Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1281965
102 PHOTOGRAPHS BY JARED CHARNEY WHETHER OR NOT YOU GREW UP ON THE NORTH Shore, chances are you know the famous little rhyme that begins, "Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin." While Lynn may have shed its "sin city" reputation, there is more than a bit of truth to the next part of the rhyme: "You won't go out the way you came in." In fact, it's so true that the Downtown Lynn Cultural District has adopted this line as its motto. "I think one of the most brilliant things is that the Cultural District changed its motto to 'You won't go out the way you came in.' It's putting that positive spin on it," says Carolyn Cole, Lynn's Cultural District coordinator. "ere's a community pride…people who are from here are from here, and they are proud to be from here." at's because there's a lot to be proud of in Downtown Lynn, which is alive with art, activity, and, most importantly, diversity. Cole notes that roughly 45 languages are spoken within Lynn public schools and almost 70 per- cent of downtown businesses are women- and minority-owned. Downtown Lynn "at's who we are, and that's our biggest asset," she says. Lynn-based author, entrepreneur, and self-care advocate Vick Breedy echoes that appreciation for diversity. "You can see anybody and everything out there," she says. "In some communities you can be kind of protected in a bubble, not really know what's going on, or see what's going on, or see other cultures, or even other income levels than yourself, but in Lynn you have all of that." Another highlight of downtown Lynn is its food scene. "We basically have an international food row," says Cole. "We could do an international food festival within a two-block radius." You will also find incredible architecture, history, and outdoor art, including many im- pressive murals ("if you give us a barrier, we're going to paint it," Cole says), not to mention a warm, inviting, and supportive community that "puts the 'public' in public art." More than anything, Cole wants people— even those who've called Lynn home for many years—to give downtown a closer look. "We're so much more than a song," she says. "We're so much more than a reputation." YOU WON'T GO OUT THE WAY YOU CAME IN Above, Carolyn Cole is Lynn's Cultural District coordinator; Lynn's murals can be found all over downtown. N O R T H S H O R E N E I G H B O R H O O D S