When painter Marjorie Minkin first walked into Building 18 at 144 Moody St. about fifty years ago, the ceilings were high and she could lay out the studio to her own measurements. Her early pieces were large, and as she told the Waltham Times, "It looked like a great space." She is still on the third floor of that building. She makes acrylic paintings and three-dimensional work in LEXAN, a polycarbonate, and on Nov. 7 and 8 she will open her door for the 50th annual Waltham Open Studios.
Open Studios has lasted fifty years because artists in Waltham's mill buildings have tended to stay put. That is why at least one of the people who started the weekend is still part of it.
Fifty years, one address
Minkin helped create Open Studios with fellow artists five decades ago, modeling it on a similar event in Los Angeles. "We had a large crowd from the beginning … it was really a major event," she told the Waltham Times. She has taken part across the whole half-century. She doesn't focus on selling during the weekend. She spends it answering visitors' questions about her work and process. "It's sort of like teaching for me," she said.
As more renters moved into Building 18, she said, the building became a community. "I feel this warm connection to my neighbors," she said.
Andrea Tishman, a printmaker and painter who serves as the event's assistant coordinator, put the longevity in plainer terms in the same Waltham Times story:
"With Waltham's rents lower than other locations, 'people tend to stay a long time' in Waltham," the paper reported, adding that she called the event "a nice reflection on the City of Waltham [since] there are very few pockets of artists that have longevity."
So the anniversary measures more than how long a weekend event has run. It also measures how long a group of working artists has stayed in one set of buildings on Moody Street. This year that group comes to 78 creators from the Waltham Mills Artist Association, Lincoln Studios and Metalwerx. Last year's event was billed as the 49th, so the count has been continuous.
The artist whose work was already all over the city
The anniversary's special exhibit fits the same pattern of an artist rooted in Waltham. Work by the late Waltham artist Shawn Laswell will be shown and sold on the first floor of Building 4 at 144 Moody St.
Plenty of residents who have never been inside a studio may already know his work from the street. Waltham Open Studios describes him as known for "hanging his signature vinyl LP records, splattered in vivid colors, on utility poles all around Waltham." By the organizers' estimate, he put up about 2,000 pieces over 15 years.
A scholarship in his name will help qualifying Waltham graduates study visual art at an accredited institution. Buying an original Laswell during the weekend adds to the fund. Work that once hung on the city's utility poles will be inside a mill building this weekend, and the sales will go toward the next generation of Waltham artists.
Which building, which door
The event runs Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7 and 8, from noon to 5 p.m. It is free and family-friendly. Organizers describe the weekend as a chance for the public to come into working studios, with performances, demonstrations and art-making activities for children. Tishman told the Waltham Times she wants visitors "to feel comfortable asking questions" and to join demonstrations if they can.
The two addresses are not equally easy to get into, and that matters if anyone in your group uses a wheelchair, a walker or a stroller:
| Building | Address | Of note this year | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Mills Building 4 | 144 Moody St. | Shawn Laswell display and sale, first floor | Ramp and an elevator to all floors |
| Waltham Mills Building 18 | 144 Moody St. | Marjorie Minkin's third-floor studio | No accessibility |
| Lincoln Studios | 289 Moody St. | Lincoln Studios artists; Metalwerx artists, including Nora McMillan | Street-level access and elevators to all floors through the Lincoln Studio Gallery entrance |
Building 18 is where Minkin has worked for half a century, and it is also the only participating building with no accessible route. Anyone who can't manage stairs can spend more of the afternoon in Building 4 and at Lincoln Studios, where every floor can be reached. The organizers' website lists all participating artists by name, so you can match names to buildings before you go.
Start an hour early, at the mill that came first
The Open Studios buildings at 144 Moody St. sit next to the place where Waltham's industrial history began. The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation at 154 Moody St. occupies the old Boiler House and Engine Room of the Boston Manufacturing Company's 1814 textile mill. The museum calls that mill the world's first fully integrated factory. It opened to the public in 1988.
The timing works well on Saturday. At 11 a.m. on Nov. 7, an hour before the studios open, the museum is running a free 45-minute tour called "The Mill Girls in Story & Song." The tour is free, but staying to see the rest of the museum takes regular admission. The tour covers the people who worked in these mills, and the studios next door are where artists have worked in the same buildings for decades since.
A few details for planning:
- Hours. The museum lists public hours of 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, so Saturday is the only Open Studios day it's open. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing, and hours can change for special or private events.
- Admission. General admission is $10 for adults ages 18 to 64. It is $5 for ages 6 to 17, college students with current ID, seniors 65 and older, and active-duty military. Members and children 5 and under get in free.
- Next week. If the visit sparks an interest in the mill's history, the museum's next listed program is a free Mill Talk, "A Paper Nation: America's First Information Revolution," on Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 7 to 8 p.m. Registration is required.
Getting there this weekend
Parking is the main logistics question for a Moody Street weekend, and the organizers have been specific about it:
- Accessible parking only at 144 Moody St. Free accessible spaces in front of Building 4 are first-come, first-served.
- Everyone else uses four lots. Organizers direct other visitors to the Spruce Street, Crescent Street, Embassy and Carter Street lots.
- The museum has no visitor parking of its own. It warns that vehicles without a Mill-approved permit, handicap-permitted vehicles included, can be towed from the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill lots. If you're starting at the museum on Saturday, park in one of the lots above.
- Or take the train. Waltham Station on the Fitchburg commuter rail line is about 25 minutes from North Station, and Moody Street is a short walk from the station.
Drivers coming from the Felton Street side should also plan around the water-main work. The Waltham Times reported that starting Oct. 26, Felton Street would close between Moody and Fountain streets while the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority replaces a 60-inch main. During the closure, Mechanic, Water and Fountain streets are reached from Charles Street. The pipe is part of the Weston Aqueduct Supply Main, steel pipe installed in the 1920s and 1930s. After Felton Street, the digging moves along Bellevue Street, Sun Street, Central Avenue, Moody Street and Main Street to Linden Street. The MWRA expects that phase to finish by May 15, 2027.
If you'd like one more stop, Boomerangs by More Than Words opened to customers on Oct. 9 at 56 Felton St. after a ribbon-cutting the day before, according to the Waltham Times. It's a thrift store that gives young adults jobs. Weekend hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., so it's open during both Open Studios afternoons.
For the full artist list and weekend schedule, see the Waltham Open Studios website.
If Open Studios has you thinking about what staying in Waltham, or moving within it, could look like for your household, Neran Rohra is glad to talk it through, one step at a time. Let's Connect.
