Newburyport, High Street and the November Election
October 21st, 2011
George Cushing Political Consultant for the Newburyport Blog
George, the political consultant of for the Newburyport Blog is very glad that the editor of the Newburyport Blog, moi, has decided to write again. He likes to see himself on the World Wide Web.
George, web-savvy frog that he is, feels that it would be necessary to include an historic photo in the blog posts about the upcoming elections and the whole conundrum of Newburyport’s proposed Local Historic District (LHD), because people keep landing on the Newburyport Blog looking for historic photographs.
So, Ok George, here’s an early 20th century postcard of High Street that’s in the public domain. Happy??
Actually, it suits me, I love historic photographs of Newburyport.
I love the historic character of Newburyport, period. It’s why I moved here.
In 1981 (no I’m not a native, Newburyport City Councilor, Tom O’Brien, called me an “almost native”) I drove down historic High Street and by the time I had parked in front of the real estate agent on Green Street, I wanted to live here. And I am hardly alone. High Street is that beautiful and that compelling.
Newburyport, High Street, Early 20th Century Postcard
And having seen High Street almost destroyed by MassHighway in 1999, I don’t take the street for granted anymore. And in 1999, fighting to save High Street, I discovered that a Local Historic District (LHD) would enhance political protection against destructive changes to our historic roadway. I’ve wanted political protection for that particular part of our wonderful city for a long time.
And here we are. It’s now a possibility again. And I would hate to see that political protection slip away yet one more time. It’s not like this is the first time the city has fought over having a LHD for High Street. We’ve been fighting over this since at least the 1970’s. If a LHD had passed in the 1970’s, one could only imagine how incredible the roadway would be today.
Looking back on the Newburyport Blog I found a quote in 2007 that at that time Newburyport had lost a third of its historic housing stock. The number has gone up since then.
So, the upcoming Newburyport Election, on Tuesday, November 8, 2011:
The At Large candidates running for Newburyport City Council who are on record for supporting the process of a Local Historic District, i.e. the economic future of Newburyport are:
Ed Cameron
Barry Connell
Mike Early
Ari Herzog
Steve Hutcheson
Katy O’Connor Ives
And.. You will be voting on the Newburyport Charter. Basically a “Yes” vote means that the mayor of Newburyport, MA will be elected for 4 years instead of 2 years. (It’s a good idea, vote “Yes.”)