Editing Lynn, Massachusetts (section)

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Lynn, Massachusetts}}

=== Indigenous ===
The area that is now known as Lynn was inhabited for thousands of years by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] prior to [[British colonization of the Americas|English colonization]] in the 1600s. At the time of European contact, the area today known as Lynn was primarily inhabited by the [[Naumkeag people]]<ref name="Perley-1912">{{Cite book|last=Perley|first=Sidney|url=http://archive.org/details/indianlandtitles00perl|title=The Indian land titles of Essex County, Massachusetts|date=1912|publisher=Salem, Mass. : Essex Book and Print Club|others=The Library of Congress}}</ref> under the powerful [[sachem]] [[Nanepashemet]] who controlled territory from the [[Mystic River|Mystic]] to the [[Merrimack River|Merrimack]] Rivers. Colonists would not establish a legal agreement with the Naumkeag over the use of their land in Lynn until 1686 after a smallpox epidemic in 1633, [[King Philip's War]], and missionary efforts significantly reduced their numbers and confined them to the [[Praying town|Praying Town]] of [[Natick, Massachusetts|Natick]].<ref name="Perley-1912" />

===17th century===
English colonists settled Lynn not long after the 1607 establishment of [[Jamestown, Virginia]] and the 1620 arrival of the ''[[Mayflower]]'' at [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]].<ref>https://archive.org/details/historyoflynn02lewi History of Lynn (1829). Retrieved on 2016-03-16</ref> European settlement of the area was begun in 1629 by [[Edmund Ingalls]], followed by John Tarbox of [[Lancashire]] in 1631. The area today encompassing Lynn was originally incorporated in 1629 as [[Saugus, Massachusetts|Saugus]], the [[Massachusett language|Massachusett]] name for the area. Three years after the settlement in Salem, five families moved onto Naumkeag lands in the interior of Lynn, then known as Saugus, and the Tomlin family constructed a large mill between today's Sluice and Flax Ponds. The mill not only supplied grains and sustenance for the settlers and trade with the Naumkeag people, but was used to create brews and many fermented casks of hops and wines to send back to King George in England.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Lynn takes its name from [[King's Lynn]], [[Norfolk]], [[England]], in honor of [[Samuel Whiting Jr.|Reverend Samuel Whiting (Senior)]], Lynn's first official minister who arrived from King's Lynn in 1637.<ref name="Whiting_1637">{{cite web |url=http://www.lynnma.gov/about/history.shtml |title=A BRIEF HISTORY OF LYNN |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=About Lynn |publisher=City of Lynn |access-date=2021-12-01 |quote=When the first official minister, Samuel Whiting, arrived from King's Lynn, England, the new settlers were so excited that they changed the name of their community to Lynn in 1637 in honor of him. |archive-date=October 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005040951/http://www.lynnma.gov/about/history.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cihist">[http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/aboutlynn_history.shtml Brief History of Lynn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829100613/http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/aboutlynn_history.shtml |date=August 29, 2012 }} at City of Lynn website</ref>

A noteworthy early Lynn colonist, Thomas Halsey, left Lynn to settle the East End of Long Island, where he and several others founded the Town of [[Southampton, New York]]. The resulting [[Halsey House (Southampton, New York)|Halsey House]]—the oldest extant frame house in New York State (1648)—is now open to the public, under the aegis of the Southampton Colonial Society.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/thomashalseyofhe00hals/thomashalseyofhe00hals_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Thomas Halsey of Hertfordshire, England, and Southampton, Long Island, 1591-1679 : with his American descendants to the eighth and ninth generations"|website=archive.org|year=1895 |access-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref>

As English settlement pushed deeper into Naumkeag territories, [[Virgin soil epidemic|disease]], [[Praying town|missionary efforts]], and loss of access to seasonal hunting, farming, and fishing grounds caused significant disruption to Naumkeag lifeways. In 1675, Naumkeag [[sachem]] [[Wenepoykin]] joined [[Metacomet]] in resisting English colonization in [[King Philip's War]], for which he was enslaved and sent to [[Barbados]].<ref name="Perley-1912" /> In 1686, under pressure to demonstrate legal title for lands they occupied during the administrative restructuring of the [[Dominion of New England]], the selectmen of Lynn and Reading purchased a deed from [[Wenepoykin|Wenopoykin]]'s heirs Kunkshamooshaw and [[Quonopohit]] for 16 pounds of sterling silver,<ref name="Perley-1912" /> though by this time they and most surviving Naumkeag were residents of the [[Natick, Massachusetts|Natick]] Praying Town.

