Designated Cultural Districts

Location: Beverly

Description: However you choose to get here - fly in, sail over, take the train - visiting downtown Beverly and the new Beverly Arts District (BAD) is worth the trip! With Montserrat College of Art in the heart of the district, BAD is home to hundreds of working artists and art students whose work can be seen and heard all over the district. Many graduates choose to stay in Beverly and open their creative businesses, form their bands and publish their books. They exhibit in a dozen galleries like Mingo, the 301 Gallery and The Window. They create in studio spaces at Zeitgeist Gallery and at Clay Dreaming and in the 40+ spaces at Porter Mill, an historic brick building that also houses the Wicked Art Bar and is host to Beverly ComicCon. Actors, musicians and comedians perform on stage at the historic Cabot Theatre which is being restored to its 1920s glory and at the dazzling Larcom Theatre. They play their horns at Chianti, one of Beat Magazine's top 150 places in the world to hear jazz! When you visit, make a day of it -- enjoy the beach that is 2 blocks away, visit galleries sprinkled throughout the district, play a little tune on our street piano, paint your own canvas and dine in one of our award-winning restaurants like Barrel House, named one of Zagat's '10 Hottest US Bourbon Bars. You can experience art in local businesses that transform their walls into galleries. Leave your mark on the world-famous Graffiti Wall that runs along the commuter rail tracks. Take a class at Philip Lowe's Furniture Institute of MA or listen to poetry in improbable places like poolside at the Y and at the bike shop. The District is also home to cool events like Arts Fest in June, summer block parties, the Gran Prix Bike Race in July and Beverly's New Year on December 31.

Location: Lowell

Description: Lowell's Canalway Cultural District offers historical sights within a forward-thinking, innovative community. Lowell National Historical Park, Whistler House Museum of Art, Angkor Dance Troupe, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre are just a few examples of the city's flourishing creative network. With multiple large-scale annual festivals, a wide variety of performance spaces, concerts of all genres, and creative spaces for making and exhibiting artwork, Lowell is a hub of culture in the Merrimack Valley.

Location: Lynn

Description: The core of this city may be one of Massachusetts' best-kept secrets -- a fusion of contemporary artists and multicultural cuisine and the authentic bricks and mortar of a city steeped in a history at the forefront of America's industrial history. Mingle with the artists and entrepreneurs who are drawn to the myriad of street activities, performances, and museums. Lynn's Central Exchange Cultural District includes historic museums, multiple performance spaces (like LynnArts' Neal Rantoul Black Box Theater), galleries like RAW showcasing young artists, numerous artist studios, WFNX Radio, ethnic restaurants and marketplaces reflecting the city's diverse population, and a resurgence of new restaurants like the Turbine Wine Bar.

Location: Essex

Description: The Essex River Cultural District is sensible and compact, both in terms of geography and concept: this is where "the town meets the river." The district meanders past ancient burial grounds, active shipyards and marinas, bustling restaurants, antique shops and galleries. The district offers vistas of Burnham's Shipyard, the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum, which houses an important collection of marine related antiquities and much of Essex's rich history, and the stunning Essex River with its salt marsh borders looking out to Hog Island and Crane Beach. Pocket parks line the street with benches for relaxing and taking in the views. The district presents a dynamic and active relationship between history and the river, not one that is frozen in the past. Residents are encouraged to get out onto the river to experience it first-hand; the shipbuilding tradition is still alive and well and the town celebrates each new launch; and early antiques share shelf space with more recent memorabilia and contemporary crafts.

