Milford, N.H. Union Square: A Confluence of History and Community

By Kevin Burrows, regional editor

Since the redesign of The Oval in the mid 1990s, Milford began hosting what has become a hugely successful Pumpkin Festival each year, complete with musicians, entertainers, food, crafts, family events and huge pumpkins.

Milford, New Hampshire can trace its roots back to 1794 when it officially separated from neighboring Amherst. Located on the Souhegan River, the history-rich town got its name from the mills it grew around, and currently has a population of just over 13,000. Nicknamed ?EUR??,,????'??The Granite Town?EUR??,,????'?? for its numerous stone quarries Milford was once bustling with mines, but by the late 1980s the city along with its main street had fallen into disrepair. Ripe for a literal change in scenery and with hopes of creating a new identity, the city decided to restore many prominent areas in its town square.

The centerpiece of Union Square, the Pillsbury Bandstand gazebo had been a landmark in The Oval for many years before the redesign. Given a facelift with a fresh coat of paint, it now stages concerts and entertainers throughout the year.

Seeds of Change

Located along Route 101, the only major east-west highway in the state, dozens of storefronts in Milford were vacant and in need of renovation. So in 1989 the first step in changing Milford?EUR??,,????'???s identity was taken when the city began renovating the town hall. More than exceeding expectations, the redesign earned the town a National Trust for Historic Preservation Award in 1993. With the success of that project, community leaders were encouraged to take action to revitalize other parts of the downtown. The cornerstone of this urban renaissance was Union Square, the five-way intersection with a grassy center island nicknamed The Oval.

Native vegetation was used throughout the project to accent the granite bollards and brick sidewalks. Also, since the planners wanted to give the area a fresh clean look from the start, they bypassed planting seed to grow new grass, opting instead to lay fresh sod. Additionally, to keep the turfgrass a deep shade of green an irrigation system (a rarity in New England) was built into The Oval.

Steeped in history, the land for The Oval was donated by William Crosby, whose home stood where the town hall now is located. The area is actually triangular in shape but its name dates from the 19th century, when it was indeed round. Unfortunately, like much of the town in the mid 1990s it had become dilapidated and was badly in need of a facelift.

The curbs and bollards as well as the bases for the monuments are made out of locally quarried granite. The sidewalks are made up of colored concrete and accented by bricks from Pennsylvania.

The Project

To engage the residents in revitalizing Union Square and The Oval and to develop a master plan for their redesign, Milford brought in planning firm Stantec?EUR??,,????'???s North Springfield, Vt. office. Led by Stephen P.C. Plunkard, FASLA?EUR??,,????'???principal-in-charge, and John H. Saydek, ASLA?EUR??,,????'???project manager, the plan was to include as many features as possible to attract residents, visitors and business to the downtown. From traffic calming and pedestrian safety elements to lighting and landscape architecture, their goals were lofty. The resulting design plan earned the town a $700,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration, which launched the plan forward.

?EUR??,,????'??Milford is a very historic community. When we started working it was a pretty bleak situation. On the tiny town square there were about three barbershops and a karate studio. That?EUR??,,????'???s it. The ultimate goal was to revitalize the downtown and at the same time ease traffic,?EUR??,,????'?? said Plunkard.

Children at the local school raised $10,000 to contribute a bronze statue of a child reading at the center of the green. Its base is granite which like all of the stone on site, was quarried and tooled locally.

Community Effort

The team spent over a year working with a steering committee and the public on nearly all aspects of the design, including what colors to use, which plant materials to install, etc. Stantec also assisted the public and its community organizations in fundraising for the project.

Union Square is filled with native vegetation including trees such as ?EUR??,,????'??emerald green?EUR??,,????'?? Norway maples, patmore green ash, greenspire little leaf linden and village green zelkova.

Seeing an opportunity to take ownership of Union Square the community responded overwhelmingly. The town?EUR??,,????'???s police department took part in selling customized bricks for the new memorial walkways.

?EUR??,,????'??A major part of the public process was to get as many aspects of the community to help and participate as possible.?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??+Stephen P.C. Plunkard, FASLA

?EUR??,,????'??The police chief got involved in heading up the marketing campaign to sell bricks,?EUR??,,????'?? said Plunkard. ?EUR??,,????'??He was so successful a few local towns hired him to help with similar fundraising campaigns.?EUR??,,????'??

In addition, Milford?EUR??,,????'???s veterans groups bought pavers to help further the project, while children at the local school raised $10,000 to contribute a bronze statue of a child reading at the center of the green.

