Weirs Beach Waterslide to be Torn Down

[Sal]

Could be interpreted as another bridge to Governor's Island . . .

[pcmc]

Originally Posted by Sal

Could be interpreted as another bridge to Governor's Island . . .

Yes, that is not the exact one in Clearwater, FL., but the exact same idea. I would vision that with provision for boat docking on either side. It could open a lot of options or just offer a nice walk with a different view perspective.

[Sal]

This pier is located on Clearwater Beach, about 1/4 mile from the HUGE Marriott. I took the picture this February.

[pcmc]

Originally Posted by Sal

This pier is located on Clearwater Beach, about 1/4 mile from the HUGE Marriott. I took the picture this February.

Oh, sorry. That isn't the pier I had been to years ago, but just as welcoming.

[RLW]

Hasn't anyone taken a resent picture as to how it looks at the present time? I would love to see how the property looks vacant.

[birchhaven]

Rlm sorry no pic but progress is very slow for a demo project.
The Land is valued at 165k so the owners only need to rent a couple tents a year and they will be in the positive so I don't see anything happening there for a long long time.
I had an interesting conversation about my position on bike week and I realized I might be stating why bike week needs to end for the place to be rejuvenated incorrectly. The actual bike week is not the actual problem it is how it breeds lazy land owners.
I will say it again the city could have easily made a condition of approving the demo permit that unless the site is redeveloped it will not receive a bike week permit. They have placed restrictions on other properties in the area exactly like that. I know for a fact.
Also I am always amazed on how this website works. You have 95 percent of the comments saying weirs needs something done, then along comes someone who wants it to stay the same or be turned back to trees.

[Billy Bob]

We are residents os st Pete beach/Clearwater and have a home on the lake for the summer . Attempting to compare the 2 isen't possible . Clearwater has a 12month season with snowbirds packing the area now and southern state folks enjoying the beaches in the summer. Also a lot more to do with the ocean and the Disney / Bush stuff so close. The lake has a very short season to make a buck and the return on investment isen't possible for large scale redevelopment. The weirs might have nostalgia but at this point it is what it is a dump that no one without a lake history will find cool.
Laconia is a financially poor city with big problems , few decent jobs and big drug and small time crime problems. Using development money to get more low paying seasonal jobs at the crummy beach probably is not at the top of the list

We avoid that area with the grand kids , it's history

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by Billy Bob

We are residents os st Pete beach/Clearwater and have a home on the lake for the summer . Attempting to compare the 2 isen't possible . Clearwater has a 12month season with snowbirds packing the area now and southern state folks enjoying the beaches in the summer. Also a lot more to do with the ocean and the Disney / Bush stuff so close. The lake has a very short season to make a buck and the return on investment isen't possible for large scale redevelopment. The weirs might have nostalgia but at this point it is what it is a dump that no one without a lake history will find cool.
Laconia is a financially poor city with big problems , few decent jobs and big drug and small time crime problems. Using development money to get more low paying seasonal jobs at the crummy beach probably is not at the top of the list

We avoid that area with the grand kids , it's history

I think this sums it up pretty well. Attempting to hang on to the past and nostalgia is only going to bring things down. The number of people with a "history" of the Weirs are outnumbered by newcomers who only see it as a place with little to no draw.

[fatlazyless]

Looking into my crystal ball one year from now, on April 17, 2015; I can see the Weirs Beach waterslide-volcano location has been transformed by the dynamic local market economy of Weirs Beach ........ ta-ta-ta......rat-a-tat-tat ..... a little drum-roll here ......and one year later that volcano location has become......no big surprise here..... an empty vacant lot with a surface of hard-packed dirt and some old asphalt paving here and there... some remnant tent material left over from bike week and a for sale/for lease sign.

