The Queen City! Manch Vegas! Funchester! Manchattan! Whatever you call it, it's our city and we love it. This page is Adam Mackler's vaunted guide to the best of the urban lifestyle we all moved here to enjoy!

Table of Contents:

1. About This Guide
2. History
3. Geography
4. Getting Around
5. Food
6. Nature
7. Fitness
8. Arts & Entertainment
9. Media
10. Learning
11. Sports
12. Government
13. Super Exclusive Bonus Feature
14. About the Author

Who is This Guide For?

This guide is really for anyone who wants to acquire a greater familiarity with our wonderful city of Manchester, New Hampshire. However, since there are some other Manchester city guides available, Mackler's Manchester is specially emphasized for certain readers:

• Recent movers from out-of-state
• People living in the part of town known as "The Hollow"
• People who enjoy walking and want to minimize their driving

Click here for Table of Contents

History

Manchester is a modern city, a monument to capitalism and industry. Unlike most large cities in New England, Manchester was created in the nineteenth century as a company town. The Amoskeag Company built a huge textile industry here, powered by the Merrimack River. Manchester is a relatively young city, incorporated only in 1846. By contrast, Portsmouth was incorporated in 1653, Concord in 1733, Keene in 1753, and Nashua in 1746.

Note: Amoskeg is pronounced AM-uh-skeg. As in
"You are not a skeg."
"Yes, I am a skeg!"

Manchester is the only city in New England where the streets are laid out in a grid.. The denim in the very first pair of Levi's blue jeans came from the Mills in Manchester. Today, Manchester is a leading industriopolis, headquarters to diverse and ubiquitous commercial empires, from the amazing substance of Velcro to the mysterious and secretive Deka Corporation, developer of the Segway self-balancing personal transport device and the iBOT 4000.

You can learn all about Manchester's history at the history museum and, for deeper research, the historical research center. See the website of the Manchester Historic Association for details. The Curator of their Library Collection, Eileen O'Brien, is very helpful and knowledgable about historical research. The Association also gives walking tours of the city, which are highly recommended.

In 1998, Manchester was named the "Number One Small City in the East" by Money magazine. In 2005, the city was named the 7th "Best Small City for Doing Business" by Inc. Magazine.

More History Links

1. Brief Manchester History from MCAM
2. New Hampshire dot com information
3. Vintage post cards

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Geography

Manchester is a mosaic of different neighborhoods, but the city is generally divided into the East Side and the West Side, depending on which side of the Merrimack River you're on. Then in the north is the North End, and in the south is the South End. See my Google Earth data for the locations of all of Manchester's neighborhoods.

Downtown

Downtown is where most stuff in Manchester is. Elm Street is the main street. It's the only main street in the world that has a dead-end at both ends.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame is the neighborhood you're in when you go over the Bridge Street Bridge, but South of Rimmon Heights. Before that Bridge was there, the Notre Dame Bridge, built in 1937, stood in the same location. Before that bridge was there, the McGregor Bridge was destroyed in the Great Manchester Flood of 1936. This neighborhood was formerly known as McGregorville, named after the famous McGregor Family.

Rimmon Heights

Rimmon Heights is the densly-populated plateau on the west-side, north of Notre Dame, bordering Goffestown. It gets its name the famous nearby Rock Rimmon outcropping, from which you can get a commanding panorama of the city.

You get to Notre Dame by going over the Bridge Street Bridge, then bear right. The main drag in Rimmon Heights is Kelley Street. There, you'll find everything from pizza, to wicca. Rimmon Heights is served by the #6 bus.

Click here for an audio profile of Rimmon Heights from Ellen Grimm, correspondent for New Hampshire Public Radio from August 4, 2008.

Pinardville

Coming soon!

The 114

Coming soon!

More Neighborhood Activity Links

1. Things to do in Manchester by biljah

Getting Around

Manchester has such a comprehensive bus system, you really don't ever need to have a car. Maybe if you want to go to an afterhours or something you'll want to take a cab.

MTA Website has local bus information.

Concord Coach runs busses to Concord, Boston, and elsewhere.

