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The electronics age of Nashua began in 1952, when BAE Systems (at that time named Sanders), bought the Jackson Mills building on Canal Street. The new industry brought many jobs and many new faces to Nashua. Road size had to increase, including widening Main Street and building the Everett Turnpike in 1957.
See BAE before and after
John F. Kennedy came to Nashua in 1960 and started his campaign trail to the White House with his presidential candidacy announcement in front of our City Hall. Soon after the FAA broke ground and the New England Aeronautical Institute started at Boire Field.
Nashua saw its first shopping plaza in 1962. The first strip mall, Simoneau Plaza, was built on the filled Salmon Brook. Direct dialing was introduced in 1967 and the prefix "88" was placed in front of local telephone numbers. Nashua elected the first woman alderman, Alice Dube, in 1969. That was also a record year for snow; over 55 inches!
See the bust of JFK
The 1970's were marked with visits from all three presidents of the decade, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. The National Government very generously funded 6.5 million in
Economic Development and 11 million in housing.
The Nashua Historical Society acquired two buildings; the Abbot-Spaulding house and "historic headquarters" in the Speare Building on Abbot Street.
See the Historical Society Building
Mine Falls City Park opened to the public and two new bridges: the Veterans Memorial Bridge and the Sagamore Bridge also opened. The 1912 concrete fortified Taylors Falls Bridge, which had been used and changed many times since 1827, was finally closed. Also in 1970, the new Nashua Public library opened and was dedicated and the first indoor mall 'The Nashua Mall' was built near the Daniel Webster Highway.
See a photo of the Nashua Public Library
During the 1980 elections Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush held a controversial debate at Keefe Auditorium in Elm Street School. In 1986, the long awaited Pheasant Lane Mall gave Nashua a strong economic boost; inviting Nashua residents to large department stores and retail chains and lassoing Massachusetts’s residents with the "No Sales Tax" price tag. In 1988, kindergarten became a part of the public school system and the Clarion Somerset Hotel opened its doors as one of the largest hotels in the area.
Nashua in the 80's was also marked with a renewed sense for conservation and preservation. We uncovered a lot of our past and began many processes to retain it for our future. The City of Nashua Community Development Division remodeled the Main Street sidewalks into brick, and orchestrated the cleanup on Canal Street that uncovered vintage cobblestones! A forest preserve was set up and the Main Street Bridge was remodeled. A perceptive group in the 1980's saw the often-jammed traffic situation of downtown and started a plan for a circumferential highway that will divert traffic around Main Street.
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Thank you for your interest in Nashua History. Please enjoy the rest of the site.
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