Further European settlement of Lynn led to several independent towns being formed, with [[Reading, Massachusetts|Reading]] created in 1644; [[Lynnfield, Massachusetts|Lynnfield]] in 1782; [[Saugus, Massachusetts|Saugus]] in 1815; [[Swampscott, Massachusetts|Swampscott]] in 1852; and [[Nahant, Massachusetts|Nahant]] in 1853. The City of Lynn was incorporated on May 14, 1850.<ref name="Semi-Centennial_Incorporation"/><ref name="cityoflynn.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityoflynn.net/aboutlynn_history.shtml|title=Brief History of Lynn|website=www.cityoflynn.net|access-date=July 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707163458/http://cityoflynn.net/aboutlynn_history.shtml|archive-date=July 7, 2017|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Colonial Lynn was an early center of tannery and shoe-making, which began in 1635. The boots worn by [[Continental Army]] soldiers during the [[American Revolution|Revolutionary War]] were made in Lynn, and the shoe-making industry drove the city's growth into the early nineteenth century.<ref name=cihist/> This legacy is reflected in the city's seal, which features a colonial boot.<ref>[http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/ City of Lynn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010723123312/http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/ |date=July 23, 2001 }} official website</ref>

===19th century===

[[File:Lynn Historical Aerial.jpg|thumb|right|Aerial Illustration of Lynn, {{circa|1881}}]]
In 1816, a mail stage coach was operating through Lynn. By 1836, 23 stage coaches left the Lynn Hotel for Boston each day. The [[Eastern Railroad (Massachusetts)|Eastern Railroad]] Line between Salem and East Boston opened on August 28, 1838. This was later merged with the [[Boston and Maine]] Railroad and called the Eastern Division. In 1847 telegraph wires passed through Lynn, but no telegraph service station was built until 1858.<ref>[http://www.usigs.org/library/books/ma/Lynn1890/lynn02Ch2-1814.txt USigs.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040323204254/http://www.usigs.org/library/books/ma/Lynn1890/lynn02Ch2-1814.txt |date=March 23, 2004 }}, History of Lynn Ch2-1814–1864 pub1890.</ref>

[[File:Lynn Diamond Historic District Nahant St.jpg|thumb|Nahant Street in Diamond Historic District]]
During the middle of the nineteenth century, estates and beach cottages were constructed along Lynn's shoreline, and the city's Atlantic coastline became a fashionable summer resort.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityoflynn.net/aboutlynn_history.shtml|title=Brief History of Lynn|website=www.cityoflynn.net|access-date=2016-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020035529/http://www.cityoflynn.net/aboutlynn_history.shtml|archive-date=October 20, 2016|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Many of the structures built during this period are today situated within the National Register-listed [[Diamond Historic District (Lynn, Massachusetts)|Diamond Historic District]].

Further inland, industrial activity contemporaneously expanded in Lynn. Shoe manufacturers, led by [[Charles A. Coffin]] and Silas Abbott Barton, invested in the early electric industry, specifically in 1883 with [[Elihu Thomson]], [[Edwin J. Houston]], and their [[Thomson-Houston Electric Company]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gifford |first=Jonathan |date=2013-09-15 |title=100 Great Business Leaders: Of the world's most admired companies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BSyJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA35 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd |pages=34–35 |isbn=9789814484688}}</ref> That company merged with [[Edison Electric Company]] of [[Schenectady, New York]], forming [[General Electric]] in 1892, with the two original GE plants being in Lynn and Schenectady. Coffin served as the first president of [[General Electric]].<ref>[http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/mole/t/thomson.htm Amphilsoc.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305145029/http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/mole/t/thomson.htm |date=March 5, 2008 }}, Elihu Thomson Papers at the American Philosophical Society</ref>

Initially the [[General Electric]] plant specialized in arc lights, electric motors, and meters. Later it specialized in aircraft electrical systems and components, and aircraft engines were built in Lynn during WWII. That engine plant evolved into the current jet engine plant during WWII because of research contacts at MIT in Cambridge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/g-e-engineers-test-jet-engine.html|title=G.E. Engineers Test Jet Engine|date=April 18, 2008 |access-date=December 11, 2021|archive-date=December 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211032319/https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/g-e-engineers-test-jet-engine.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 
[[Gerhard Neumann]] was a key player in jet engine group at GE in Lynn. The continuous interaction of material science research at MIT and the resulting improvements in jet engine efficiency and power have kept the jet engine plant in Lynn ever since.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

[[File:Soldiers'_Monument,_Library_and_common,_Lynn,_Mass.jpg|thumb|Postcard depicting a soldier monument in Lynn, MA]]

