Three Young Men that Give me Hope for Newburyport’s Future

What these three young men have in common, to paraphrase President Kennedy, is, “Ask not what Newburyport can do for you, but ask what you can do for Newburyport.”

And for me, these three young men honor Newburyport, they link the stories of Newburyport’s past to what will be the story of Newburyport’s future.

Tom Salemi

Tom Salemi

I first got to know Tom Salemi when he became a fellow Newburyport blogger, the editor of The Newburyport Posts. Tom had been a reporter for the Newburyport Daily News in the early to mid 1990s, left Newburyport and then returned to our wonderful city.

Much to my surprise (and I was somewhat alarmed for his sanity), Tom jumped in feet-first into the world of Newburyport civics, and became a member of what I think of as Newburyport’s most toxic committee, the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority (NRA).

Tom became a member while the NRA was exploring the possibility of putting some buildings on Newburyport’s Waterfront. The chaos and hostility that ensued was mind-boggling, I was sure that Tom would step down. But Tom Salemi did not, instead he became chair of the NRA (I worried for his sanity), and has throughout his tenure conducted himself with grace and dignity, listening to the overall call for the Waterfront to remain “open,” and withstanding the onslaught of Citizens for an Open Water Front (COW) and calls by members of the Newburyport City Council for the NRA to disband.

You got to really love your city to preservere and work as a member of the NRA and to look for a solution that has alluded the city for 50 years. This young man, Tom Salemi, self deprecating, funny, and without a hint of entitlement, gives me hope for Newburyport’s future.

Jared Eigerman

Jarred Eigerman

I first got to know Jared Eigerman during the push to have Newburyport have a Local Historic District (LHD). And then, much to my delight, Jared decided to run for Newburyport City Council for Ward 2, and he won.

Jared was born in Newburyport, left our city and has now come back. He is a native son. Jared is one smart cookie, and again, self deprecating and without a hint of entitlement. He wanted to become a city councilor not for power or to one day become mayor, but, in his words to me, “to write good laws.” And the first law/ordinance that Jared sponsored, was to protect downtown Newburyport and Newburyport’s Historic District, something that people had been trying to do for 50 years. It passed the Newburyport City Council unanimously, with the support of the “No LHD” folks and the “Yes LHD” folks. No small accomplishment. Yes, Newburyport historic preservationists still fight on, and people find ways to maneuver around the ordinance, but still, what an accomplishment.

Jared Eigerman honors Newburyport’s past, its stories, and wants to make sure that its history is intertwined with the story of Newburyport’s future. And Jared Eigerman is one of the young men in our historic city that gives me great hope for our future.

Alex Dardinski

Alex Dardinski

I don’t really know Alex Dardinski except through Facebook and talking to him while he takes his young son in his very cool bike, riding around our historic city. Alex was born and raised in Newburyport, his family moved here in the early 1970s when real estate could be bought for $9,000. Alex has witnessed the change in Newburyport and can envision its future. And Alex is passionate about a vision to make Newburyport more walkable and pedestrian friendly, and reducing a reliance on the automobile. He is involved in Newburyport’s Greenway and Newburyport’s Open Street Event.

Alex has also written a very thoughtful post for The Newburyport Blog on historic preservation in Newburyport, and his own personal experience of renovating an historic home.

As many people know, I love walking in Newburyport. I do it every day, and I also love historic preservation, and that may be why I resonate with Alex Dardinski so much. And Alex is one of those people who links the stories of Newburyport’s past to what Newburyport’s story will become, and he gives me great hope for the future of Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Newburyport Full-Blown Gentrification, Beyond High End to Luxury Real Estate and Smart Growth

Yesterday when I looked on Zillow, I counted 23 properties above a million dollars for sale in Newburyport, most of them significantly above a million dollars and one for 3.2 million dollars.

I think that it is safe to say that Newburyport is now in full-blown gentrification and is going beyond “high end” to what I would call “luxury” real estate.

Million dollar house for sale in Newburyport

Newburyport house being sold for 3.2 Million (on the City’s website)

When I first moved here, the large houses on High Street and elsewhere throughout Newburyport’s Historic District were often chopped up and used as rental units. Later in the the 1990s many of them were made into condos. If one of them was turned back into its one-family state, that was mighty unusual. And when I lived downtown in the 1990s, there was a rooming house next door, and the police were there all the time (Newburyport was a very different place even a short while ago). That location is no longer a rooming house. Starting in the beginning of the first decade of the 21st Century large houses began to be turned back to one family homes. 182 High Street is an example of a place that was once a pretty rundown rental property, that was restored to its former glory.

Newburyport before Urban Renewal, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum.

