A New Discovery this week, Another Mill called Western Studios, But First Some Photos Of Mill No. 5.

A New Discovery this Week in the Mills

The mill is on the right (below).

There has been quite a bit written lately about Mill No. 5 and the Western Avenue Studios, two former mills. Unlike many other mills in the city that are used as office space or for apartments / condos, these mills now have shops, cafe, Luna (a small movie theater) and special events for the public. It's a great way to see a mill first hand.

My husband and I went the day after Christmas to both, and since most of the artists and shop owners weren't there, we had the buildings to ourselves, free to roam, explore and take photos.

At Mill No. 5, you need to take the elevator to the 4th floor.

Perhaps you can tell, work is still being done on the mill.

The entire floor was decked out in holiday decorations, and all the shops looked quite magical.

Note: Three of my photos have been stolen by http://thehammersmithgroup.com/#!projects/cwvn and are claimed as theirs.

thehammersmithgroup should be ashamed because they have easy access to their own projects and should use their own resources and not resort to taking photos from my blog. I discovered this when I read Curbed by Rachel B. Doyle and saw 2 of my photos. From that site, "Doors from Dr. Seuss' house. The facade of a 17th-century Georgian facade from London. Stained glass windows. All of these elements are present in an 1873 textile mill that was recently reborn as an eclectic retail complex in Lowell, Massachusetts. Instead of the typical warehouse look, the interiors of Mill No. 5 feature architectural elements salvaged from historic buildings all over New England. The biggest challenge, says Constantine Valhouli, who worked on the project, was "getting some of the large pieces up the dramatic curved stairwell when they couldn't be craned through an open window."

 Entrance to the Luna theater (above).

Large comfortable seats with a table shared by two.

 Coffee shop.

 Yoga Studio, with 4 huge windows and a nice view.

 

 

Jackson Street, looking towards the Western Avenue mill in the distance. Below are photos from the 2nd mill containing 245 studio rental space for over 300 artisans.

 Western Avenue Studios

Entrance (above)

The cooperative gallery has items to buy.

Public sitting area.

Love what they did with the loading dock.

 There are five floors of studio rental space for artists to live and or work.

 

We walked down five flights of stairs, all looking like these.

 Ground level (above and below).

From a vacant studio, I looked out on a canal.