One of the largest strikes of the early labor movement began in the shoe factories of Lynn on February 22, 1860, when Lynn shoemakers marched through the streets to their workplaces and handed in their tools, protesting reduced wages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.massaflcio.org/1860-showmakers-strike-lynn |title=1860 Showmakers Strike in Lynn &#124; Massachusetts AFL-CIO |access-date=2016-07-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816175917/http://www.massaflcio.org/1860-showmakers-strike-lynn |archive-date=August 16, 2016}}</ref> Known as the [[1860 New England Shoemakers Strike]], it was one of the earliest strikes of its kind in the United States.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In 1841, abolitionist [[Frederick Douglass]], moved to Lynn as a fugitive slave. Douglass wrote his first autobiography, ''[[Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave]],'' while living in Lynn. The publication would become Douglass's best-known work. Douglass, his wife, and their five children lived in Lynn until 1848.<ref name="itemlive.org-2018">{{cite web |url=http://www.itemlive.com/2018/02/02/re-examining-fredrick-douglasss-time-lynn/ |title=Re-Examining Frederick Douglass's Time in Lynn |website=itemlive.org |date=February 2, 2018 |access-date=2018-02-03 |archive-date=February 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204070417/https://www.itemlive.com/2018/02/02/re-examining-fredrick-douglasss-time-lynn/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1870, [[Esther Hill Hawks]], a renowned a female physician, and activist during the [[American Civil War]], moved to Lynn becoming one of the three first female physicians in Lynn, providing her gynecology services to many women. Later on in 1874, opening her own practice.

On February 1, 1866, [[Mary Baker Eddy]] experienced the "[[Christian Science#Fall in Lynn|fall in Lynn]]", in which Eddy was badly injured but reportedly healed herself through prayer alone. This was a significant milestone in the development of the [[Christian Science]] religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/mary-baker-eddy/the-life-of-mary-baker-eddy/|title=The Life of Mary Baker Eddy|date=December 3, 1910|website=Marybakereddylibrary.org|access-date=2016-06-05|archive-date=April 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417202736/http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/mary-baker-eddy/the-life-of-mary-baker-eddy/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1889 a massive fire swept through the downtown of Lynn, and would not be matched in size until nearly 100 years later.<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Lynn Fire of 1889 |url=http://www.celebrateboston.com/disasters/great-lynn-fire-1889.htm |website=www.celebrateboston.com |access-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521152505/http://www.celebrateboston.com/disasters/great-lynn-fire-1889.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time the loss was the third largest from fire in New England history. A total of 296 building were destroyed, including 142 homes, 25 stores, the Central Square railroad depot, four banks and four newspaper buildings. It was estimated that 200 families were made homeless and 10,000 jobs were lost. Estimates put the total loss as high as {{US$|6000000|1889|round=-4|about=yes|long=no|link=no}}.<ref>{{cite news |date=1889-11-27 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102523618/27-nov-1889-lynn-fire-thanksgiving-wk/ |title=Lynn's Conflagration |work=Fall River Daily Evening News |access-date=2023-01-18 |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630011950/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102523618/27-nov-1889-lynn-fire-thanksgiving-wk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===20th century===
Lynn experienced a wave of immigration during the late 1800s and early 1900s. During the 30 years between 1885 and 1915, Lynn's immigrant population increased from 9,800 to 29,500, representing nearly one-third of the city's total population.<ref name="jhcns.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.jhcns.org/Mostov-origins.html|title=The Jewish Heritage Center of the North Shore (Swampscott, Mass.)|work=jhcns.org|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619125739/http://www.jhcns.org/Mostov-origins.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Polish and Russian Jews were the largest single group, numbering more than 6,000.<ref name="jhcns.org" /> The first Jewish settlers in Lynn, a group of twenty Hasidic European families, mostly from Russia, formed the Congregation Anshai Sfard, a Hasidic, conservative Jewish synagogue in 1888.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=2188448|title=Guide to the Congregation Anshai Sfard (Lynn, Massachusetts) Records, undated, 1899–2001 [Bulk 1952–2001], I-556|work=cjh.org|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=September 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918022630/http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=2188448|url-status=live}}</ref>

