Page 11 - 2024 Salem Massachusetts Official Event Guide and Map

Ruins of Naumkeag Steam Cotton Co. Union Street (later Congress Street), photo: Nelson Dionne Salem History Collection, Salem State University Archives and Special Collections, Salem, Massachusetts.
By the early 1900s, Salem welcomed an influx of immigrants who moved to the city to work in the cotton mills. The “Stage Point” neighborhood became known as“La Pointe,” or “Petite Canada,” as its residents were then primarily French Canadian. Along with the mills, the neighborhood included St. Joseph’s, Salem’s first French-language church, as well as triple-decker apartments, shops, markets, and community centers.
On June 25, 1914, a mixture of chemicals caused an explosion in a nearby factory and ignited the Great Salem Fire. Due to a drought, the fire quickly spread, destroying thousands of buildings in La Pointe.
In the years following the fire, the neighborhood continued to rebuild and transform itself. By the mid-1900s, the mills permanently closed, and a new wave of Spanish-speaking and primarily Dominican immigrants began to move into “El Punto.”
In 1978, a community development program called the North Shore Community Develop- ment Coalition (CDC) was founded in The Point with a mission to improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents. The North Shore CDC supports initiatives toward
Colorín Colorado by Silvia Lopez Chavez in Punto Urban Art Museum
Punto Urban Art Museum kick-off block party in 2017, photo: John Andrews
affordable housing, youth development, small business assistance, and more.
The organization founded the Punto Urban Art Museum (PUAM) in 2017, an expansive open-air art museum with over 80 large-scale murals by global and New England-based artists. The murals are part of the North Shore CDC’s mission-driven art initiative focused on breaking down invisible socio-economic barriers through community programming. Today, a walk through the neighborhood includes views of the breathtaking murals, local shops, and restaurants.
As you plan your visit to Salem, be sure to include a walk through PUAM, and find a guide to the murals as well as upcoming community events on PUNTOURBANARTMUSEUM.ORG.
KEEP READING: Learn about Generations / Generaciones, the mural featured on the cover of this guide, on p. 33.
Para leer en español, visite SALEM.ORG/ELPUNTO.
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