ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
New pavement and benches are two of the improvements made to Lynn Common.
With its freshly-paved paths and new curbing, Lynn Common opposite the library looks like a park worthy of admiring glances and acclaim.
The best news about the recent renovations on the Common is that it is the latest in a succession of efforts to improve a well-used and visible part of the city.
Workers restored the bandstand and plans for renovating the largest section of the Common include improvements matching the ones undertaken opposite the library called the “small Common.”
Boston Street, Western Avenue and the Lynnway are the city’s biggest streets. But the Common lies in the city’s heart and attracts residents from Lynn’s inner-city neighborhoods who come to the Common to play with their children, join pickup soccer games or spend some time surrounded by trees and sunshine.
The Common is the starting point at Easter for the vigils bringing St. Mary’s Church and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church congregations together. It hosts Civil War reenactors each May who celebrate the city’s ties to the Civil War.
The ongoing Common improvements are well-timed with renovations underway at the former church and temple on South Common Street. The Iglesia Evangelica Luz y Vida congregation is restoring the brick exterior of the big building at the corner of Huss Court and South Common Street.
The steeple is partly restored with a new roof and part of the building is on the verge of being used again as a place of worship. Other churches located on the Common, including St. Mary’s, St. Stephen’s and St. George’s, have undergone significant and expensive renovations in recent years and the “small Common” area will see additional improvements once two antique lamps are restored this fall to their original pedestals outside the library.
Restoring the Common offers city officials the chance to gather residents and discuss additional Common improvements, including projects intended to make the Common a place where more people want to congregate.
That discussion should encompass crosswalk and public safety measures aimed at reducing speeding. It should also focus on the one large property abutting the Common that is declining in contrast to the revitalization taking place around it.
The future of the Lynn Armory must be the focus of talks between city and state leaders. Those conversations should ensure the historic building receives routine maintenance.
Lynn is improving on several fronts, and Lynn Common is quickly becoming a place where local pride and commitment is evident.