Location: Gloucester

Description: The Harbortown Cultural District is the hub of Gloucester's downtown and the center of the oldest seaport in New England. The harbor and its work have inspired all manner of creative artists, iconoclasts and activists for centuries and continue to draw locals and visitors. Harbortown boasts a staggering array of cultural assets, businesses, and year-round creative arts and entertainment activities. Dozens of festivals celebrate the city's diverse ethnic heritage, fishing traditions, literary giants, and contemporary arts and culture. Harbortown counts more than 35 restaurants, many of which host live music at night and feature changing art exhibits. The Cape Ann Museum is lauded as one of the finest small museums in the country. Harbortown also features the HarborWalk -- an interactive public path featuring stories and images of the district?s annual St. Peter's Fiesta, heroic fisherman Howard Blackburn, artists such as Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper, poets Charles Olson and T.S. Eliot, writers Sebastian Junger and Virginia Lee Burton, along with inventors and waterfront workers. The Walk loops by a working waterfront, past sea captain mansions, pocket parks, the seven gabled Fitz Henry Lane house, and the museums.

Location: Newburyport

Description: Located on the Merrimack River, the Downtown Newburyport Cultural District is a charming, old-fashioned historical area offering an eclectic blend of arts, entertainment, dining, shopping, and cultural experiences. Newburyport affords residents and visitors alike a taste of history with its Colonial-era architecture, as well as its contemporary art, along the boardwalk. Widely known as the birthplace of the U.S. Coast Guard, Newburyport is rich in maritime history, as anyone who has taken a walking tour along the Clipper Heritage Trail will tell you. Craving more historical fare? Stop by the Custom House Maritime Museum to learn about Newburyport's ship-building past. Want to satisfy your thirst for local art? Mosey on down the street to the Newburyport Art Association where there are more than a few artists offering and showcasing their finest work. Want something totally different altogether? The Tannery Marketplace is the perfect locale for many unique and independently-owned gift stores, bakeries, bookstores, and The Actors Studio, a small, cozy theater. A testament to the well-planned urban landscape in Newburyport, visitors can easily follow the district along Liberty Street with its many shops to State Street, the heart of the district. There awaits the fine dining, art galleries, and shopping that individuals from all over New England have come to know and love.

Location: Haverhill

Description: Creative minds from the past and present collide in Haverhill's Riverfront Cultural District. Murals painted by local artists adorn the sides of historic brick buildings famous for their elaborate Queen Anne style brickwork. Giant reproductions of 19th century shoes and a shoe-worker's memorial give a nod to Haverhill's shoe-making past, while showcasing the unique designs of local working artists and students. Easily accessible by train, bus, car, or boat, the Riverfront Cultural District has something for everyone to enjoy. With such a large concentration of creative minds living and working in the district, you're sure to stumble upon a painting or music lesson, or even an impromptu theater performance in this welcoming art community. The Riverfront Cultural District is home to both large and small annual events including the River Ruckus Festival, the Christmas Stroll, National Holiday Concerts, the Haverhill Experimental Film Festival, and the Haverhill Chamber's Buy Local initiative, which encourages the support of local small businesses. Haverhill's Riverfront Cultural District is alive and growing, with new shops and businesses cropping up at every turn and more and more visitors discovering all that Haverhill has to offer.

Location: Rockport

Description: From the tip of Bearskin Neck and the iconic Motif #1, to Rockport Music's world-class Shalin Liu Performance Center with its stage overlooking the Atlantic, you'll have a once in a lifetime experience in Rockport. Shop in more than 40 art galleries. Grab a cup of coffee while watching the waves. Find out why international visitors make this a regular destination. Rockport's district boasts over 40 individual artist galleries and studios, as well as cultural institutions like the Rockport Art Association, one of the oldest active art associations in the nation.

Location: Gloucester

Description: There's something special about the light here. Find out why artists from around the world are drawn to one of America's first artist colonies: Gloucester's Rocky Neck. Stroll through artist galleries and studios nestled on this Cape Ann peninsula. Talk to the artists and watch them work. Grab lunch on the water overlooking a working fishing harbor. Rocky Neck is one of America's oldest art colonies, supporting an impressive number of year-round working artists. The district is home to numerous galleries and restaurants as well as the critically acclaimed Gloucester Theatre Company. Venues offer a calendar of special events like Nights on the Neck and the Rocky Neck Artist Ball. A dynamic new cultural and visitor center is also in the works.