Categories » ‘downtown’
June 24th, 2010 by Cosmic Amanda
Tonight was the grand opening of Pedro’s, and those of who made it down to 147 Essex St. got a tour of their gorgeous office space, sneaked a peek into their secret R&D lab, and best of all were treated to free beer and cupcakes.
 Bike shop inside Pedro's But wait- did I mention there were mini bike races? Oh. Yes. There. Were.
Around 7:00pm a nice crowd started to gather out in front of Pedro’s HQ waiting for the main event…
And it did not disappoint! Check out these action shots:
Hmmm, you guys, I think an event this monumental calls for more Haverhill Fever goofy animated gifs, don’t you? (I can sense your heads nodding through my computer) In that case, I give you…
The Top 3 Goofy Animated Gifs from Pedro’s Mini Bike Race
1. Know what this race needs? More cow bell.
2. I like to call this one the “Whoopsie Daisy”
3. And last but not least- check out this guy’s mad sit-down skills.
But all goofy animated gifs aside, between Pedro’s and Frozen Waves, I’m starting to get really excited about the state of small business in Haverhill. It’s been my dream since moving here to see these types of businesses come into town and thrive…nice to see it’s coming true!
Unfortunately, due to all the activity at the open house, plus some shyness on my part, I wasn’t able to catch up with any of the crew at Pedro’s. Plus, with all the gif making going on, I ran down my camera battery before getting shots of the inside office. But rest assured, I’ll be making another visit soon, if only to be able to pretend for a moment that I work in such an inspiring workspace!
June 20th, 2010 by Chris
 City Hall, Summer Street That’s right – Vote Chris For Mayor 2020! I’ll be running under the Fever Party flag.
June 13th, 2010 by Cosmic Amanda
In case you missed it, here are some highlights from this weekend’s big downtown bar crawl. A crowd of altruistic thirsty Haverhillians in their favorite sports gear hit 7 Haverhill Bars in 3 and-a-half hours (okay, maybe it was more of a bar SPRINT) last Friday, all to benefit the Haverhill High Athletic Department.
 Lined up outside the Tap for bracelets at 7:00pm  Looks like someone's got a case of the Fever.  Cosmic Amanda and Chris give The Essex St. Grille two enthusiastic thumbs up.  Making colorful cocktails at Lounge 59.  Bar crawl organizer/referee Firg introducing Merrimack Delta Dub Set at Mal's Lounge.  The costume contest winner meets his adoring public. As you can well imagine, a lot of our photos came out a bit…um…blurry, but it just goes to show that a fun time was had by all. Thanks to Firg for organizing it and to all the bars that participated. Good stuff!
Comments Off on Haverhill bar crawl highlights
June 8th, 2010 by Chris
Even if I wanted to scale this building then I would need my trusty, patented Chris-grapple.
 Essex Street In addition to lacking any artistic talent at all – the main reason I could never be a graffiti writer is my indelible-yet-specific fear of falling off abandoned downtown buildings.
Comments Off on Additional Aerosol Acrobatics
June 7th, 2010 by Cosmic Amanda
 Amazing things transpire in the basement of this place. While I spend a lot of time wandering around Haverhill’s downtown appreciating all it currently has to offer, I also like to stand on a corner, in a park, on the street, look around and imagine what downtown Haverhill might be someday. I see the continued success of our blossoming restaurant scene, with the addition of lots of shops, maybe a small art house screening room. I dream of seeing more business, more street art, more outdoor events, just more stuff in general to keep people coming back and hanging out.
 No Parking- a common complaint in downtowns everywhere I’m always interested in hearing what other people envision for Haverhill, so when I logged into Flickr this morning I got a pretty big kick out of finding this visionary comment from sandalbum14 on one of my downtown photos:
Personally, I think Merrimack and Washington streets should be pedestrian, the downtown area should be held together by more visible, trustworthy and present public transport. The buses are quite sketchy and have odd routes. I propose we bring back the streetcar, run on electricity, and the car will go the entire length of 125, from the N. Andover line to Stateline Plaza. There should also be two to three parking garages to house all the potential visitors to downtown area, and Haverhill should also get more people to LIVE in downtown. The in turn requires more services to be in hat area, like a grocery store, pharmacy and a household goods store. These businesses exist already in Haverhill, just not where they are needed most for the city to thrive. Putting these various regulations in place I strongly think will improve downtown greatly, but that’s just me 🙂
His idea of reviving the electric streetcars sounds pretty awesome, but also like a pretty impossible dream at this stage. Likewise, I think making so much of downtown pedestrian-only would be a pretty tough sell.
However, I think he hits on a really good point regarding services downtown. Sometimes I daydream about what it might take to convince some of the great already established businesses we have to move downtown.
What do you think downtown Haverhill’s ideal future might look like?
Pipe up in the comments. I’d love to hear everyone’s ideas!