Newburyport before Urban Renewal, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum.

And one of the places that I’ve watched being restored is on High Street between Federal and Lime (not on the Ridge). It used to be the Harbor School, a residential program for “troubled and neglected” young people.

It was bought after the economy collapsed, and the Harbor Schools sold it to pay its debts. It is now being restored. It is not being restored to the way many Newburyport preservationists would like. It is a “down to the studs” restoration project. It has been reconfigured inside the way people would like to live today (see earlier post). Although it is not using the original materials (although the front door looks original!!), and the original layout, the original details have been meticulously duplicated — the house is being restored to its former grandeur. This is not the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s in Newburyport anymore.

And that got me thinking about the Smart Growth, 40R project around the Traffic Circle (see earlier posts). I have many reservations about the project. It is very idealistic in its goal to get people out of their cars. I would like very much if it succeeded in that goal. The Minco project in its current renderings is ugly. I do not think it is too much to ask for a “classy” gateway to Newburyport, this rendering is anything but “classy.” I think the optimistic projections about how the area will impact traffic and the schools are possibly misguided. All that being said, with Newburyport in full-blown gentrification, the city needs places where middle class folks, who want to live here, can reside.

The Minco building, Smart Growth, 40R

The Smart Growth, 40R project has been approved by the Newburyport Planning Board, and the Newburyport City Council Planning and Development Committee, and it looks like it has the votes to pass in the City Council. This project is part of this chapter of Newburyport’s history, and I hope it materializes the way it has been envisioned.

P.S. Here is a good blog post on gentrification by Jerry Mullins.

The Newburyport Blog, What Makes Newburyport “Tick” and Google Search

What Makes Newburyport “Tick?”

The Newburyport Blog has all but disappeared from Google’s search engine, and I wanted to figure out why, I always have liked that question, “Why,” and got me to thinking, “What exactly is The Newburyport Blog anyway??”

The Newburyport Blog is not a place to find out where to eat or shop in Newburyport. There are many Newburyport websites now, including Google (which is almost becoming a website itself instead of a Search Engine), which would give answers to that question.

The fascination that I have, is not where to eat or shop in this wonderful historic city, but the fact that over the years the kind of restaurants and shops have radically changed (The General Store, the hardware/lumber store have been replaced by high end restaurants, spas, boutiques and very expensive furniture stores), and “Why” is that? and what does it say about Newburyport and how the culture in Newburyport is changing. What makes Newburyport “tick?” (the definition of “tick,” a verb, is “The motive and explanation of behavior” — that is what engages me.

The question of what makes Newburyport “tick,” was one of the reasons I was so hooked our once local political journal, The Undertoad. Despite Tom Ryan’s very often, in my opinion, offensive, bombastic, childish and sometimes just downright sadistic approach to reporting the “underside of Newburyport,” The Undertoad’s basic premise was “What makes Newburyport tick?”

When Ulrika Gerth was editor of The Newburyport Current, she had an underlining theme, “What makes Newburyport tick??”

And Tom Salemi, the editor of The Newburyport Posts, with his journalist education, and his light, amicable, often deceivably “simple” posts, also had an underlining theme of “What makes Newburyport tick.” (Come back to blogging Tom Salemi!!)

And Jerry Mullins, God bless him, with his long, researched, valuable content (that Google seems to ignore, so much for Google valuing “valuable content”), over at Brick and Tree, has that same theme too, “What makes Newburyport tick??”

And there are also the blogs by many Newburyport Councilors that address that very same question in a variety of ways.

The Newburyport Blog does have stuff on “gluten free,” but have you noticed the changes in restaurants, etc, gluten free has roared into out culture.

Where to park in Newburyport?? earlier post. Well, I never, ever thought we would have paid parking, but we do. It says something about our town (good stuff for a blog post).

And lots of Google search changes:

Ask for “Newburyport restaurants.” Google itself, not the webpages it “represents” in its search engine, will give you an answer.

Ask for 20+10, you will get an answer from Google, no need to go looking for a calculator on a website anymore.

Ask for information on “zucchini” and you will get Google’s answer. No need to look for a webpage anymore.

Ask for “Following Atticus,” Tom Ryan’s (Undertoad Tom Ryan) book. Google will tell you all about it, need to got to a website?? Maybe.

Look for “Newburyport,” Google will give you an answer, maybe not a good answer, but an answer. That answer will get better, more refined, and pretty soon — no longer need to go to a website anymore.

Look for “Why Newburyport is the way it is today, culturally, socio-economically, architecturally, politically?” That is not a simple question. And if that sort of question is important, maybe check out The Newburyport Blog, the Newburyport City Councilors’ websites, or go over to Brick and Tree and get Jerry Mullins take on what makes Newburyport “tick,” and maybe Tom Salemi will come back and blog again one day.

