Update on replacement bridge upstream.
---SWL
Lowell residents and the members of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac are working together with historical preservationists and fans of literature across New England, in a grassroots coalition to seek the preservation of the Textile Memorial Bridge.
For walkers and bikers, as a literary landmark, as a war memorial,
and, above all, a public space.
| We have formed this coalition to get the city (its owner), the state, and UMass Lowell to work together to preserve the old bridge. If we do not act, the historic bridge will be demolished after the new vehicular bridge is built and opened as early as 2012. |
Update on replacement bridge upstream.
---SWL
Thanks to some diligent and inspired research, Paul Maher of PopMatters has revealed the identity of "The Watermelon Man" himself!
I support saving the Textile Memorial Bridge, as a memorial to the 16 veterans from the then Textile Institute (U-Mass Lowell) who made the supreme sacrifice in times of war; and as a fine example of our nation's civil engineering heritage; and as a means to give public access to the Merrimack River with the city's best view of said river; and as a literary landmark to Lowell resident and novelist Jack Kerouac.
I ask for the bridge to be preserved for the use of people on foot or bike: a direct link to the Riverwalk and Canalway system of paths, a walking and biking route for university students from dormitory rooms to classes.
I wish to see the bridge be used as a special public space, where Kerouac's words can live on, and people can experience the exhilaration of where Lowell and the Merrimack River meet most dramatically.