Message from the Mayor’s Office, August 24, 2012
This past week marked an important artistic, cultural and economic designation for the City of Lowell – on Tuesday the Massachusetts Cultural Council, during a meeting at the Lowell National Historical Park, approved the state’s newest Cultural District.
The Canalway Cultural District encompasses most of the city’s downtown, stretching from the Boott Mills and Boarding House Park to Worthern Street.
As defined by the MCC, a cultural district is a specific geographical area in a city or town that has a concentration of cultural facilities, activities, and assets.
Passed by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2010, the statute that created cultural districts has specific goals. They are to attract artists and cultural enterprises; encourage business and job development; establish the district as a tourist destination; preserve and reuse historic buildings; enhance property values; and foster local cultural development.
The state now has nine Cultural Districts. In addition to Lowell, other districts are located in: Natick, Concord, Shelburne Falls, Lynn, Rockport, Pittsfield, Gloucester, Hyannis, and Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.
You can read more in SUN article.