Taxi Cabs

1. Queen City: 603-622-0008
2. Manchester: 603-623-2222
3. West Side: 603-669-1212
4. Town and Country: 603-669-8765

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Food

• Piccola Italian

  815 Elm Street, Downtown between Manchester and Merrimack
  

• 
  Consuelo's Mexican

  36 Amherst Street, Downtown on the corner of Vine just east of Elm
  open until 2 a.m. on weekends

• 
  
  The Manchester Taco Truck

  The Manchester Taco Truck

  On the north-east corner of Lake and Union

  Fresh, tasty, cheap, great location. What's the catch? You'll have to speak Spanish to order. But don't worry. Thhey have enough multilingual customers that someone there can probably help.

• Pho Golden Bowl (Vietnamese)

  124 Queen City Ave south of Downtown. Without a doubt, the best pho in town.

• Gill's Indian

  Located in the Maple Valley Plaza on
  Valley Street at Maple, five blocks east of Downtown.
  Has a large $10 all-you-can-eat lunch buffet.

• Belmont Hall

  Located at
  718 Grove Street between Belmont and Hosley, one block north of Valley.
  Sister restaurant to the Red Arrow, but not open 24/7.

• Yuki Asian Grill

  Sushi! Good sushi. Oh, just writing this is making me hungry.
  Located in
  Manchester Commons,
  on Faltin Drive just south of Loring Street off South Willow.

More Food Links

• A Market on Loring off South Willow is the local natural food market.
• Comprehensive List of NH Dining
• NH Dining Guide. Is missing many listings. Not recommended for most situations.
• Manchester Restaurants. Is mising many listings. Not recommended for most situations.

Click here for Table of Contents

Nature

• Parks

  Bronstein Park is my favorite park in the inner-city, with benches, trees, and a big field good for frisbee, soccer, and ideological rallies.

  If you want to walk through nature, right in the city is Livingston Park, where you can go deep into the woods, and enjoy the idyllic Dorrs Pond. You can join the Dorrs Pond Preservation Society. The Holy City of Manchester City Government has this fascinating page all about the city ponds.

• Bike/walking trails

  If you go to the Shaw's on South Willow Street, and walk around behind the building to the right, you will come to a secret bike trail that used to be railroad tracks. It goes through the woods, past a pond and continues.

  
  Hands Across the Merrimack by fx3000

  Eventually the trail meets up with the Hands Across the Merrimack Bridge. This pedestrian way is built on an old railroad trestle.

  You can also follow the tracks north where they haven't buit a trail yet. It's all overgrown and somewhat adventuresome.

• Mountain Peaks

  Just outside Mancheter, the twin peaks of the Uncanoonuc Mountains (uhn-kuh-NOO-nuhk) rise more than 1300 feet above sea level. To get to the top of South Mountain go to the end of Summit Road in Goffstown and follow the trail. If you figure out how to get to the top of North Mountain, let me know.

  Even higher is Pack Monadnock in Miller State Park. At 2290 feet, it is the highest peak of the Wapack Mountain Range and the highest point in Hillsborough County. A winding 1.3-mile paved road leading to the scenic summit is open for visitors to drive in summer and on spring and fall weekends. Admission $4.

  The Wapack Trail is a 21-mile foot trail going from Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, MA, to North Pack in Greenfield, NH. It follows a skyline route along the summits of Watatic, Pratt, New Ipswich, Barrett and Temple mountains, then ascends the Pack Monadnocks southwest of Manchester.

• Manchester Nature Spots

  
  Arms Park

  The best place to enjoy the Manchester waterfront is Arms Park. Usually you can sit on the steps, though when the Merrimack is at it's highest, the stairs are completely submerged!

  
  by Afka Bob

• More Nature Links

  1. Rail to Trails Information
  2. Uncanoonuc Mountain
  3. Wapack Trail

  Click here for Table of Contents

  Fitness

• YMCA

  Coming Soon

• Planet Fitness

  Coming Soon!

• Gold's Gym

  Coming Soon!

• Yoga

  Coming Soon!

Click here for Table of Contents

Arts and Entertainment

• Art

  Manchester is home to a thriving arts scene. Some of the numerous outlets include:

  

  The Currier Museum of Art is home to an internationally respected collection of European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs, and sculpture. New galleries showcase the collection of over 11,000 objects.
  Admission includes guided tours offered every day. Usually $10, admission is free before noon on Saturdays. You can also borrow a free pass from the City Library.

  The The New Hampshire Institute of Art is a school of art and design offering various degrees and continuing education. Their three galleries exhibit student, professional and community works throughout the year. They are are open weekdays from 9-5 and Saturdays from 9-noon. Their store at 77 Amherst sells a wide selection of art supplies. The Salvador Deli is closed when school is not in session.