And, what else does it have? .....oh yeah.....it has a relatively high assessed value as determined by the City of Laconia. Say-hey.....while some waterfront areas grow hotels, restaurants, and public walk-ways.....other waterfront areas just seem to grow vacant parking lots. Occaisionally, I will stop and spend money at the Cumberland gas station or at Kellerhause for a 1.09 Wednesday ice cream when driving over to Lowe's or Walmart or St Vincent de Paul. You know that the Weirs Bridge was not closed for Bike Week in 2013 for the first time due to no need to close it.

Gee whiz.....if only that lot still had a good healthy stand of hardwood trees growing there, then the trees could be cut down and sold to the lumber mill up in Rumney just like the neighboring lots up the hill which continue to be.....you guessed it.....empty lots.

ps ......I wonder why the parking meters are covered with those blue canvas covers which are locked down with a small padlock that cannot be seen in the photo.....is that to keep car-parkers from putting money into the meters?

[Irish mist]

The area needs a master plan, expecting Laconia to do this anytime soon is doubtful. I have watched the city of Laconia turn into a typical non-working, non-functional section-8 infested mess. Back in the 70s the city was a solid working-class, blue-collar type of city that was safe and stable.

There's still not much random violent crime, yet, but petty crime, property crime, and drug crimes are on the rise. The current leadership in Laconia is not going to be able to turn this around, and quite frankly, I doubt it can be turned around at all at this point due to the massive influx of section-8 housing in the core of the city. It also does not help that the Laconia area has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

You just can't pepper a city the size of Laconia with thousands of units of welfare housing and not expect issues. These issues are of course bleeding over to Meredith & Gilford....so this is also a regional issue, and not just a Laconia issue.

You can spend tens of millions of dollars at the Weirs and it's really not going to matter until the rest of the town is somehow cleaned up, and I don't see that happening any time soon in the current political climate.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by Irish mist

The area needs a master plan, expecting Laconia to do this anytime soon is doubtful. I have watched the city of Laconia turn into a typical non-working, non-functional section-8 infested mess. Back in the 70s the city was a solid working-class, blue-collar type of city that was safe and stable.

There's still not much random violent crime, yet, but petty crime, property crime, and drug crimes are on the rise. The current leadership in Laconia is not going to be able to turn this around, and quite frankly, I doubt it can be turned around at all at this point due to the massive influx of section-8 housing in the core of the city. It also does not help that the Laconia area has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

You just can't pepper a city the size of Laconia with thousands of units of welfare housing and not expect issues. These issues are of course bleeding over to Meredith & Gilford....so this is also a regional issue, and not just a Laconia issue.

You can spend tens of millions of dollars at the Weirs and it's really not going to matter until the rest of the town is somehow cleaned up, and I don't see that happening any time soon in the current political climate.

Maybe they can pave downtown for the bikers and fix the waterfront for the tourists?

[Irish mist]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Maybe they can pave downtown for the bikers and fix the waterfront for the tourists?

I'm not optimistic that any thing can be done in the short-term. It's taken 30 years of mismanagement to get Laconia to where it is today.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Maybe they can pave downtown for the bikers and fix the waterfront for the tourists?

Wow. So those 100,000 bikers are not tourists? Didn't know all those bikes were from Laconia.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

Wow. So those 100,000 bikers are not tourists? Didn't know all those bikes were from Laconia.

Perhaps a better way to say it is they are not the type of tourists the town needs. The reason for this is they are only there one week a year and while they spend heavily they seem to enable property owners to earn enough money to support run down businesses and parking lots without doing much else for the balance of the year. In a nutshell, bike week seems to crowd out capital investment which would lead to more desirable tourism. I'm sure it is a complex problem but something needs to change to improve Laconia and specifically its waterfront area.

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Perhaps a better way to say it is they are not the type of tourists the town needs. The reason for this is they are only there one week a year and while they spend heavily they seem to enable property owners to earn enough money to support run down businesses and parking lots without doing much else for the balance of the year. In a nutshell, bike week seems to crowd out capital investment which would lead to more desirable tourism. I'm sure it is a complex problem but something needs to change to improve Laconia and specifically its waterfront area.