Catholic churches catering to the needs of specific language and ethnic groups also testify to the waves of immigrants. St. Jean Baptiste parish, eventually including a grammar school and high school, was founded in 1886, primarily for French-Canadians. Holy Family Church conducted services in Italian beginning in 1922, and St. Michael's church also provided church services and a grammar school for the Polish-speaking community, beginning in 1906.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=12292&pid=1484|title=Archdiocese of Boston Ethnic Parishes|work=bostoncatholic.org|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=August 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806080630/http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=12292&pid=1484|url-status=live}}</ref> St. Patrick's church and school was a focus of the Irish-American community in Lynn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=12314&pid=1484|title=Archdiocese of Boston Sacramental Record Inventory – Parishes by City, H-Z|work=bostoncatholic.org|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=August 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806113803/http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=12314&pid=1484|url-status=live}}</ref> St. George's Greek Orthodox Church was founded in Lynn in 1905.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stgeorgelynn.org/history.html|title=St. George Greek Orthodox Church – Our Parish|work=stgeorgelynn.org|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=April 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429084654/http://stgeorgelynn.org/history.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Later in the 20th century, the city became an important center of greater Boston's Latino community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vasquez |first=Daniel W. |date=January 2003 |title=Latinos in Lynn, Massachusetts |url=https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://en.wikipedia.org/&httpsredir=1&article=1087&context=gaston_pubs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819105450/http://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=gaston_pubs |archive-date=August 19, 2016 |website=ScholarWorks at [[University of Massachusetts Boston]]}}</ref> Additionally, several thousand Cambodians settled in Lynn between 1975 and 1979 and in the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pluralism.org/profile/sanghikaram-wat-khmer/|title=Sanghikaram Wat Khmer – The Pluralism Project|work=pluralism.org|access-date=July 3, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

At the beginning of the 20th century, Lynn was the world-leader in the production of shoes. 234 factories produced more than a million pairs of shoes each day, thanks in part to mechanization of the process by an African-American immigrant named [[Jan Ernst Matzeliger]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/inventor/jan-matzeliger|title=Jan Matzeliger|website=Biography|language=en-us|access-date=2019-10-23|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212060637/https://www.biography.com/inventor/jan-matzeliger|url-status=live}}</ref> From 1924 until 1974, the Lynn Independent Industrial Shoemaking School operated in the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=lyn.479 |title=MACRIS Details |work=[[Massachusetts Historical Commission]] |access-date=2021-12-13 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213165812/https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LYN.479 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merrellfootlab.com/training.htm|title=Merrell Footlab|work=merrellfootlab.com|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=June 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618222832/http://www.merrellfootlab.com/training.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, production declined throughout the 20th century, and the last shoe factory closed in 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.wgbh.org/post/how-lynn-became-shoe-capitol-world|title=How Lynn Became The Shoe Capitol of the World|date=May 30, 2014|work=wgbh.org|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=August 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828133100/http://news.wgbh.org/post/how-lynn-became-shoe-capitol-world|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the early 1900s, the Metropolitan District Commission acquired several coastal properties in Lynn and Nahant, in order to create [[Lynn Shore Reservation|Lynn Shore]] and [[Nahant Beach Reservation|Nahant Beach]] Reservations, and to construct adjoining [[Lynn Shore Drive]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-north/lynn-shore-and-nahant-beach-reservation.html|title=Lynn Shore & Nahant Beach Reservation|date=April 5, 2013|website=Energy and Environmental Affairs|access-date=July 4, 2017|archive-date=July 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704195248/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-north/lynn-shore-and-nahant-beach-reservation.html|url-status=live}}</ref> When it opened to the public in 1910, Lynn Shore Drive catalyzed new development along Lynn's coastline, yielding many of the early 20th century structures that constitute a majority of the contributing resources found in the National Register-listed [[Diamond Historic District (Lynn, Massachusetts)|Diamond Historic District]].<ref name="cityoflynn.net"/>

In 1970, Massachusetts [[Rent control in Massachusetts|authorized rent control]] in municipalities with more than 50,000 residents.<ref name=enacted>{{cite web | url = https://rentcontrolhistory.com/chapters/rent-control-was-enacted-in-1920/ | title = Rent control was enacted in 1920. | publisher = Mass Landlords, Inc | accessdate = January 3, 2024 }}</ref> Voters in Lynn, Somerville, Brookline, and Cambridge subsequently adopted rent control.{{r|enacted}} Voters in Lynn approved a measure to continue rent control measures, which had been in place since February 1972, on November 7, 1972, by a 22,229 to 15,568 margin.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gerstel |first1=Steve |title=Nixon Waltzes But Party Out Of Step |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/947671905/ |access-date=1 September 2024 |work=The Daily Item |agency=United Press International |date=8 November 1972 |issue=128 ''Daily Evening Item'' |volume=181|ref=ballotmeasurerent |pages=1, 35 |language=en}}</ref> On June 4, 1974, the city council, led by mayor [[David L. Phillips]], voted 7–4 in favor of abolishing the existing rent control measures, replacing them with a "Rent Grievance and Elderly Assistance Board."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Taglakis |first1=Tom |title=Rent Control Scuttled 7-4 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/947773886/ |access-date=1 September 2024 |work=The Daily Item |issue=222 ''Daily Evening Item'' |volume=184|date=5 June 1974 |pages=1, 12 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants-force-plain=Chisholm v. City Council of Lynn.|reporter=N.E.2d|court=Mass.|date=1975|opinion=529|pinpoint=368 Mass. 311|vol=331|url=http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/368/368mass311.html}}</ref>

