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Most Endangered Historic Resource:
Downtown Retail District (Listed 2000)
Status –Recovering
Salem's historic retail shopping district has enjoyed a very visible
renaissance since it’s listing in 2000. Many long vacant spaces
are now rehabilitated and filled with commercial activity or new residents.
New condominiums in the former Salem Laundry, Bleachers and Bowman’s
Bakery buildings reuse old buildings and add residential vitality. A
large number of successful new retail businesses and restaurants have
opened. Active use of the significant Daniel Low’s building and
the restoration of the YWCA’s historic Essex Street storefront
spaces are also welcome developments. The Peabody Essex Museum’s
expanded central campus is well deserving of the national attention
and acclaim that it has garnered. Nonetheless, expanding and improving
the retail mix remains challenging, and the recent plans for major development
presents additional challenges. (See also the new Potentially Endangered
listings: Salem News Building.) The decision to hire a Main Streets
coordinator, announced in the winter of 2007, is promising.
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