?EUR??,,????'??It was truly a community-wide effort,?EUR??,,????'?? said Plunkard.

Before the redesign, not only was crossing the street extremely difficult because of the traffic and lack of adequate crosswalks, The Oval?EUR??,,????'???s high curbs and steps made it inaccessible for people with disabilities. Because many older veterans would be paying their respects at the monuments, Santec added ramps to allow everyone access to the site.

Traffic

Working to change the face of a community, the initial project took about 18 months. While there was a great deal of public participation, challenges inevitably arose. Not only did they have to control traffic for the five-way intersection during construction on one of the state’s busiest highways, they also had to synchronize traffic control devices for the adjacent fire station. They even faced unknown vaults found under the sidewalks dating back many years.

?EUR??,,????'??The project included the square and several side streets. Our firm completed all of the landscape architecture, traffic, civil, structural and electrical engineering. The survey was prepared by Meridian Land Surveying,?EUR??,,????'?? said Plunkard. ?EUR??,,????'??We were also able to bury some of the electrical lines and modify traffic signs.?EUR??,,????'??

Over a decade after its redesign, the town is extending and continuing streetscape improvements throughout the city, exemplifying the pride the community has in its award-winning main street.

Pedestrians

Another major challenge that the designers tackled was making Union Square accessible to the entire community. Before the redesign, not only was crossing the street extremely difficult, because of the traffic and lack of adequate crosswalks, The Oval?EUR??,,????'???s high curbs and steps made it inaccessible for people with disabilities. Because many older veterans would be paying their respects at the monuments, Santec added ramps to allow everyone access to the site.

Today there are no vacancies on Milford?EUR??,,????'???s main street. When the Union Square project began in the early 1990s, very few businesses occupied the center of town. Today even the second stories of the buildings are full, as the town has become a manufacturing and retail center for the six-city region known in New Hampshire as the Souhegan Valley.

Main Street Program

Because New Hampshire had no National Main Street program affiliation at the time, Stantec took $700 out of its fee to buy materials from the program to help organize the town?EUR??,,????'???s revitalization effort. The Main Street program centers rebuilding efforts around four main points?EUR??,,????'??+organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring?EUR??,,????'??+which ultimately formed the framework for the project. As part of that approach, they helped Milford establish its own Main Street organization, the Downtown Ongoing Improvement Team, or DO-IT, which still exists today.

Designed by Gridley J. F. Bryant. the town hall building was built in 1869 and underwent a remodel beginning in 1989 to provide safe and pleasant offices for town business. The resulting National Trust for Historic Preservation award in 1993 was the catalyst for redesigning Union Square.

A Decade Later

Completed in 1995 and funded by the town, local contributions and the Economic Development Administration, the project was extremely successful and beneficial for Milford and its residents. Today, the once-empty storefronts are full, and the improvement effort has expanded from Union Square into the surrounding neighborhoods. Milford also hosts a hugely successful Pumpkin Festival each year in The Oval, complete with musicians, entertainers, food, crafts, and other family events.

In addition to the immediate success, the effort also established the framework for Milford to join the National Main Street program when it debuted in New Hampshire in 1997, becoming the first community in the state to employ the program. Then in 2002 The Oval project was selected by the National Main Street Center of the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the top five downtowns in the United States.

A World War I monument (built of Milford granite), along with the William Crosby Memorial, a stone marking the site of the first town meeting house are found in the Oval.

Today there are no vacancies on Milford?EUR??,,????'???s Main Street. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s down to one barbershop instead of three, the second stories of the buildings are full, and lots of people are on the sidewalks,?EUR??,,????'?? said Plunkard. ?EUR??,,????'??When the project began hardly any cars could be found parked in the square, but today all the spaces are taken up.

?EUR??,,????'??We helped them get started, but a lot of credit goes to the chamber of commerce. A lot of hard work came from elected officials and a great deal of cooperation amongst the people in the town. The wonderful thing about it is 10 years later you can go back and it looks as nice as the day it was finished,?EUR??,,????'?? said Plunkard.

Perennials and annuals such as rugosa rose and black haw (Viburnum prunifolium) are planted and maintained by the Milford Garden Club throughout the year.

Through their efforts designers and community leaders were able to improve traffic circulation and safety near Union Square, perform fa??? 1/4 ade and streetscape improvements, while all the while transforming the face of the town. Now a source for new jobs and economic activity, many nearby communities are looking to Milford as an inspiration in creating a town square of their own, proving just how far this ?EUR??,,????'??Granite Town?EUR??,,????'?? has come in just over a decade.