Destination: DTL!
 The Downtown Lynn Cultural District held its official launch party in August 2013. The District was in the first cohort of cultural districts designated by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2010. Photo from LynnHappens.com. |
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Downtown Lynn Cultural District brand presentation from DTLCD, created by Martha Almy for the Downtown Lynn Cultural District. Used with permission. marthaalmy.com.
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Photo of the The Food Project's Lynn Central Square Farmers Market photo from LynnHappens.com, taken at the market on July 19, 2012.
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 Since 2012, the Downtown Lynn Neighborhood Association has hosted openDTL annually in the summer to promote all that Downtown has to offer. |
Support efforts to make Downtown an arts, culture, and dining destination:
1. Support Downtown Lynn Cultural District’s efforts to showcase Lynn’s art and culture assets and cultivate a lively image and brand for Downtown Lynn. Continue to complement DTLCD’s initiatives with strategic real estate and infrastructure investments.
More on the DTLCD brand: In December 2011, consultant Martha Almy delivered the presentation shown on the right regarding branding the Lynn arts and culture district. It was following this presentation that stakeholders voted to re-name the district the Downtown Lynn Arts and Culture District, or DTLCD. This presentation addresses considerations for DTLCD as it moves forward with marketing efforts. Learn more about this effort on by visiting the Downtown Planning page on this website, and visit DTLCD.org for the latest on what the district has to offer.
2. Regularly convene artists and arts and cultural organizations to identify challenges they may be facing. Address challenges as a way of encouraging these individuals and organizations to remain in Downtown Lynn, and to make Downtown more regionally attractive to creative industries.
3. Establish and/or maintain relationships and regular communication with state agencies and offices including the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development’s Creative Industries Director, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and other related state agencies and offices.
4. Establish and/or maintain relationships and regular communications with regional private sector marketing and visitor services organizations such as convention and visitors’ bureaus and chambers of commerce.
5. Establish a wayfinding program (or support DTLCD to do so) to help visitors explore the variety of amenities Downtown has to offer.
6. Embrace public art programs, continuing to support efforts by organizations such as Centerboard and RAW to create murals or support other artwork in Downtown.
7. Support existing and future opportunities to activate public spaces such as farmers’ markets, community gardens, outdoor theater and concerts, art walks, and other activities that bring foot traffic to Downtown and create a buzz.
Already happening in Downtown Lynn: The Lynn Central Square Farmers Market runs on Thursdays from June-October. The market is operated by The Food Project, an organization that engages "young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture." Food sold at the Farmers Market comes from Food Project farms in Lynn and Beverly, which are farmed by teenagers and adult volunteers. Also, Arts After Hours has hosted indoor as well as outdoor theater productions, concerts, and social events in Downtown Lynn, and the Downtown Lynn Neighborhood Association has hosted openDTL since 2012, along with many other social events in the neighborhood. Many organizations including Centerboard, Without Borders Magazine, and Lynn Community Association have hosted neighborhood spring and summer clean ups, which have served several purposes, including giving Downtown a more welcoming appearance, promoting community stewardship, and creating more foot traffic.
8. Market Downtown Lynn broadly to Greater Boston and beyond, but also target marketing efforts locally to better establish Downtown Lynn as a hub for Lynners and the gateway to the North Shore.
9. Pursue more cross-marketing opportunities with the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway, a 90-mile heritage tourism route that starts in Lynn and travels northward along the Essex County coastline. The Byway organization is led by the Essex National Heritage Commission.