This series of maps of Lawrence begins with the farmland of 1844 that was to become Lawrence, and proceeds through a current Google satellite view. The maps have been scaled and oriented so that they overlay one-another to help you see the evolution of the streets of Lawrence.

Both men were named Alex; neither one was actually born in Lawrence, yet both hailed as Lawrencians; both volunteered for military service; both were missing in action; both had families distraught wondering where they were.

When Alex Jimenez was announced missing in action last year the History Center was in the process of exhibiting an historic post card exhibit at the Heritage State Park. The exhibit was prompted by post cards from WWII veterans who sent them to Finno's Pool Hall on Common Street so all the neighborhood buddies could read them.

The Lawrence History Center~Immigrant City Archives, founded 30 years ago by Eartha Dengler, occupies the historic compound of the Essex Company, and maintains and makes accessible all the records of this company that planned and built the City of Lawrence. The Center is also the repository of all records, pictures and artifacts of the rich and far broader history of Lawrence, so aptly called the Immigrant City.

The historic Turn Verein Hall was devastated by a fire on Sunday, January 13, 2008. On these pages we document the history of the hall, the German immigrants who built it and its uses over the years. It is a sad loss of an historic building which was used and loved by thousands over its history.

Recent email from Carole Kulzer Brennan dated October 20, 2008:

Here are some historic maps of the area of the tragic fire at the corner of Market and Parker Streets. The fire took place in Lawrence in the early morning hours of January 21, 2008.

Lawrence in 1845... nothing but farmland...

Here is a Panorama of Lawrence from the North , looking South, but it is a 180 degree perspective. On the left, it's looking down Essex St to the East and on the right, looking to the West.

Here is a Panorama of Lawrence from the South looking North over the Merrimack river.

The current exhibit at the Essex Art Center's Beland Gallery showcases Joyce Audy Zarins sculptural work of tree footprints and drip lines. One of the trees she documents stands on the South Common. Joyce chose this tree because her grandmother came from Canada in 1912 at the age of 13 to work in the Lawrence textile mills, the year of the great labor strike. She researched the trees on the Common to determine which one was closest to the place where the strikers gathered. Her chosen tree serves today as a “witness” to her grandmother’s presence and the strike of 1912.

Lawrence History Center, Immigrant City Archives and Museum held an exhibit at the Lawrence Heritage State Park this past summer.
Wish You Were Here - A Written Art Form ~ Lawrence Post Cards

Postcard from Ned Leone ~ Finno's Pool Hall Collection

Tuberculosis Hospital

Lawrence and the History of Public Health in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health, Dr. Howard Koh, officially opened the exhibit at 6:00pm on May 25th at the Heritage State Park in Lawrence where it remained until August 31st. The exhibit featured a number of the important developments in the history of public health in Lawrence and Massachusetts including:

The development and impact of the Lawrence Experiment Station in 1893.