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Lynn suffered several large fires. On November 28, 1981, a devastating inferno engulfed several former shoe factories, located at Broad and Washington Streets. Seventeen downtown buildings were destroyed in less than twelve hours, with property losses estimated to be totaling at least {{US$|35000000|1981|round=-4|about=yes|long=no|link=yes}}. At least 18 businesses were affected, resulting in the estimated loss of 1,500 jobs.<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Langer |date=1981-11-29 |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/1981/11/29/day_of_the_fire_storm_in_lynn/ |title=Day of the fire storm in Lynn |work=The Boston Globe |access-date=2023-01-18 |archive-date=January 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125084307/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/1981/11/29/day_of_the_fire_storm_in_lynn/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Lynn campus of the [[North Shore Community College]], planning for which was already underway at the time of the fire, now occupies much of the burned area.<ref>{{cite news |first=Sophie |last=Yarin |date=2021-11-28 |url=https://www.itemlive.com/2021/11/28/40-years-later-the-second-great-lynn-fire-revisited/ |title=40 Years Later: The Second Great Lynn Fire Revisited |work=Lynn Daily Item |access-date=2023-01-18 |quote=Today, North Shore Community College stands where a massive portion of the fire's damage was done. |archive-date=October 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001013151/https://www.itemlive.com/2021/11/28/40-years-later-the-second-great-lynn-fire-revisited/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Lynn Washington St at Broad St.jpg|thumb|right|Lynn Washington Street at Broad Street]]
[[File:Lynn Shore Drive Looking South 04-23-17.jpg|thumb|right|alt=View over Lynn Shore Drive to Nahant and Boston|View over Lynn Shore Drive to Nahant and Boston]]
Some data suggest a reputation for crime and vice in Lynn.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Historic Shops & Restaurants of Boston|last=Méras|first=Phyllis|year=2007|page=56}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=288018|title=Don't Leave New England Families Out in the Cold|last=Kerry|first=John|date=November 27, 2007|work=United States Senate|access-date=2010-01-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106003358/http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=288018|archive-date=January 6, 2010}}</ref>

In order to counter its reputation as "the city of sin", Lynn launched a "City Of Firsts" advertising campaign in the early 1990s, which promoted Lynn as having:{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=Need source for campaign being launched in early 1990s}}
* [[Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site|First iron works]] (1643)<ref name="firsts"/>
* First fire engine (1654)
* First electric [[List of streetcar systems in the United States#Massachusetts|streetcar to operate in Massachusetts]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf4.htm#famousfirsts |title=Famous Firsts in Massachusetts |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=History of Massachusetts |publisher=Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date=2019-10-20 |quote=1888 The first electric trolley in the state runs in Lynn. |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728213457/http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf4.htm#famousfirsts |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="firsts">{{cite web |url=http://www.lynnma.gov/about/history.shtml |title=A BRIEF HISTORY OF LYNN |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=About Lynn |publisher=City of Lynn |access-date=2019-10-19 |quote=The first Electric Trolley in the state ran from Lynn in 1888 |archive-date=October 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005040951/http://www.lynnma.gov/about/history.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> (November 19, 1888<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=zYVMAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA303 The Thomson-Houston Road at Lynn, Mass.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215201535/https://books.google.com/books?id=zYVMAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA303 |date=February 15, 2023 }}'', The Electrical World, December 8, 1888, page 303</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Dzs8AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA21 Electric Railway at Lynn, Mass.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215201536/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dzs8AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA21#v=onepage&f=true |date=February 15, 2023 }}'', Electric Power, January 1889, page 21</ref>)
* First American jet engine<ref name="firsts"/>
* First woman in advertising & mass-marketing&nbsp;– [[Lydia Pinkham]]<ref name="firsts"/>
* First baseball game under artificial light{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
* First dance academy in the U.S.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
* First [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]] in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf4.htm#famousfirsts |title=Famous Firsts in Massachusetts |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=History of Massachusetts |publisher=Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date=2019-10-20 |quote=1629 The first tannery in the U.S. began operations in Lynn. |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728213457/http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf4.htm#famousfirsts |url-status=live }}</ref>
* First [[Airmail|air mail]] transport in New England, from Saugus, MA to Lynn, MA<ref name="firsts"/>
* First roast beef sandwich{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
* First tulip in the United States, at the Fay Estate near [[Spring Pond]]{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

