Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 22 APRIL 2020 FAC E S + P L AC E S For decades, the city of Haverhill emanated the beautiful melancholy that comes only from faded grandeur. The imposing brick shoe factories that spanned whole city blocks and once earned Haverhill the nickname "Queen Slipper City" sat nearly empty as the formerly prosperous downtown— once bustling with shops, trolleys, and even the predecessor to Macy's New York department store—slipped into neglect. Because of this downturn, Haverhill developed a bit of a "scrappy" reputation, according to the writer Andre Dubus III, who immortalized his rough-and-tumble Haverhill upbringing in his bestselling memoir Townie. But the Haverhill of today is worlds away from the city of Dubus's youth. He recalls a recent evening when he attended a friend's art gallery show before walking across the street for a delicious dinner. "Downtown is unrecognizable compared to when I was growing up," he says. "I could see myself living on that street." In fact, Haverhill's rebirth has been many years in the making, and much of it is thanks to the arts. "We're having vacant buildings transformed by the arts in the last few years," says Ann Jones, president of the Greater Haverhill Art Association. Those antique factories are now morphing into chic lofts, offices, shops, and restaurants, while Harbor Place, the forthcoming The Heights at Haverhill developed by Lupoli Com- panies, and the revamped commuter rail sta- tion have breathed new life into a downtown that's already historical and visually striking. "Our bones—the architecture on Washington Street and Wingate Street and Essex Street— D A T E O F S E T T L E M E N T 1640 D A T E O F I N C O R P O R A T I O N 1641 A R E A 35.6 square miles P O P U L A T I O N 60,879 Z I P C O D E 01830, 01831, 01832, 01835 M E D I A N H O U S E H O L D I N C O M E $ 49,833 Author Andre Dubus III, author John Bellairs, film producer and MGM founder Louis B. Mayer, rock musician Rob Zombie, poet John Greenleaf Whittier Haverhill High School, Consentino, Hunking, Nettle, Tilton Upper, J.G. Whittier, Bradford, Golden Hill, Pentucket Lake, Silver Hill, Tilton, Walnut Square, Moody Pre-School, Greenleaf Academy N O T A B L E R E S I D E N T S P U B L I C S C H O O L S THE DETAILS Haverhill's mill buildings are being converted into places to live, play and work. Below, Haverhill native Andre Dubus III is the author of Townie. PHOTOGRAPHS BY SCOTT MURRY