Inn Street, Newburyport, MA

My New Gluten Free, Low Carb Comfort Food

On this now 6 year gluten free diet, I am always looking out for a “comfort food,” to replace those wonderful not gluten free comfort foods of yesteryear.

And this is easy, and low carb to boot.

Zucchini

One serving, one good size zucchini (and I’ve never been a zucchini fan–who knew?).

Zucchini
Garlic salt
Garlic powder
Dried oregano
1/3 cup baked potato (this is what gives it the big comfort food feel)
Oil (olive oil, canola oil, whatever you would like)
Butter/margarine
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella, shredded (optional, but very yummy)

Cut the ends off the zucchini, and cut it into 3 equal chunks. Stand the chucks on end and divide them into 6 wedges. You’ve got a total of 18 wedges when all is said and cut and done (this takes about a minute).

Put the zucchini wedges into a plastic bag, sprinkle liberally with garlic powder, garlic salt and a little dried oregano. Shake the bag so all the zucchini wedges are covered. Then pour about 2-3 tablespoons of oil (olive oil, canola oil, whatever you like) in the bag and shake until all the wedges are covered (this takes maybe 2 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and dump/place the coated zucchini and spread the wedges out. Cook for 15-20 minutes. (You can do this earlier in the day and set the cooked zucchini aside if you would like.)

Baked Zuchhini just out of the oven

Cut the cooked zucchini into large chunks.

Bake a potato (the rest of the potato can be used with the rest of your meal). Take 1/3 cup of baked potato, add at least 1 table spoon of butter/margarine and garlic salt. Mash until the mixer until it looks like a thick sauce. Cover the chunks of zucchini with the mashed potato, garlic salt and butter mixture (this is what gives it the comfort food feel!!). Top the zucchini and potato mixer with at least a tablespoon of butter/margarine. Put in the microwave for 1 minute to heat.

Toss with Parmesan cheese, more garlic salt, and a little shredded mozzarella (if it’s handy).

After six years on this gluten free diet, this is one of the best guaranteed gluten free comfort foods that I’ve come up with!

P.S. I’ve been gluten free (no cheating) since September 2009.

Where to Park in Newburyport, MA

It is sometimes difficult for visitors to find out where to park in Newburyport. Here is a map and some parking information.

Newburyport Parking Map (press image to enlarge)

Parking information Newburyport (press image to enlarge

The map can be found on the City of Newburyport’s website here.

The parking information can be found on the City of Newburyport’s website here.

General parking information can be found on the City of Newburyport’s website here.

Paid parking Monday through Saturday is from 8am – 6pm, Sunday from 12 pm – 6 pm. The price is $1.00 an hour. Pay and display kiosks are in each of the lots. The kiosks accept coins, dollar bills and major credit cards.

NRA East, NRA West, and Prince Place are all day lots. Green Street and State Street lots are time limited (3 hours). The Water Front Trust (WFT) lot is also time limited. And a Newburyport resident sticker cannot be used to park in the WFT lot.

You can also pay for parking with your phone, by using Parkmobile. To use the Parkmobile option, you can register for free here or download the mobile app.

The City of Newburyport has a tutorial on how to use Parkmobile on your iPhone, which can be found here. And if you need information on how to use it on your Android phone, click here.

Newburyport Candidates running for City Council and School Committee, 2015

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Ward 1
Edward Waldron III, 14 Oak St, Facebook Page
Sharif Zeid, 192 Water St, Website

Ward 2
Jared Eigerman, 83 High St, Incumbent, Facebook Page

Ward 3
Robert Cronin, 126 Merrimac St, #46, Incumbent, Website

Ward 4
Charles Tontar, 29 Jefferson St, Incumbent, Facebook Page
Sean McDonald, 9 Farrell St, Blog, Facebook Page

Ward 5
Larry Giunta Jr., 139 Crow Lane, Incumbent, Facebook page, Website/Blog,

Ward 6
Thomas O’Brien, 11 Moseley Ave, Incumbent

Newburyport Councilor at Large (5 seats)

Laurel Allgrove, 22 Beacon Ave., #2
Ed Cameron, 17 Oakland St, Incumbent, Website, Facebook Page
Barry Connell, 36 Woodland St, Incumbent
Greg Earls, 25 Milk St, former City Councilor and mayoral candidate, Website
Robert Germinara, 2 Ashland St
Lyndi Lanphear, 347 High St, Website
Sheila Mullins, 7 Parsons St, Website
Bruce Vogel, 90 Bromfield St, Incumbent, Website
Joseph Devlin, 3 Dexter Lane , Facebook page

Here is a link to a list of video interviews of all but 2 of the Newburyport City Councilors that are running, both in Ward races and At-Large races. The videos have been produced by Citizens for Environmental Balance (CEB) and they are very informative.