My opinion is the blame lies on the elected officials who allow the property owners to keep Laconia looking like the south end of a north bound skunk. They issue the permits and it seems they would have leverage against property owners who depend on said permits to earn during bike week.

In the end, with the Broken Spoke and the old Boot Hill both up for sale, the writing may already be on the wall for bike week moving to Lincoln. Be careful what you wish for.

[Mr. V]

The Weirs has deteriorated because investors do not see it as a viable area to invest in new businesses.

Frankly, the old school notion of an arcade and a dance pavilion surrounded with kitschy shops doesn't cut it in the New Millenium.

Folks, particularly kids, have other options for entertainment, such as video games.

Back in the day, the Weirs was "it."

Not any more.

I've no solution, only a suggestion: hello, amusement park!

"Six Flags over Winnie," anyone?

Add a casino.

That would draw everybody.

Otherwise, it's just a slow decline to oblivion, as things change.

[camp guy]

The post by Mr V is right on target. All one needs to do is look at the history of Hampton Beach to have insight into Weirs Beach. Hampton Beach had been a gem of a vacation spot, then, slowly, and then rather rapidly, things began to fall apart at the Beach, literally and figuratively. Frankly, it was no longer safe for a family to take a vacation there. There were roving gangs of undisciplined youths making it very uncomfortable for a family, and certainly not the place for children to be without their parents.

Then, all of a sudden, things began to change. Both the State and the Town poured a ton of money into the Beach and slowly, but surely, the conditions began to change. Merchants invested in their properties, the beach area was significantly cleaned up, the parking was improved, restaurants began to meet the needs of the vacationing public, and law enforcement was increased to make the area safer, less scarey to adults and safer for children.

This took time and investment, both in money and spirit, but it is paying off.

Now, all of the above having been said, I am not so naive to say that the Beach has become a "choir boy of virtue", but I am willing to say that it is now a place that draws huge crowds of all ages.

Could this happen at Weirs Beach (?), I don't know, it would take effort on all sides of the table to put together a Plan, stick to the Plan, and work togvether to improve Weirs to a place of enjoyment safety and entertainment.

[birchhaven]

QUOTE=PaugusBayFireFighter;224037]My opinion is the blame lies on the elected officials who allow the property owners to keep Laconia looking like the south end of a north bound skunk. They issue the permits and it seems they would have leverage against property owners who depend on said permits to earn during bike week.

In the end, with the Broken Spoke and the old Boot Hill both up for sale, the writing may already be on the wall for bike week moving to Lincoln. Be careful what you wish for.[/QUOTE]

In this particular case, I don't think the elected officials have any real power, the blame lies in the city employees who don't seem to change and seem to focus on the wrong problems.

[jrc]

The city, like many, has issues to deal with. Having 100k people come to you city and spending like drunken bikers, every year can be a huge revenue tool.

If the city cannot figure out how to leverage those millions of dollars, it's hard to fault the bikers.

Does Florida blame Disney Word for their problems?

[Bigstan]

Originally Posted by jrc

The city, like many, has issues to deal with. Having 100k people come to you city and spending like drunken bikers, every year can be a huge revenue tool.

If the city cannot figure out how to leverage those millions of dollars, it's hard to fault the bikers.

Does Florida blame Disney Word for their problems?

Disney world is not a run down eyesore that hasn't changed in 40 years. Disney is self policing and wouldn't let things get to that level.

[jrc]

I guess Disney World was a bad example. My point was that having people visit and spend money, could be used as a positive to improve the area. How many cities are trying to attract events?

[pcmc]

https://www.google.com/search?q=st+p...&client=safari

I don't recall comparing, merely suggesting a thought of a pier at Wiers beach.
I found the the one we visited. It was in St. Petersburg, FL.

[Misha888]

Today's progress photo.

[Misha888]

From the park.

