Manchester, New Hampshire: Merrimac's Jewel Shines

By Ugur Akinci, Ph.D.

Just over a decade ago, the reputation of Manchester, NH did not go beyond being a "mill town" on the Merrimac River. That's when the city leaders put their heads together and decided to take an investment gamble to vitalize the dormant downtown.

After $70 million dollars, the 11,770-seat Verizon Wireless Arena was born in 2001. And it worked.

Today downtown Manchester draws visitors for all kinds of sport events and exhibitions not only from all corners of the state but neighboring New England states as well. It also happens to be the home of Manchester Monarchs professional hockey team.

What was once a sleepy downtown area where nothing much seemed to take place has transformed into a vibrant shopping and promenade area with restaurants, a weekly farmer's market, gift stores and all kinds of retail activity spurred on by the energy of the Verizon Center.

The independent and contrarian spirit of the Granite State is represented well by Castro's Back Room, a "cigar parlor" on Elm Street in downtown.

The Manchester Airport, which received $500 million worth of infrastructural improvements to support the region's growth, worked as expected, bringing in a new generation of young professional to fuel the city's growth. The busy airport welcomes over 4 million passengers a year.

Here are some stats on Manchester, as provided by the U.S. Census Bureau:

• Size: 33.0 square miles
• Population: 109,310 (est. 2004)
• City per capita personal income (2003): $36,858
• County median house income: $55,755 (2000)
• Area unemployment: 3.4 percent (May 2005)

It's a good place to live, work, and raise a family.