And here is a link to the Newburyport City Councilor-at-Large debate held on October 20, 2015. The sponsers were The Daily News of Newburyport, the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce, WNBP radio, and Port Media.

Newburyport Local Pulse podcast with all 9 Newburyport City Councilors-at-Large.

Newburyport School Committee (3 seats)

Christine Miller, 12 1/2 Market St, Facebook page
Bruce Menin, 83 Lime St, Incumbent
Peter McClure, 28 Federal St, Facebook page
Nicholas deKanter, 19A Congress St, Incumbent

Running unopposed for a two year School Committee seat:
David Hochheiser Blog/Website

There is no election for mayor. This is the first year that Newburyport will be voting for the City Council and the School Committee without voting for a mayor. The mayoral term is now four years. The mayor is Donna Holaday.

Where to Vote!!

Where to Vote

And if you do not know where to vote, there is a very cool tool to find out where to vote in Newburyport, Tuesday, November 3, 2015.

You just enter your street number, the street’s name, and your city or town, or your zip code, and it tells you exactly where to go (it even tells you which ward you are in, and how to get in touch with the City Clerk). It can be found here.

Ward 1 — Methodist Church, 64 Purchase Street
Ward 1 Plum Island — Plum Island Boat House, 300 Northern Boulevard, Plum Island
Ward 2 — Brown School, 40 Milk Street
Wards 3 and 4 — Hope Church, 11 Hale Street
Wards 5 and 6 — The new Senior Community Center, 331 High Street (In the past, these wards voted at the Bresnahan Elementary School.)

_____________________________________________________________________

The Order for the Newburyport City Council-at-Large candidates as they will be on the ballot.

Councillor-at-Large 2 YEAR TERM

(9 CANDIDATES FOR 5 SEATS…IN ORDER ON THE BALLOT)

Lyndi L. Lanphear
Gregory D. Earls
Sheila A. Mullins
Barry N. Connell (Candidate for Re-Election)
Laurel R. Allgrove
Bruce L. Vogel (Candidate for Re-Election)
Robert A. Germinara
Joseph H. Devlin
Edward C. Cameron, Jr. (Candidate for Re-Election)

The Absentee Ballot which looks like the November 3, 2015 ballot

The Newburyport Absentee Ballot which looks like the November 3, 2015 ballot. This is the Ward 5 ballot, all the ward ballots will look different.

Mobile Phones and Historic Preservation and Losing Newburyport’s Story

I have this theory that mobile phones are changing our culture in ways that its inventor never would have imagined. And the cell phone has been amazing in many ways, and, I think that they have had some unintended consequences.

The street artist Bansky had something to say about one of those unintended consequences.

Mobile Lovers, street art by Bansky

Mobile Lovers, street art by Bansky

And I’m wondering what the impact of the culture created around mobile phones has on historic preservation.

With a cellphone culture “immediate and superficial gratification” is taken to a whole new level. It’s a Buzzfeed way of getting information.

What turns up when I search my mobile cell phone for “Newburyport” is Tripadvisor, restaurants and places to shop. The Newburyport Daily News used to be in the top two on a desktop computer. It’s now more difficult to find the Daily News on a mobile device. It’s hard to find detailed local content. It’s difficult to find real meaningful, thoughtful content. Mobile devices are not geared for reading profound and thoughtful knowledge. It’s a Buzzfeed, quick bullet-point, mobile world.

And this has to have some “interesting” effects.

It feels in the new mobile world (which is now global) “new” very suddenly, almost wipes out anything “older.” And sometimes I wonder if people now look at historic homes with the mindset, as something to be replaced, like an old version of an iphone.

If this is remotely true, and the previous post about HGTV and Newburyport losing its patina, is remotely true, historic preservationist need to rethink their approach. They need to adapt.

This is from Bernice Radle (now part of HGTV), a preservationist in Buffalo, NY.

“Few people understand the changing nature of preservation, because our reactionary language looks backward and is architecture-centric. We’ve too often allowed ourselves to be framed by others as nostalgic – seeking to return to the past because we can’t cope with the reality of life today.”

There are so many people scrambling to preserve not only Newburyport’s historic homes, but Newburyport’s story as well. And I think for so many people, Newburyport’s story feels as if it’s being lost, it is slipping away, and they are puzzled and sometimes slightly panicked about what to do.

