Decatur Way
Lowell, MA
TYPE:
Art Alleys + Activated Pathways
INSTALLED: 2016
ARTISTS: Liz LaManche (Design Lead, Muralist)
FUNDING: Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility, City of Lowell, local businesses and neighborhood groups
Entrance sign at Salem Street
Permeable walk cross-section by CDM Smith
Rain barrel educational signage
This alley used to be a barren water utility right-of-way behind a row of houses, which had fallen into urban decay. As part of a wider city project to manage stormwater, the water department developed this alley into a walkable path. Using a new type of permeable concrete with beds for plantings on either side, the new arrangement is able to soak up and redirect stormwater while making a new and appealing pedestrian access way.
The project was a collaboration between the water utility and the city, and neighborhood groups who pitched in to add art and plantings. A subsidized rain barrel program encouraged smart runoff water use in for home gardens.
Painted retaining wall with banner of multicultural flowers decorating an abutter’s chainlink fence
Our Process
The Design:
In this project our Director of Art and Design, Liz LaManche, consulted to CDM Smith Engineering, working for the City of Lowell. Liz’s design included:
Main anchor mural, “Water and Work in Lowell”
Entry signage identifying the project and thanking sponsors
Welcome signs at both entrances
Rain barrel and storm water education signage
Retaining wall art and flower banner to decorate an abutter’s chainlink fence
Ground art: multicultural flowers at various points on the sidewalk pavement echo mural elements and give homage to the cultural groups that formed the surrounding neighborhood. Water elements illustrate the flow of water into the permeable cement.
Planning of locations for community art
Ground art: Hydrophobic “water animal” stencils appear when it rains, adding an element of novelty and delight.
Mural
The anchoring mural at the start of the alley is “Lowell: Water and Work”- depicting the iconic mills clustered on the Merrimack River, with a portrait of Harriet Hanson Robinson. Robinson was an 11-year old Mill Girl (shown holding a bobbin) when she was the first to walk out in one of the historic strikes that led to better workers’ rights. She later became a leader in the womens’ suffrage movement. On the right, the water feeds a tree made up of flowers from the cultural art history of the various groups making up the neighborhood. These elements are echoed in the signage and sidewalk art around the path.
CDM Smith provided:
Walkway, drainage system and permeable concrete
Entryway arbor design (Michael Dodson) and construction
Coordinated plantings (local plant nursery and UMass student group)