June 5th, 2010 by Cosmic Amanda
This just in via Twitter from Bob Simonds:
Dark skys SE of #Haverhill
So, if you’re thinking of hitting the deck at the Tap, or pre-gaming for next week’s epic Haverhill bar crawl, you might want to consider bringing an umbrella.
Comments Off on And now, Bob with the weather…
June 3rd, 2010 by Cosmic Amanda
As much as I enjoy speculating about downtown’s available real estate, and constantly clamor for a few necessities to come to town, (like clothing boutiques, paper/book/gift shops, or a coffee shop that stays open evenings) this series of photographs by Kerry Hawkins of K Hawkins Photo and Design has reminded me that even on the path to gentrification, we should always be sure to stop and smell the roses.
 One of Haverhill's many downtown barber shops. In the early evening after the shops have closed and before the restaurants and bars start filling up, I can walk down Merrimack to Washington and hear little more than the rushing of the river and the clicking of my own heels on the sidewalk. Sometimes it feels like I have the entire downtown all to myself. How much longer is that going to last?
 Bold enough to eschew flat screens? This model is for you. How much longer will these dusty windows be packed with outmoded technology that give me the giggles? Beppers are already gone, after all! How many more trips past the hair braiding salon will I take before someone buys that amazing red, white, and blue tri-level wig I still have yet to get a good photo of? In order to get the amenities I so desperately want, is the compromise to lose out on all of this?
 Wigs for stylish ladies Though I get excited each time I see a glimmer of Haverhill’s future, (be it a building remodeled or a new business set up shop downtown) I realize that with each step forward we’re moving away from the Haverhill of the past and present. Someday, these quaint tableaus will cease to be there to amuse and inspire.
(Aren’t Kerry’s photos great? Check out her blog for more or support local art by making a purchase from her Etsy shop.)
June 1st, 2010 by Chris
Listen up, gumshoes: Pedro Diego’s is missing!
And it has been replaced by Toma’s. (Anyone tried it out yet?)
 Toma's, 35 Washington St. Do it, Rockapella!
June 1st, 2010 by Cosmic Amanda
Now that the floods of springtime have subsided, (Bradford basements, rejoice!) Little River is not much more than a trickle below the bridge on Winter St. The recent dry spell has revealed a riverbed littered with a vast array of (oddly enough) bicycles!
I counted the tires and freewheels of at least five different bikes down there, and even spotted a whole Razor scooter submerged at the river’s deepest spot. Some of them looked almost like Jurassic fossils the way their bare bones jutted out of the muck.
I know it’s a bit late for Earth Day, but is anyone out there willing to slap on some waders and fish this junk out of the water? If so, I’d be happy to help!
May 31st, 2010 by Cosmic Amanda
A few weeks back I was lucky enough to be invited to Haverhill Fever contributor and produce snob Chris’ place in the Hamel Mill Lofts for a cocktail party.
Now, If you ever have a chance to visit the Hamel Mill Lofts- do it! And if you’re ever in the market for a new apartment- double do it! Honestly, I’ve never been a planned community/apartment complex type of gal, but this place has so many great amenities (game room, gym, home theatre) and such breath-taking spaces (what can I say? I’m a sucker for 12 foot ceilings and banks of 8 foot high windows.) that I was starting to have serious doubts about how worth it having a mortgage to pay and grass to mow is.
As I was gazing out over the city below, daydreaming about being able to call a superintendent rather than further defending my Foursquare mayorship of Lowe’s, I spied this really cool-looking corner store- nicely painted and just sitting there, awaiting some plucky entrepreneur.
After some speculation, it suddenly hit me. Why, this was the deep-sixed would be porn store Hidden Pleasures, which was the centerpiece of my favorite Eagle Tribune story of all time! (“We’re not trying to sell dildos, honest! We just want chocoholics to be able to hide their shame.”)
Today I wandered downtown in search of Memorial Day festivities (crickets) and since I had my camera along, I decided to get up close and personal with the very building that caught my eye and tickled my funny bone a few years back.
 61 Locke St- where "Hidden Pleasures" got the kibosh. Around the back there was a full dumpster, which I hadn’t noticed when I was looking down at the building, so I’m not sure if this is a new development. There was also a permit in the window for said dumpster that’s set to expire soon:
 Forgive the slanty photo- stupid peg leg! I hadn’t heard any news that the naughty store folks had sold the building, so maybe they’re working on a slightly less NSFW. (not suitable for Winter St?)
Or, the old Eagle Tribune article also mentioned the owners may be interested in simply renting the space, in which case they could be clearing out to get it ready to put up for lease.
Either way, this is one property I’ll be keeping my eye on, for sure. I’d love to see the building go back to having big plate glass windows. Once the lofts fill up whoever uses 61 Locke St. will have hundreds of pairs of eyes peering down upon it, which means easy advertising! Could be a cute cafe, coffee shop, or even a book and gift shop.
What do you think guys? Anyone up for the opportunity?
|
|
