Conifer Hill changes

On Friday afternoon April 26, en route from a family funeral in Salem to a family visit in Maine, I drove through Danvers and paused briefly to survey once again the landscape of my childhood. Drastic changes were in progress behind a construction company’s chain-link fence. As I viewed the altered terrain,  contradictory images — some real, some imagined vaguely from family stories, some remembered vividly from my childhood — flickered in rapid succession through my mind.  I took photos to document this moment, this latest transition, in the history of the property once known as "Locust Lawn."

I've written my May column in reaction to that scene, focusing on stories connected to the tall trees at the hilltop.  

Since writing that column I have searched for basic information about the Conifer Hill development, seeking to understand what is coming.  Here are some helpful links about the planning of this new project, which is called Conifer Hill Commons:

• Map and plan by the B H + A (architects)
• Project description (Kavanagh Advisory)
• Private/public partnership: MA Housing Partnership
• 2010 Editorial in the Danvers Herald
• Salem News article, June 2010.

I note that the address is 121 Conifer Hill Drive, the very same number at which I lived (121 Nichols Street).  Same location, same curve of the street, but almost everything else has changed.

I'm sure I will write more in the future about this property, which has had a very rich history. It was once part of the Prince family land in the 17th century.