Newburyport is Losing its Patina, and Historic Preservation

Lime Street development

Definition of Patina:

“A surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use.” Merriam-Webster

If you ever watch anything on TV that has to do with old stuff, from the tonier PBS “Antiques Road Show,” to “Pawn Stars” on the History Channel, something old would be brought in, and if it has been refinished, and the original finish has been removed, whether it’s an old gun, a coin or an old piece of furniture, the value of that piece, whatever it might be, would be greatly, greatly diminished.

When I moved here over 30 years ago, Newburyport had a whole lot of soul and patina. I loved walking down the street and feel the stories behind the homes that I would walk past.

That “patina” in Newburyport is going. And because The Newburyport Blog was started in part to help fight for that, “patina,” I’ve done a lot of thinking about “why.”

And that brings me to the renovation on Lime and Prospect Street being done by a long time resident and lover of historic houses, Gus. And that renovation has gotten people’s panties in a twist (vast understatement).

Lime Street development

And this time, instead of being horrified by a “take it down to the studs, gut, reno job,” I’ve asked myself, Ok, if Gus, the owner and “developer,” who loves historic houses, is going this route, what does it say about us in Newburyport, and us as a society.

1) Lead paint laws
When I used to walk into an old house in Newburyport and see the layers of paint, I’d think, “patina.” Now if I see layers of paint I think, “lawsuit.” The lead paint laws have done a whole lot to hamper historic preservation everywhere.

2) Newburyport has become a wealthy community, and people expect specific things when buying a house.

3) HGTV
Yup, that is my thought. HGTV has done a whole lot to influence about what people think they want when they buy a house. And now that Newburyport is upscale, folks expect certain things.
a) Walk in closets.
b) Spa bathrooms.
c) En Suite bathroom
d) Open concept
e) Large kitchens with an island
f) Gas fireplace with a place for a large flatscreen TV over it.

Even 10 years ago, were any of these things a “must have” for your average buyer? Very wealthy people, maybe (Ok, flatscreen TVs didn’t exist even back then), but your average person, 10-15 years ago, I don’t think those things were on their “must have” list.

How we got to that “must have list,” is a whole other post or series of posts, or mulled over in all sorts of books (written by people other than me). But when a house is “developed” all those things, lead paint and the HGTV list come into play. Not to mention people no longer tolerated drafty houses (they want to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer time, “green stuff,” they would like to save on their heating and cooling bills), and have a hard time with windows that don’t easily go up and down.

Is Newburyport losing its historic character because of the lead paint laws, how people want to live today, the influence of HGTV and the fact that we are now a wealthy community? Alex Dardinski makes a great contribution to that question, when he remarked, “I don’t want to live in Williamsburg, but in a tapestry of history rather than a single place in time,” in a reply to this post on The Newburyport Blog’s Facebook page. And I was so impressed with his thoughtful observations, that I put his whole response up on The Newburyport Blog as a separate post.

The Newburyport Marsh and Paintings by Martin Johnson Heade

Sunlight and Shadow: The Newbury Marshes (c. 1871-1875), Martin Johnson Heade

Sunlight and Shadow: The Newbury Marshes (c. 1871-1875), Martin Johnson Heade, Oil on canvas, Size: 12″ x 26.5″ John Wilmerding Collection (The National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) Press image to enlarge.

I always love the Newburyport marshes and Martin Johnson Heade is one of my favorite Newburyport and Newbury marsh painters. I love them all year round, but especially in the summer and the fall.

Martin Johnson Heade, Newburyport Marshes: Approaching Storm, c.1871

Martin Johnson Heade, Newburyport Marshes: Approaching Storm, c.1871 (Press image to enlarge.)

Martin Johnson Heade, Sunset Over the Marshes, 1890-1904

Martin Johnson Heade Sunset Over the Marshes, 1890-1904
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Press image to enlarge.)

Martin Johnson Heade, Sudden Showers, Newbury Marshes, c. 1865-1875

Martin Johnson Heade, Sudden Showers, Newbury Marshes, c. 1865-1875
Yale University of Art (Press image to enlarge)

Newburyport Meadows, ca. 1876–1881 Martin Johnson Heade, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Martin Johnson Heade, Newburyport Meadows, ca. 1876–1881
Oil on canvas; 10 1/2″ x 22 “
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Well Loved Newburyport Postcards

Newburyport postcards–whether you’re a native, have lived here for a while or a short time, people who live in Newburyport seem to love old postcards.

Newburyport Hay Stacks, postcard

This postcard is of the haystacks on Newburyport’s Plum Island marsh, when they built the haystacks by hand and not by machine.