[glennsteely]

Irishfan, great post feeling of old time mems! I used to LOVE weirs! I litterally spent every minute (and cent) that I could there when I was a youngster. Lots and lots of memories! 😎😎👍

[Lin]

Unfortunately we are not up at the camp because our daughter wanted to share it with friends this weekend. She has been gone for four years at a Florida college and is back this summer. She helped me open the camp earlier this month. She had not been to Weirs beach since she was 18 and this is what she said when I asked if she was having fun. They were at pirate's cove mini golf, red hill dairi and a couple of other fun places but then she texted -"also the weirs is very run down - everything is pretty much closed down."

We love the location at the weirs pretty views, the icecream shops, and the beach and have had very fond memories of being at the weirs both as kids and as raising our kids. My aunt Shirley Avery Hames (related to Captain Avery that used to captain the MT Washington) grew up there and one of the cottages to the north of the pier was Nana and my great Aunt's first purchase at the lake back in the thirties. My parents spent summers at the weirs before my great aunt bought a nice place up on wentworth shores in the fifties. I and my siblings spent every summer at the lake and enjoyed our weirs visits as did our kids. But it is getting run down over the years.

It would be nice to see some improvements on the strip.

[Bostonian]

I was up at the lake this past weekend (first time since about April for the closing of Gunstock's winter season). One of the things I had noticed was the tale of two towns. On Saturday, my family and I went to Meredith for lunch. The town was bustling, with traffic, pedestrians and just life to the town. We ended up eating lunch at the Lake Side Deli, which was fantastic. Whether it was the crafts fair, the people, the food and so on - there was a pulse to the area... Then on our way back to Gilford -

We passed by the Weirs... Empty lots, no bustle, urban decay, and just a sense of loss. As the previous poster indicated, some improvements to the strip would be nice and are needed. Getting businesses into the area that are sustainable, and a draw to the area would be good too. having family friendly, long term sustainable business is the answer. While a Dunkies is nice for the weirs rottery (not that we need another chain), it doesn't provide a longer term solution for a village in Laconia that was the heart of the Lakes region for so long.

[Dickie B from HB]

I live in Huntington Beach, California. When I moved here in 1965, the town was a run down little surf spot with cheesy bars and surfboard shops, and not much else. The town council decided that the time had come to rescue the town from further decay. They created a tourism board whose sole purpose was to provide the vision and the knowhow as to how to redevelop the area to attract new business.
And it has worked out well. Working with the council and the population, bond issues were passed, and redevelopment took place. It took many years, but today Huntington Beach is an attraction for not only tourists, but people that live in the surrounding areas as well. In fact, tourists are not the prime supporters. The bulk of the spending comes from visitors from the nearby cities.
There is no casino, but there are nice shops, nice restaurants and street side cafes, and nighttime clubs. The tourism board has come up with events that happen almost on a weekly basis.

Where it once was a summer only type place, it now attracts people all year round. The key to the redevelopment was that the city took over most of the prime area (they bought out the old business properties)and built new structures that were very attractive, and leased them out to new business. Therefore, the new businesses did not have to invest huge sums of money in real estate. They also built a very large parking garage. It took time, but the formula has been very successful. Now the area is home to a Hilton hotel and a Hyatt Regency Resort among other large brands.

Something similar could happen to the Weirs, but it isn't going to happen if only small business is relied upon. The government needs to step in and give it a boost.

[Sal]

Thanks for the HB success story. But . . . that is liberal California

. . . . this is good ol' Live Free or Die New Hampshire.

Fat chance of the gubmint doing that, around here. Ayuh.

(?Right, FLL??)

I am donning my flame-proof suit now.

[Dickie B from HB]

Gotta tell ya Huntington Beach is not a liberal city. We're in the heart of Orange County. This is Republican territory, far to the right of center.
What the city did here wasn't liberal or conservative. It was just the smart thing to do.

[Misha888]

I spied growing grass on the lot. It has that going for it now.