In a further effort to rebrand the municipality, city solicitor Michael Barry proposed renaming the city Ocean Park in 1997, but the initiative was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-8408766.html|title=Rhyme may be reason to change Lynn's name|last=Daley|first=Beth|date=March 6, 1997|newspaper=Boston Globe|access-date=2010-01-13}}</ref>

Despite losing much of its industrial base during the 20th century, Lynn remained home to many companies, such as:

* A division of [[General Electric Aviation]], focused on manufacturing jet engines<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leyes |first=Richard A. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42296510 |title=The history of North American small gas turbine aircraft engines |date=1999 |publisher=AIAA |others=William A. Fleming, National Air and Space Museum |isbn=1-56347-332-1 |location=Reston, Va. |pages=238 |oclc=42296510}}</ref>
* West Lynn Creamery (now part of [[Dean Foods]]'s Garelick Farms unit) 
* C. L. Hauthaway & Sons, a polymer producer
* Old Neighborhood Foods, a meat packer
* Lynn Manufacturing, a maker of combustion chambers for the oil and gas heating industry
* Sterling Machine Co.
* Durkee-Mower, makers of [[Marshmallow creme|"Marshmallow Fluff"]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Behind the Marshmallow Curtain: A Look Inside Lynn's Marshmallow Fluff Factory |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2014/09/24/visit-marshmallow-fluff-factory/ |website=Boston Magazine |date=24 September 2014 |access-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-date=January 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127235919/https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2014/09/24/visit-marshmallow-fluff-factory/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===21st century===
In the early 2000s, the renovation and adaptive re-use of downtown historic structures, together with new construction, launched a revitalization of Lynn, which remains ongoing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/08/08/lynn-sin-label-outdated-residents-insist/YhFRQtTGjftW7APTZsLdQL/story.html|title=Lynn's sin label outdated, residents insist |website=The Boston Globe|access-date=2016-06-12|archive-date=June 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601224145/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/08/08/lynn-sin-label-outdated-residents-insist/YhFRQtTGjftW7APTZsLdQL/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Arts, culture, and entertainment have been at the forefront of this revitalization, with new arts organizations, cultural venues, public art projects,<ref name="Murals enliven downtown Lynn">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/07/20/murals-enliven-downtown-lynn/VsFcV92FSsK6tFLmm8As2K/story.html|title=Murals enliven downtown Lynn|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=2018-04-01|archive-date=April 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402035904/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/07/20/murals-enliven-downtown-lynn/VsFcV92FSsK6tFLmm8As2K/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and restaurants emerging in the downtown area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dtlcd.org/|title=DOWNTOWN LYNN CULTURAL DISTRICT {{!}} you won't go out the way you came in|website=dtlcd.org|access-date=2016-06-14|archive-date=February 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212023815/http://dtlcd.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, the Massachusetts Cultural Council named downtown Lynn one of the first state-recognized arts and culture districts in Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/services/cultural_districts_designated.asp#centralexchange|title=Mass Cultural Council {{!}} Services {{!}} Cultural Districts|website=www.massculturalcouncil.org|access-date=2016-06-14|archive-date=June 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616214740/http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/services/cultural_districts_designated.asp#centralexchange|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, Massachusetts Governor [[Charlie Baker]] established a task force, composed of representatives of multiple state and municipal public agencies, to further Lynn's revitalization.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/11/22/governor-launches-task-force-revive-lynn-fortunes/4lQ1rxrYnVDDxziAOGDHlI/story.html|title=Governor launches task force to revive Lynn's fortunes |website=The Boston Globe|access-date=2016-06-09|archive-date=June 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625174639/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/11/22/governor-launches-task-force-revive-lynn-fortunes/4lQ1rxrYnVDDxziAOGDHlI/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Lynn Flatiron Building Under Renovation.jpg|thumb|Lynn "Flatiron" Building Undergoing Conversion to Loft Apartments, November 2016]]
[[File:Lynn Public Library.JPG|thumb|Public Library]]
[[File:Lynn17.JPG|thumb|[[High Rock Tower Reservation]]]]