YMCA Newburyport, postcard

This is of Newburyport’s former YMCA on State Street that burnt down July 1987. The YMCA was at the corner of State Street and Harris Street, where the expansion of our beautiful Newburyport Library exists today. The YMCA was so decimated by the fire, that it was un-salvageable, eventually demolished, with a few of it’s elements incorporated into the MBTA train station in 1998.

Old Newburyport Bridge, Postcard

This is a post card of Newburyport’s old Bridge, before Rt 1 was built in the 1930s. It is a view from Water Street, downtown Newburyport, looking towards Rings Island, Salisbury, MA.

Newburyport Mall, postcard

And this is the Bartlet Mall along High Street when the stately elm trees existed. The Court House is to the left, and High Street is to the right.

The Master Plan for the Bartlet Mall had been worked on for a very long time, by a whole lot of people, and was finally finished in 1998. Restoration of the Bartlet Mall took place in 2001, 2003 and 2005. The Bartlet Mall was restored to its original design and the avenue of elm trees was replanted so that one day the beautiful canopy of trees would exist once more..

Newburyport is now High End, it used to be a Slum

On December 7, 2007 I wrote on the Newburyport Blog, wondering if Newburyport was headed for “high-end.”

And seeing where Newburyport has come since then, even in a short amount of time, now in July 2015, the answer is definitely, “Yes.” And I’m guessing it’s going to get more and more “high end.”

Market Square, downtown Newburyport, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum.

Newburyport, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum, press image to enlarge.

Downtown Newburyport, Water Street, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum.

Newburyport, from the film”A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum, press image to enlarge.

And this is where we as a city were back in 1970. Yes, Newburyport was a slum, it is really different now (vast understatement).

The film “A Measure of Change” was made in 1975 by Lawrence Rosenblum (it was uploaded with permission by Jerry Mullins over at Brick and Tree). It is a film that chronicles the pivotal time (Urban Renewal) when the city transformed itself from a worn-out mill town (a slum) to a vibrant destination city by using historic preservation (first in the nation to use restoration rather than demolition for urban renewal). And Newburyport is now a prototype for other municipalities across the United States.

The photos in this post are still photos from the film. The link to the film “A Measure of Change” on YouTube can be found here.

Link to a Measure of Change

Downtown Newburyport, Water Street, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum.

Newburyport, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum, press image to enlarge.

The Waterfront, downtown Newburyport, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum.

Newburyport, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum, press image to enlarge.

The Waterfront, downtown Newburyport, from the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum.

From the film “A Measure of Change” by Lawrence Rosenblum, press image to enlarge

Some of The Newburyport Blog’s Favorite Historic Photographs and Images

Here are some of The Newburyport Blog’s favorite historic photographs and images.

Bossy Gillis, Mayor of Newburyport, courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection

Bossy Gillis, Mayor of Newburyport, Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection, press image to enlarge

Bossy Gillis, mayor of Newburyport, in Salem jail, courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection

Bossy Gillis, mayor of Newburyport, in Salem jail, Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection, press image to enlarge.

Bossy Gillis’s garage, Market Square, Urban Renewal, found in the Newburyport Public Library’s Archival Center

Bossy Gillis’s garage, Market Square, Urban Renewal, press image to enlarge.

NRA land c 1920, courtesy of the Historical Society of Old Newbury

NRA land c 1920, courtesy of the Historical Society of Old Newbury, press to enlarge.

Wolfe Tavern, photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Print Department

Wolfe Tavern, Photo of the Boston Public Library, Print Department, press to enlarge

Postcard, Newburyport clam shanties with trolley

Newburyport clam shanties with trolley, press image to enlarge.

Healthcare Insurance and being an Artist and the Affordable Care Act

The Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act

I’ve bought my own health insurance, as an artist, before there was such a thing “managed care,” i.e. HMOs… so we’re talking multiple decades of buying health insurance as an artist.

And in various years, on those often frosty February days, when I might daydream of moving to a warmer climate, even to a “red” state (I am talking daydreaming here–I do love my blue to purplish Massachusetts), I came to realize, before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), that moving to anyplace except Massachusetts, might not be possible.

My father used to say, “Mary, after 40, it’s just patch, patch, patch.” And what he meant by that, is that everyone, if one is lucky, gets older, no matter who you are. And when you get older, the parts wear out, and things can go wrong, to slightly misguided, to very amiss (the buzz word for that is “pre-existing conditions”).

And what I began to realize was, that even though I might like to, in a daydreaming sort of way, move to a warmer, less blizzard-prone, red state, because of the “patch, patch, patch” thing, health insurance people might not cover me, really.

So, along comes the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and in 2014, I would/could have the choice, if I wanted to, of living in any state in the United States of America, no matter what condition my health might be–the “patch, patch, patch thing.”

