LOWELL, MA - A lush garden cemetery. A dam built for the Middlesex Manufacturing Company. A gothic Catholic church. A lone smokestack. These are among the many relics of the past visible along the Concord River as it flows through Lowell. An attentive eye will also notice various natural features, like white water rapids, animal tracks, soaring hawks, and ferns & wild flowers. But the history and ecology of the waterway and its banks have been long neglected. Now Lowell’s “other river" has been rediscovered.
River Cycle: The Concord in Lowell, a new documentary film, explores both past and present, from Native American fishing to current development of a recreational Greenway Park. It shows the Concord’s key role in the stories we tell about industry, community, and nature. And it demonstrates how the purpose and meaning of the river changed over time, as our society changed, with the rise of manufacturing, economic decline, and current efforts at urban revitalization.
This is River Cycle’s premieres on Tuesday, April 20th from 6 to 8 pm at Lowell National Historical Park’s Event Center in the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, 115 John Street. All are welcome to attend the premier and admission is free. For more information, contact Chad Montrie, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts Lowell at chad_montrie@uml.edu, 978-934-4275
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
