The renovation of a former textile mill in Lowell, Mass., into a mixed-use facility features whimsical salvaged architectural materials including some from the former home of Theodore Giesel, better known as Dr. Seuss. The off-beat flourishes are intended to attract creative types and high tech start-ups.
Inside the entry hall will be a reconstructed early 19th-century New England schoolhouse, an exhibit called the Lowell Athenaeum, which will feature a collection of hand-painted pseudo-historical plaques from New England history. Retail stores will be set behind old-world storefronts across from a Victorian lounge, which will serve as an in-house lending library. The project will also include a boutique movie theater, yoga studio, and a farm-to-table restaurant. Next to the theater will be a black-box performance space, along with what the developer calls the “world’s smallest drive-in,” a 1957 Studebaker convertible with its own private screen.
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