BUT, in November 2014 all of that was put into jeopardy, the Supreme Court decided to take up a case that could send the Affordable Care Act into a death spiral. Now, I probably would like to stay right here in Newburyport, Massachusetts, but you never know. And no Affordable Care Act (ACA) means that the mobility for artists, like me, would be severely hampered. And I don’t like that.

But yesterday, on June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled for the Affordable Care Act in a 6-3 decision. And I did a pretty weepy happy dance in the end zone of my choice, because, people like me, artists, now have the choice to live in any state in the United State of America. And I am a very glad about that.

Newburyport, Proposed 40R Smart Growth Update

Here is a link to the application that the City of Newburyport made for the proposed 40R Smart Growth District (It has all kinds of links and information on it), it can be found here.

Here is a photo of the proposed Minco building (it is now in the public domain), which is the cornerstone of the proposed 40R District, and that I think is ugly.

The Minco building

Here are two of the new maps of the proposed Smart Growth 40R

40R Smart Growth map

Smart Growth 40R map

And here is a table for the Water and Sewer capacity for the 40R District which also includes the number of bedrooms and the number of apartment units.

Water and Sewer capacity and number of bedroom and units

Newburyport’s 40R Smart Growth, Trying to Bring Back Rental Units to the City, and the Data from 1989 to 2010 of the Rising Income Gap

Income percentages in Newburyport from 1989-2010 from the City of Newburyport’s website

It is really hard to find a place to rent in Newburyport these days. If you go to Zillow and look for rentals in Newburyport, it’s very depressing. That is why the city is so hopeful about the proposed 40R, which is a real effort to bring back rental units back to Newburyport.

Here is a document from the city that articulates with data the gentrification that has taken place since Urban Renewal, especially interesting is the “Income Distribution by Household, 1989 to 2010″ on page 20 (an image of the table is in this post), that document can be read here.

In 1989 the largest percentage of income was $10,000-24,999. In 2010 the largest percentage is $150,000+, and that is in 2010, when we were still in the “great recession,” and I would think in 2015 that percentage would be much, much greater now.

And here is Jerry Mullins’, over at Brick and Tree, worst fears about what would happen to the proposed 40R. That post can be read here.

And here is a link to the discussion on The Newburyport Blog’s Facebook page, it can be read here.

Previous post on the proposed 40R District can be found here.

Here are some more table from the City of Newburyport’s report “Income Distribution by Household, 1989 to 2010.”

Renters and Owners

Housing values

Rental costs

And here is a map of the proposed 40R Smart Growth District.

A map of Newburyport’s proposed 40R District.

Street Art, Newburyport

It all started with this beautiful drawing left on my driveway on Easter.

Drawing left on my driveway on Easter day

It made my day. And it was done by my very lovely young neighbor, Lily.

Lily, came back and did a whole lot more gorgeous street art. I originally thought of her as my very own graffiti artist, but thinking about it, “street artist” seems so much more appropriate.

Lily, making the neighborhood beautiful with street art

And Lily started a trend. Five more young street artist showed up with their baskets and boxes of chalk, and started decorating our street. Grace, Ella, Brooke, Collin and Roan joined Lily.

Ella, working hard making the neighborhood beautiful with street art

It almost made me think that our neighborhood could be in the process of getting it’s very own “pop-up” park. How lucky are we!! (A very fun non-professional video on pop-up parks can be seen here.)

Drawing by Roan

Drawing by Lily

Newburyport’s Proposed 40R and Highway Engineers

What highway engineers might propose for the traffic circle

This is one of the things that concerns me about the proposed 40R Smart Growth District around the traffic circle. Eventually the traffic circle will need to be refigured. I can imagine that highway engineers might recommend something like the drawing above. A light with turning lanes where Route 1 and State Street meet, and a light and turning lanes at State Street and Parker Street. No one would want this (I don’t think).

Existing traffic circle in the proposed 40R District, no guidelines for future development

But, at the moment, in the present draft of the ordinance, there is no mention of what should happen to that very crucial area down the line. Who knows when that might happen, 2, 5, 20 years from now? And who knows who will be mayor or who the planning director might be, or even if a project of this magnitude could span several administrations and planning directors.

Newburyport-40R-Smart-Growth-Village-District-Map-1-20-2015

Map of the proposed 40R distrist

It would depend who was in office, if they had the vision and the moxie (courage and determination) to negotiate with MassDOT (been there, seen the best and seen the worst).

So I think it would be a good idea to have some guidelines. I think that is fair.