Formerly vacant industrial buildings continue to be converted into [[loft]] spaces,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.itemlive.com/news/work-to-resume-on-lynn-lofts/|title=Work to resume on Lynn lofts {{!}} Itemlive|website=www.itemlive.com|access-date=2016-06-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629115349/http://www.itemlive.com/news/work-to-resume-on-lynn-lofts/|archive-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref> and historic homes, particularly Lynn's [[Diamond Historic District (Lynn, Massachusetts)|Diamond Historic District]], are being restored.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lynnjournal.com/2011/03/01/flip-this-house-lynn-house-is-being-renovated-for-ae-network-series/|title=Flip This House – Lynn House is Being Renovated for A&E Network Series {{!}} Lynn Journal|access-date=2016-06-09|archive-date=April 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406155724/http://www.lynnjournal.com/2011/03/01/flip-this-house-lynn-house-is-being-renovated-for-ae-network-series/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, several large land parcels in Lynn were acquired by major developers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lynnjournal.com/2016/05/27/lynn-is-at-the-center-of-developmentnorth-of-boston/|title=Lynn is at the Center of Development, North of Boston {{!}} Lynn Journal|access-date=2016-06-09|archive-date=June 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625170145/http://www.lynnjournal.com/2016/05/27/lynn-is-at-the-center-of-developmentnorth-of-boston/|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2018, construction began on downtown Lynn's first luxury midrise—a 259-unit, 10-story building on Monroe Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/bostonomix/2019/10/09/lynn-housing-development|title=Developers Have Discovered Lynn. What Comes Next?|website=www.wbur.org|date=October 11, 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-12-13|archive-date=December 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213021700/https://www.wbur.org/bostonomix/2019/10/09/lynn-housing-development|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2018/11/05/monday-marked-the-groundbreaking-of-the-luxury-apartment-development-on-munroe-street/|title=Monday marked the groundbreaking of the luxury apartment development on Munroe Street|date=2018-11-06|website=Itemlive|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-13|archive-date=December 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213021444/https://www.itemlive.com/2018/11/05/monday-marked-the-groundbreaking-of-the-luxury-apartment-development-on-munroe-street/|url-status=live}}</ref> in December 2019, ground was broken on a 331-unit waterfront development on Carroll Parkway.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2019/12/11/lynn-breaks-ground-on-100m-waterfront-development/|title=Lynn breaks ground on $100M waterfront development|date=2019-12-12|website=Itemlive|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-13|archive-date=December 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213021441/https://www.itemlive.com/2019/12/11/lynn-breaks-ground-on-100m-waterfront-development/|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the recent and pending large real estate projects in Lynn are [[Transit-oriented development]]s, sited within a half-mile of [[Lynn station]], which provides 20-minute train service to [[North Station]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2018/06/01/transit-oriented-development-comes-to-lynn|title=Transit Oriented Development Comes To Lynn|date=2018-06-01|website=News|language=en|access-date=2019-12-15|archive-date=December 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215211747/https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2018/06/01/transit-oriented-development-comes-to-lynn|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lynn's revitalization has been bolstered by the city's emergence as a center of creative [[placemaking]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2017/07/24/beyond-walls-meant-business/|title=Beyond Walls meant business - Itemlive|date=July 24, 2017|work=Itemlive|access-date=2018-04-01|language=en-US|archive-date=April 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402101358/https://www.itemlive.com/2017/07/24/beyond-walls-meant-business/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, swaths of the city's downtown were transformed by a series of large-scale murals, painted on buildings by local, national, and international artists, as part of the city's inaugural Beyond Walls festival.<ref name="Murals enliven downtown Lynn"/> Light-based interventions, including projections onto [[High Rock Tower Reservation|High Rock Tower]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2018/01/16/lights-will-stay-lynns-high-rock-tower-thanks-crowdfunding-campaign/|title=The Lights Will Stay On At Lynn's High Rock Tower Thanks To A Crowdfunding Campaign|publisher=Lynn Item|access-date=2018-08-15|archive-date=August 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815201137/https://www.itemlive.com/2018/01/16/lights-will-stay-lynns-high-rock-tower-thanks-crowdfunding-campaign/|url-status=live}}</ref> the installation of vintage neon signs on downtown buildings, and large-scale LED-illuminations of the [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] rail underpasses bisecting Lynn's Downtown,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2018/06/27/beyond-walls-lights-downtown-lynn-like-times-square-new-years-eve/|title=Beyond Walls Lights Up Downtown Lynn 'Like Times Square On New Year's Eve'|publisher=Lynn Item|access-date=2018-08-15|archive-date=August 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815201002/https://www.itemlive.com/2018/06/27/beyond-walls-lights-downtown-lynn-like-times-square-new-years-eve/|url-status=live}}</ref> also have been deployed.<ref name="The Boston Globe"/> In 2017, Mount Vernon Street, in the core of the downtown Central Square area, began to host block parties, food trucks, and other special events.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2017/07/21/who-what-when-where-and-wow/|title=What You Need To Know Before Lynn's 'Rock The Block' Celebration - Itemlive|date=July 21, 2017|work=Itemlive|access-date=2018-04-23|language=en-US|archive-date=April 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424071921/https://www.itemlive.com/2017/07/21/who-what-when-where-and-wow/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2018/04/22/strong-response-ironbounds-food-truck-emporium-lynn/|title=Strong Response To Ironbound's Food Truck Emporium In Lynn - Itemlive|date=April 22, 2018|work=Itemlive|access-date=2018-04-23|language=en-US|archive-date=April 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424072238/https://www.itemlive.com/2018/04/22/strong-response-ironbounds-food-truck-emporium-lynn/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In recent years, Lynn has attracted a substantial and growing [[LGBT]] population.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/01/16/gay-meccas-mass/fTxvVGAUpNv20jSjdlXeKK/story.html|title=Gay meccas in Mass.|first=Steven A.|last=Rosenberg|date=January 17, 2013|website=The Boston Globe|access-date=2016-06-18|archive-date=August 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806210337/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/01/16/gay-meccas-mass/fTxvVGAUpNv20jSjdlXeKK/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2018, ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' named Lynn one of the "Top spots to live in [[Greater Boston]] in 2018."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2018/04/19/top-spots-live-greater-boston/dTuUnUNbEaEwuwlnyowgII/story.html|title=Best places to live in Massachusetts|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=2018-05-18|archive-date=May 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518200455/https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2018/04/19/top-spots-live-greater-boston/dTuUnUNbEaEwuwlnyowgII/story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On August 18, 2021, the new [[Frederick Douglass]] Park on Exchange Street was dedicated, directly across the street from the site of the [[Lynn station|Central Square railroad depot]] where Douglass was forcibly removed from the train in 1841. The park features a bronze [[Relief|bas-relief]] sculpture of Douglass.<ref>{{cite news |first=Alena |last=Kuzub |date=2021-08-18 |url=https://www.itemlive.com/2021/08/18/frederick-douglass-park-dedicated-in-lynn/ |title=Frederick Douglass Park Dedicated |work=Lynn Daily Item |access-date=2023-01-18 |archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820225642/https://www.itemlive.com/2021/08/18/frederick-douglass-park-dedicated-in-lynn/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The park had been in the works since at least 2019 when a bill was filed in the Massachusetts Senate to designate the park area and its management by the [[Department of Conservation and Recreation|Massachusetts DCR]].

