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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Haverhill Home to Bellairs; Zombie

The Hammersmith Group released an anticipated and controversial master plan for the future of downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts, one of the oldest cities in the country.

The plan follows a long and high-profile battle between citizens and the city's mayor. "It's one city, with two very different visions of its future," said Constantine Valhouli, principal of the Hammersmith Group, a firm that advises developers and cities on reviving historic downtowns. 

That’s all interesting and good – especially for those preservation-minded souls. We make mention of it here because in their press materials they note some of the artists who have lived in the area: “writers John Bellairs, Andre Dubus, Andre Dubus III, and musician-director Rob Zombie.”

So for those Bellairsia blog readers wanting some sort of Johnny Dixon/Hellbilly crossover, we’ll just say this ups the ante by a slim margin.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

VERY cool. You don't often see preservationists and developers citing history and pop culture, like that.

I hope they make it happen.

BTW, does anyone have photos of the historic house sign from John Bellairs home in Haverhill? It was off of the Highlands section, but I can't remember where (except that it was near the brick apartment complex with the milky glass lights that looked like it should be in a Gorey drawing) ...

bellairsia said...

Okay, Haverhillbilly, you got us on that one (...and thanks for the comment, too). Would this be the house he lived in on Hamilton Avenue? I’m not as familiar with Haverhill geography.... Any details to enlighten us (and others) would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Walter

Gerald said...

Very interesting. I'm actually going to be at a pub in Haverhill tomorrow. Maybe I'll go up to see if I can check out the house on Hamilton Ave with my camera. There is a plaque or a sign there now?

I've been to Haverhill once before (in September) but only hung around the train station area while waiting for my father (coming from New York) to pick me up on our way up to the Maine seacoast. It looks like a charming place. I liked what they did with the old brick warehouses and factory buildings by the Merrimack River.

Lubeltri