  The Underground M.A.P. Project at 76 Lowell Street is an indie outfit, with a gallery showcasing local artists, and art events such as open-mic poerty nights.
  M.A.P. is for "Music, Art and Poetry."

• Bars, Pubs, & Taverns

  Strange
  Brew Pub: 88 Market Street, 66 beers on tap.
  
  Milly's Tavern: 500 Commercial Street. Manchester's only brewery.
  Black Brimmer on Elm

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Media

Manchester has a multitude of local media outlets to keep you up-to-date with local current events.

Print

Manchester Union Leader

The Union Leader is Manchester's mainstream daily newspaper. It's
a quick read. The cover price is fifty cents, but some machines still have it for a quarter. If you prefer hard copies, they have a trial offer: you can have it delivered to your home daily free for two weeks. Sign up on their website.

Manchester Express

Manchester Express is a free weekly newspaper. Perhaps because they have a week's worth of news to work with, its content is more substantial than the Union Leader. Editor Andrew J. Manuse often gives favorable coverage to liberty activism in the city, and if you watch the letters section you'll probably see some familiar writers. This paper can be found at locations throughout the city, where it appears on Wednesday evenings.

The Hippo

The Hippo is Manchester's arts-and-culture weekly. As you might guess, it's thick with content every week. In it you'll find coverage of art, music, food, cinema, theater, festivals and more! It comes out every Wednesday evening.

Manchester Express Magazine

Manchester Express Magazine is a recently introduced full-color magazine published by the same folks who produce the weekly newspaper of the same name. It features stunning photographs of some of the city's most picturesque (and less picturesque) vistas.

Concord Monitor

Although it's not a Manchester paper, the Monitor deserves mention if you are interested in New Hampshire politics, Concord being the state's captal city. By the way, the name of the city is not pronounced the same way as the English word of the same spelling. Rather, the city is pronounced as the last word of the phrase, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Television

MCAM Channel 23

Manchester has not one, but two local cable access channels, one of which is MCAM, a.k.a. Manchester Community Access Media. MCAM is funded from the franchise fees that Comcast subscribers are required to pay. You do not need a television to watch MCAM, as they have a live video stream on their website. You can become an MCAM "Producer" by taking their orientation class. For information write to director@mcam.org.

MCTV

MCTV, a.k.a. Manchester Community Telemision is the city's second local access network, funded directly by the city. MCTV operates two channels, 16 and 22, providing government coverage. MCTV is not open to production by local citizens, unless those citizens work for the government. You need a television to watch MCTV since they do not offer streaming video on their website. You can also purchase DVDs (and VHS tapes) of their programming for the low low price of just $25 per program, including shipping.

WGIR AM 610 Radio

WGIR is the local news/talk station, but being a Clear Channel affiliate, most of the programming is syndicated. They carry Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes, Glen Beck, Michael Savage and Coast-to-Coast. Their local morning news team of Charlie Sherman, Steve Landry, and Angela Anderson broadcasts weekdays from 5-9 a.m. You can listen on your radio or to their live internet stream.

Radio

WKXL AM 1450

This is a Concord station, but their morning program "AM New Hampshire" provides good coverage of New Hampshire news. Airs weekdays starting at 5:30 a.m. You can listen on your radio or to their internet stream.

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Learning

Carpenter Memorial Library

You can get a library card from the Manchester City Library for free with proof that you live in the city. The main branch is the Carpenter Library located at 405 Pine Street on Victory Park East. Their card will get you remote access to certain online databases, including the EBSCO academic research databases, and almost-full text from the Union Leader since 1989. Your MCL Card also gets you access to New Hampshire Downloadable Audiobooks. Within the Library's bricks and mortar is The New Hampshire Room, which houses many significant historical materials about the State. The library is a member of GMILCS, a consortium of twelve public and academic New Hampshire libraries.

UNH Library
If you need somewhere quiet to study, try the UNH Library in the Millyard on the first floor of 400 Commercial Street. It has big tables, study carrels, plenty of electrical outlets, and free wifi.

The Shapiro Library at SNHU has a more substantial reference collection, including some important State legal materials. The reference staff there is very helpful, and they have free wifi you can use by asking for a guest password. Not only that, your Manchester City Library card will be honorod there. You can get to the Shapiro Library on the #5 bus.

There is also the Geisel library at Saint Anselm College.

Manchester Community College