On September 16, 2021, Mayor McGee introduced [https://lynnincommon.com/vision-lynn Vision Lynn], a 20-year comprehensive planning project to expand Lynn's diversity and improve infrastructure further.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 21, 2016 |title=210916 Launch of Vision Lynn |url=https://lynnincommon.com/12193/widgets/38033/documents/23504 |access-date=April 25, 2023 |publisher=City of Lynn |type=Press release |format=PDF}}</ref> In the following year and a half, Lynn's Planning Department held many opportunities for Lynners to discuss what they see for the future of the city. On April 10, 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Public Comment Period: Opportunities to Engage |url=https://lynnincommon.com/vision-lynn/news_feed/public-comment-period |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=Lynn In Common |language=en}}</ref> a [https://lynnincommon.com/12193/widgets/38033/documents/41537 draft of the plan] was shared on the planning departments website to allow for greater public comment. After May 15, 2023, the public comment window will be closed and the committee will release a final draft to be endorsed and adopted by the city.

Lynn earned the moniker "[[Condom]] Capital of the USA"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Protection Corp. |url=https://greaterlynnchamber.com/directory/healthcare/global-protection-corp/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce |language=en-US}}</ref> after Global Protection, a subsidiary of [[Karex]], the world's largest condom manufacturer, relocated to the former [[Garelick Farms]] facility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lynnway Park |url=https://www.lynnwaypark.com/updates/lynnway-park-signs-global-protection-corp-new-building-upgrades |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.lynnwaypark.com}}</ref>

===Top employers===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of employees
|-
| 1
|[[GE Aerospace]]
|2,500
|-
|2
|Lynn Public Schools
|1,243
|-
|3
|[[North Shore Community College]]
|991
|-
|4
|All Care VNA
|630
|-
|5
|[[Eastern Bank]]
|500
|-
|6
|Kettle Cuisine
|500
|-
|}