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Nothing special about the Portsmouth Brewery? Tod Mott was (and is) an insanely good brewer, but so is the new brewer Tyler Jones. There's no need to trash the Portsmouth Brewery just to say that the folks behind Novare are similarly good. I'm sure they wouldn't be doing that. I'm very excited...

I hadn't heard of that--that sounds very exciting--even if the name isn't great. But there are some pretty serious brewpubs in New England already (CBC and Portsmouth Brewery being among my favorites). It's always baffled me that Portland hasn't had another brewpub (Gritty's has its place, but...

The massing of the alternate plan seems much stronger. I can imagine walking along Chestnut Street with the towers framing the city beyond, and being very pleasant. The alternate plan seems to provide much more of a focal point and a sense of place to the area along Chestnut Street, with the...

Nashua will always be in Manchester's shadow to a certain extent, but it's location on the Mass border gives it some leverage that Lewiston doesn't have. And I think it's got a lot more vitality than Haverhill (which has some beautiful old mills) and Leominster: being on the border means it has...

This chart of Nashua's population says it all. Nashua is historically a much smaller city than Portland or Manchester. With the completion of the Everett Turnpike, connecting Nashua with Route 128 and Boston, its population increased rapidly beginning in the 1970s. Most of that new growth...

Commuter rail is back on track in the Merrimack Valley. The Executive Council voted yesterday to move forward with the study of the Capitol Corridor commuter rail project, which will help determine startup and operating costs, as well as the economic benefits of commuter rail. And on Tuesday...

Totally agree--the Custom House is incredibly elegant and slender; the proportioning is just about perfect. The Travelers Building, I would call handsome, and it's a fine building and a beautiful punctuation to the Hartford skyline, but it doesn't not top the Custom House in my book. As to the...

I think Gatsas will probably run for a third term, but I'm not positive. He won pretty handily the last time around, I believe he has a lot of money to run, and he's obviously got the name recognition. I do, however, think things have changed a bit since the last election. The biggest change is...

Just a political note: Ward 12 Alderman Patrick Arnold has announced his candidacy for mayor of Manchester in November's election. Here's Arnold's announcement, as published in the Union Leader: I think Mayor Gatsas cares a great deal about the city, but I think he lacks the vision and...

Glad to see Dwight Square mentioned! I used to live within eyesight of it, and it was a great little park to sit in, as well as to look out to.

I'm a Democrat, myself, but there are a number of Republicans in my family whom I think feel the same way. Until recently, Republicans in New Hampshire exemplified the sort of socially liberal, fiscally conservative (sometimes frankly penny-wise pound-foolish) pragmatism that now seems to belong...

I think it actually looks boxier and clunkier than before. That two-level canopy could hardly be more inelegant. It's hard to tell, but from the drawings on the board in the other photo, that might just be a function of the rudimentary rendering rather than the design, and their portfolio...

I'm not sure if you're arguing that this project should have been light-rail, that it shouldn't have been built at all, or what. But I don't see any other major urban transit projects actually being built in New England, so whatever misgivings you have, the CTfastrak has merit in my book. We can...

Generally, I'm much more in favor of rail over bus service when it's feasible--it's generally faster, doesn't sit in traffic, is more attractive, the fixed-route means greater stability, and it generates more economic growth and redevelopment around stations. That said, with limited funds, a...

I hear you, but from the looks of it, it's a very preliminary design and rendering. If it was built as drawn, it would be very out-of-place and a pretty bland building. But I would imagine that they'll be refining the facade and so forth, and getting input from the neighborhood should help...

Agreed--Portland is about the perfect distance from Boston in terms of being self-contained but not truly isolated, if you ask me. It's not so isolated and insular as Burlington, but far enough away to create its own draw. I often think that if Manchester wasn't so close to Boston (and if it...

History doesn't stop in 1890 and neither should architecture. I think the design could be very elegant with the massing shown. It will require doing something more interesting than a blank brick wall, and I'd prefer to see some cladding more sympathetic to the neighborhood. But there are all...

Repealing the income tax in Maine seems extremely unlikely to happen, and I think would be a very bad idea. I wrote about New Hampshire's tax "gimmicks" and the decline of the "New Hampshire Advantage" on LivableMHT a few months back, and frankly Maine's tax structure is more equitable, more...

I totally agree about LEED--it's really more of a marketing tool for "green products" rather than a measure of environmental sustainability. In any event, the St. Mary's building does look great so far, and really makes an impact at that intersection. I really hope it's not the last...

Transit updates Finally, there will be a public transit option between Manchester and Portsmouth. The Union Leader reported yesterday: Twenty trips daily between downtown Manchester, the airport and Portsmouth is a big deal for public transit in New Hampshire. So is the result of the recent...