[HellRaZoR004]

Wife and I docked at the Weirs on Monday and decided to try out the Tower Hill Tavern.

We both shared a R.O.B. burger and thought it was delicious. We even decided to eat outside at one of the open tables along the street. The weather was great but the motorcycle noise was too much. Every idiot with a bike thought it was a great idea to rev their engines as they passed. Not very inviting.

Walked down towards the Weirs sign and commented that everything was run down. What is the yellow building at the corner all boarded up with windows almost falling out? What an eyesore.

o0o, did I mention you need to make sure when docking your boat it's at the end of the dock; otherwise you are not getting out without moving someones boat....very bad design.

[BroadHopper]

Built when boats were pencil thin. Weirs can do themselves a BIG favor by adding more space between slips!

[Misha888]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

Built when boats were pencil thin. Weirs can do themselves a BIG favor by adding more space between slips!

The only reason I miss our Carrera SS7M. 4th of July we could just glide in between the boats and get front row parking . . . now, we don't even bother going. Boat is too wide.

[diz]

Originally Posted by RLW

Hasn't anyone taken a resent picture as to how it looks at the present time? I would love to see how the property looks vacant.

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

Compare those pictures to post #43 and you'll see there has been some progress since my photo.
I think the excavator moved 35 feet.
Here's a couple pictures of the other side of the street.

[Misha888]

Originally Posted by RLW

Hasn't anyone taken a resent picture as to how it looks at the present time? I would love to see how the property looks vacant.

I'll take some tomorrow. Heading down that way for a Mothers Day cruise on the mount.

[MeredithMan]

....drove by there on Friday afternoon and it looks like they had just hydro-seeded where everything had been. So, at least it'll be a classy vacant lot....

[Irishfan]

Sad to learn the waterslide is being torn down. I remember it much different growing up spending summers at the Weirs. My uncle has a small seasonal cottage within walking distance of the Weirs. There were, I think, four waterslides total if my memory serves me correct. No cheesy volcanoes or any other props that take away from the attraction. Even my dad and uncles went down the slides. Great memories. That volcano looked like it was about to fall over any second.

I remember getting up early and going to the country store at the top of Lakeside Ave. for the fresh donuts they made at the store. Anybody else remember those? They were the best. Learning how to waterski with the old orange life jacket. Going to the arcades to play skeeball and save up your tickets all summer to get decent prizes. Last time I visited, most of the games in the arcades were out of order and there were a few skeeball games but it just wasn't the same. How bout those bingo and poker machines with the pink rubber balls? Great times.

I'm usually a lurker but just had to throw in my two cents. Sorry to rant.

[minni on winni]

Doesn't sound like a rant to me. Rather like a trip down memory lane and a pleasant one at that!

[Gilligan]

Too bad that another attraction goes away with nothing to replace it. The costs of food and lodging goes up and the attractions go down. It feels odd that on one hand there is more crowding while on the other hand there are fewer entertainment destinations. Kids don't seem to mind that the Weirs are a bit run down as long as there are fun things to do there. Take away the fun and they are not pestering their parents to go there.

I wish I had answers or plan ideas but I don't. I just hate to see the current state of affairs and the dwindling number of family fun places.

[Jeanzb1]

I know that I'm in the minority, but I will miss the water slide. The grandkids didn't mind that it was run down. And now that it is in the process of being torn down, I just hope that they clean the debris up and not leave an unsightly empty lot.

[fatnoah]

As someone who grew up in Laconia (LHS class of '93), it's sad to see the Weirs fall into the state it's in. As a teenager, it didn't seem particularly seedy and I generally knew someone working in almost every single one of the businesses, whether it be the water slide, Surfcoaster, arcades, pizza/fried dough joints, etc. Compared to the rest of the area, the boardwalk was a pretty happening place in the summer.

Going back now, it seems much smaller and seedier than I remember. That's probably a combination if it actually being seedier and me having a slightly different world view than when I was 17.