The Proposed 40R Minco Building is Ugly

The Minco building

Editor’s note: The Minco Building, the image, as of June 19, 2015, is now in the public domain.

Map of the proposed 40R District

I cannot put an image up of the proposed Minco building because of copyright issues, but you can see it if you press here. (Editor’s note, it is now included in the post because the image, as of June 19, 2015, is now in the public domain.)

The only place left to build in Newburyport is around the train station and the traffic circle.

For years (since 2004) Newburyport has been talking about creating a “40R smart growth” district, which, “encourages communities to create dense residential or mixed-use smart growth zoning districts, including a high percentage of affordable housing units, to be located near transit stations, in areas of concentrated development such as existing city and town centers, and in other highly suitable locations.”

All of this could be very, very good, if not great, BUT, we are creating a new gateway to the city. If the new zoning 40R passes, the Minco building behind the train station will be the first project. IT IS UGLY. And it is important that it not be ugly, because it will set the standard by which other structures that (probably would be built over a 20 year period) would refer to.

ALSO… the traffic circle eventually would be eliminated. There are no drawings, no plans, no nothing that would demonstrate what that might, could, should look like. It could be great, mediocre or awful. At this point it seems that the sentiment is pass the 40R District so that the Minco building can get built, and just hope for the best.

There are NO drawing to show, if/when actually built, what the 40R district would look like (we only have the rendering of the ugly Minco building to go by). This is not good. And whoever is responsible, needs to get their act together and come up with these two renderings, so that an intelligent and informed opinion can be made.

Previous posts on the proposed 40R District can be read here.

The draft of the proposed ordinance can be read here.

Newburyport, a Romantic City and the Proposed 40R District

I’ve been trying to pinpoint what it is about Newburyport that I love so much. What keeps me longing to stay here despite a winter like the one we’ve just had.

High Street, Newburyport, photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

Jerry Mullins in his blog post uses the word “romance” in connection to Newburyport, and it is an adjective that describes this small New England seacoast city north of Boston, that had never occurred to me, but it is a wonderful adjective. So I went on a hunt to see what showed up for “romanic cities.”

Newburyport’s Waterfront, courtesy of the Archival Center at the Newburyport Public Library

And I found a blog post by Ken Benfield, a specialist on “smart growth and sprawl,” with this list:

Strong sense of place anchored by historic preservation
Lively, walkable, diverse downtowns
Compact development patterns
Extensive and well-used public transportation
Great public spaces for lively human interaction
Parks and quiet places mixed in with urbanity
Great traditional neighborhoods with a strong sense of community
Welcoming to people of diverse cultures

In the comment section of the blog post there was this observation:

High Street, © Sally Chandler, 2004, Courtesy of "Historic Gardens of Newburyport"

“Cities that are dense, walkable, have accessible and vibrant public spaces, and have a vibrant mix of independently-owned businesses are the most enjoyable places to visit – and to live. It is at the intersection of these features where real neighborhoods and a sense of livability is created. These cities are also strong, have committed populations and diverse economies, and can survive many challenges. In essence, they are not only beautiful and livable, they are resilient.”

State Street, Newburyport, courtesy of Wikipedia

We as a city are considering making the area around the train station and the traffic circle into a 40R, Smart Growth area. I have many reservations about what is projected for that area, including the Minco Project in back of the train station (which I think is wicked ugly). And I think that Jerry has nailed the adjective for me. It may be (or not be) good urban planning, but what the vision lacks, is the “romance,” “beauty,” a “sense of place” that draws so many of us here to Newburyport.

Newburyport Plastic Ban Bag (Sort Of)

New and old plastic bags from Market Basket.

The Newburyport “Plastic Bag Ban” goes into effect March 29, 2015. Market Basket ran out of plastic bags and is already started with the plastic bag ban.

You can bring your recyclable bags, or get paper bags, paper boxes or pay 10 cents and get a recyclable plastic bag with handles that meets the new plastic bag ban law.

New plastic bag from Market Basket (press image to enlarge)

The new plastic bags at Market Basket are thicker, slightly larger, reusable and recyclable, they, “consists of 80% post consumer recycled material resulting in a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions. The bag “has been manufactured for multiple recuse and recyclability,” and continues to say on the bottom in LARGE letters, “After use life, please return to your local store for recycling.”

It appears that Market Basket listened to the Newburyport Commission on Disabilities who asked the folks who backed this idea to please make sure that there was a plastic bag that had handles. No one at all the meetings I went to seemed to listen or care–but Market Basket did. Good for them!!

This is what I have been asking for all along. So thank you Market Basket for being so responsive and responsible, both to your customers and to the “plastic bag ban folks” and to the environment.

Previous post on plastic bags can be read here.