Paul Marion/Lowell Sun photo

10/10/2014
Lowell Sun
By Alana Melanson

LOWELL -- Paul Marion takes pride in being a fifth-generation Lowellian and a "witness observer to the city's comeback."

Now, the UMass Lowell executive director of community relations, he also had a hand in it, previously working as an administrator with the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission and co-founder of the Lowell Folk Festival and the Lowell Heritage Partnership.

In his new book, Mill Power: The Origin and Impact of Lowell National Historical Park, Marion traces the history of the park from concept to present day, and the impact that embracing Lowell's cultural heritage has had in revitalizing the city after the fall of the mills.

"In Lowell, the whole city in effect is the park, and that's part of the genius of it," Marion said.

Q: How did you come to write this book?

A: I was honored to be invited to write it by the previous superintendent of the national park, Michael Creasey.

Q: How is this book different from other historical accounts of Lowell?

A: It includes the cultural side of the whole experience, the human story. Typically, in historic preservation stories, there's a lot about buildings. You can restore 500 buildings, but when you sort of repair the story, you add a kind of soul, spirit, to the overall experience.

Q: What is the most important part of Lowell's story?

A: The story is really a story of community empowerment.

It was Lowell people themselves who built a case and made an argument that Lowell was one of the most significant historical places in the United States, and that Lowell deserved to be on the list with the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty and Gettysburg Battlefield. Back in the 1970s, there was no national park unit that told the story of the American Industrial Revolution. And so the genius of those local people who made the argument for a park here was that they recognized the city was an important part of the American narrative.

Q: Did the effort receive any pushback?

A: The experts at the National Park Service dismissed it at first. But the local effort kept coming, building its case, bringing people here and showing them. The people who were on the congressional committees and the advisory boards leaned heavily to the west, to parks that were open spaces and natural wonders. It was not easy in the run-up to the legislation that finally got passed in 1978, and it's a credit to Paul Tsongas for just not giving up.

Q: Did Lowell's acceptance pave the way for other unconventional parks?

A: There have been more urban sites brought into the national park system. Patterson, N.J., which has an industrial story not unlike Lowell, was recently designated a national park. A park in Pennsylvania called Steamtown, all about the railroads out there, is a national historic site. New Bedford has a national park area dealing with its whaling history. You probably wouldn't have seen these in the system if it weren't for Lowell.

Q: What was the most interesting thing you learned during your research?

A: Somebody told me that when he was just starting out, Bill Gates went to talk to some of the folks at Wang Laboratories about his ideas about software, and nothing came of it. Imagine if "Word" had been Wang, what that would have meant for Lowell.

Q: Who was the most interesting person you encountered, living or dead?

A: Dr. Patrick Mogan, who's considered the father of the park. He formulated this idea that you could revive the city through a focus on the special role that it played in American history. He was looking for a way to improve the educational prospects of kids in Lowell. He was convinced that the first thing you had to do was to restore a sense of self-esteem, so that they came to school feeling better about themselves, feeling like there was a chance they could succeed, feeling like they came from a place that was as good as any other place, and that once you had sort of rebuilt their self-confidence, that they, through their own intelligence and imagination, would be able to begin to transform their lives.

Q: Did he succeed in his efforts?

A: If we look around at the results, it's extraordinary what's been accomplished in 40 years. Lowell has really reinvented itself and become world-recognized because of it. People come here from all over the United States and all over the world because they want to learn, how did Lowell do this, what did you do to bring your city back to life?

Q: What can other cities at a similar crossroads learn from Lowell?

A: Try to identify what distinguishes your community. What do you have, what can you do, that is different than your neighbor? Second, you've got to be truthful about it. It's got to be organic. Third, everybody's got to be in.

Q: What message do you hope your book sends to the community?

A: The Lowell community did a huge thing in the 1970s, and it should inspire people to believe they can do more huge things. And also to remind people Lowell is important in the American story. Sometimes when you're right in it, and you're driving by the mills everyday and going over the canals, you can sort of take it for granted.

A book signing and launch reception will be held Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center at 246 Market St. Another signing will be held Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. at the University Crossing bookstore, and a third event will be held Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Pollard Memorial Library. Starting on Oct. 16, a paperback version of the book will be available for $25 at the Visitor Center and the Boott Mills Museum. Hardcover books may be ordered for $75 -- discounted to $45 for past and present Lowell residents -- at rowman.com.