US Congressman from March 4, 1941 to March 3, 1963 Abbott Lawrence, Founder of Lawrence, MA Anna LoPizzo, a striker killed during the Lawrence textile strike Robert S. Maloney, US Congressman from March 4, 1921 to March 3, 1923 Robbie Merill, Godsmack, bassist Endicott Peabody, former Governor of Massachusetts (1963-1965) Joe Perry, guitarist of Aerosmith Gil Reyes, former WBA, Fedecentro Welterweight Champion William A. Russell, US Congressman from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1885 John K. Tarbox, US Congressman from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1877 and Mayor of Lawrence from (1873-1875) Thelma Todd, actress William M. Wood, Co-founder of the American Woolen CompanyExternal linksCity of LawrenceIndustrial Workers of the World - Organizers of the Bread & Roses StrikePhoto Essay on January 21, 2008 Fire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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By Sally Johnson
14 days
Taking in the National Parks, DV, YNP & Other things along the way as this is our 2nd honeymoon.
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