The directions below are for general visitors in cars. Please read the Bus Driver Directions for details about the bus drop off location.Note: Bus Driver Directions are slightly different from the regular driving directions, to avoid having the buses make sharp turns on several Lowell city streets.
Driving Directions for Other Visitors to Tsongas Industrial History Center, Boott Cotton Mills Museum in Lowell, Mass.
- From Route 495 or Route 3, take the Lowell Connector to the end. If coming from north of Boston, take Route 93 to Route 133 west to Route 495 south to the Lowell Connector, which you follow to the end.
- Turn left onto Gorham Street, which becomes Central Street. (Road divides and has a slight bow in it, but continue in the original direction.)
- Proceed through five traffic lights. At the sixth light, the Hildreth Building will be directly ahead of you. Turn left and then take a quick right onto John Street.
- Proceed two blocks to the Joseph M. Downes Public Parking Garage on your right. Park in the garage (Public Parking Garage daily rates). Please note that although there is an open parking lot in front of the Boott Mills, it is not open to the public.
- As you exit the front of the garage, the Boott Mills and the Tsongas Center will be to the right across the street. Enter the mill courtyard, turn right, and enter the building by the business (not the museum) entrance at the far end of the courtyard (look for "115 John St." above the door). The Tsongas Center is on the third floor.
Your free parking option is to follow the directional signs to the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center off Dutton St. Park in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District garage (you will see NPS parking signs), and park in the NPS-designated spots on the lower floor. You can pick up a code-card (“chaser ticket”) at the Boott and use it to get out of the garage for free at day’s end.
Phone: 978-970-5080
For your GPS or online directions:
- Tsongas Industrial History Center, Boott Mills, 115 John Street, Lowell, MA
- Joseph M. Downes, Sr. Municipal Parking Facility, 75 John St., Lowell, MA
- Hamilton Canal Innovation District (HCID) Municipal Parking Facility, 350 Dutton St., Lowell, MA (10-12 minute walk to Center)
- Bus Directions for School Trips
- Get directions using our interactive Google maps
