Newburyport, the Memory of What Almost Happened to High Street in 1999 is Fading
October 26th, 2011When I wrote the post on High Street almost being destroyed in 1999 it really upset me all over again.
And since writing it I’ve discovered something. The memory of what almost happened to High Street in 1999 is fading.
A lot of people, a whole lot of people, don’t even know what almost happened to our historic roadway, High Street, in 1999. Partly because the city of Newburyport has changed that much, and that a lot of the folks who live here now and are interested and are involved in what happens in our city, were not here in 1999.
I’ve also been in touch with The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHD) the state historical commission, and the folks that I talked to there don’t know what almost happened to High Street in 1999.
And, I’ve been talking to people at MassHighway, and they don’t know what almost happened in 1999. (It used to be that if the word “Newburyport” was uttered around anyone at MassHighway, they would get the vapors, that’s how much of a stink we made in 1999 to save historic High Street.)
So for me, it’s an, “Oy Veh.” (Yes, I’m originally from New York City.)
So it becomes even more important to make sure High Street becomes a Local Historic District (LHD) to give us the political tool incase a federal or state agency ever wants to make destructive changes to our beloved historic street, one of the major economic engines for the city of Newburyport.
So again, 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
Vote on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.