{"exhibit":{"title":"The Many Lives of the Middlesex Hotel ","description":"<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Today, the site of the Middlesex Hotel serves as a war memorial honoring Concordians. Prior to its demolition in the early 20th century, visitors walked the lively halls of a hotel that served a sundry population of selectmen, shop workers, high society ball-goers, and prisoners from the nearby county jail. Henry David Thoreau refers to the Middlesex Hotel as \"extravagant\" in the pages of his 1854 <em>Walden<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Over its almost century-long existence, the Middlesex Hotel weathered a series of dramatic events. Having burned down in 1845, it was rebuilt and reopened the following year. Yet in the ensuing decades the hotel struggled from poor management on the part of a string of different owners. Moreover, the ease of railroad travel, which decreased travelers\u2019 dependence on overnight lodging, hurt business. In 1882, the hotel shut down permanently. For almost two decades the building stood abandoned, its broken windowpanes letting in rain, leaves, wind, and snow through the seasons.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">Once a Concord mainstay and located within the heart of town, the Middlesex Hotel survives in multiple vantages in countless historic maps and engravings, some of which are featured in this exhibit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\"><\/p>","credits":"","featured":0,"public":1,"theme":"default","theme_options":"a:6:{s:7:\"seasons\";a:7:{s:11:\"style_sheet\";s:6:\"winter\";s:4:\"logo\";N;s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:17:\"item_file_gallery\";s:1:\"1\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"1\";s:12:\"exhibits_nav\";s:4:\"side\";}s:10:\"bigpicture\";a:4:{s:4:\"logo\";N;s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"1\";}s:6:\"berlin\";a:7:{s:4:\"logo\";N;s:12:\"header_image\";N;s:16:\"header_image_alt\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"0\";s:17:\"item_file_display\";s:1:\"0\";}s:7:\"default\";a:13:{s:10:\"text_color\";s:7:\"#000000\";s:16:\"background_color\";s:7:\"#FFFFFF\";s:10:\"link_color\";s:7:\"#3b6f8f\";s:12:\"button_color\";s:7:\"#000000\";s:17:\"button_text_color\";s:7:\"#FFFFFF\";s:18:\"header_title_color\";s:7:\"#000000\";s:4:\"logo\";N;s:17:\"header_background\";N;s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:17:\"item_file_gallery\";s:1:\"1\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"1\";s:27:\"use_original_thumbnail_size\";s:1:\"0\";}s:6:\"Philly\";a:9:{s:4:\"logo\";N;s:12:\"header_image\";N;s:26:\"open_graph_tags_repository\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"open_graph_tags_imageurl\";s:0:\"\";s:26:\"open_graph_tags_imagewidth\";s:0:\"\";s:27:\"open_graph_tags_imageheight\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"0\";}s:21:\"Omeka-theme-Bootstrap\";a:21:{s:4:\"logo\";N;s:17:\"navbar_brand_text\";s:0:\"\";s:21:\"display_corner_banner\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_breadcrumb_trail\";s:0:\"\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"1\";s:13:\"link_facebook\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"link_twitter\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:21:\"display_homepage_tags\";s:1:\"1\";s:20:\"display_homepage_map\";s:1:\"0\";s:25:\"display_homepage_carousel\";s:1:\"1\";s:20:\"display_grid_rotator\";s:1:\"1\";s:11:\"site_editor\";s:0:\"\";s:13:\"site_location\";s:0:\"\";s:16:\"site_institution\";s:0:\"\";s:22:\"display_items_carousel\";s:1:\"0\";s:25:\"display_selected_metadata\";s:1:\"1\";s:22:\"use_internal_bootstrap\";s:1:\"1\";s:20:\"use_google_analytics\";s:1:\"0\";s:24:\"google_analytics_account\";s:0:\"\";}}","slug":"middlesex-hotel","added":"2021-06-29 16:20:15","modified":"2025-12-24 14:41:35","owner_id":4,"use_summary_page":0,"cover_image_file_id":2626,"id":13},"item":{"item_type_id":6,"collection_id":null,"featured":0,"public":1,"added":"2024-09-11 14:50:09","modified":"2025-12-24 15:13:30","owner_id":592,"id":4923}}