I would not want to be the local building code enforcement person! or city manager, or on city council, or any position within city. even police or fire departments or county sheriff. Total disgrace to drive by.

I wouldn't even desire to enter the drive-in movie regardless of the feature film. Can't imagine being on the receiving end of rental income for the area in back for contractor's staging, while at same time leaving the condition of the building! Such an embarrassment!

What is the rest of the story?
 

There has to be a lot more to this story than what we think we know. I'm just guessing that the property owner is still paying a crazy amount of property tax for the building/location.
I would also think it reasonable to assume that he/she would love to resolve whatever the issue is with this so that it could again be turned into a revenue producing establishment of some sort.
This just makes me wonder what the real story is behind all the delays.

Can't we get a petition going to have the building removed or torn down, That just happened in the town where I live

Nothing can be done until the issue has been decided in court.

Where next? US Supreme Court. Already run out of local ones.

Oh? What was the last decision?

Last I knew it was already going to the supreme court, whether the case has been heard yet or not, I don't know.

Last I read it was supposed to be torn down in seven days.

Last I heard it was scheduled at New Hampshire Supreme Court, if it has been heard and a decision made please post a link to the info?

News media has reported that New Hampshire State Fire Marshal is still in the "investigation" stage, apparently not releasing the property to owner (a member of the Baldi family, the drive-in & Colonial Theater owners) and thus the insurance carrier (Lloyd's) will not pay out.
Nothing but past readings from news print media.
We don't recall the reporting of courts, since a local judge did say tear down.

After recent rains or snows, it's easy to observe that upper parts continue to collapse! I drive by almost every day.

Come on Spring showers!!

I hope they tear it down before this coming Bike Week.

Last night, I see that some contractor equipment is very close to what's left of building. If a wind/rain storm comes along, I'd think debris would fall over on equipment and the office trailer. Very hazardous site: OSHA!

I certainly would not want to be on site with storm playing out.
More we observe & think, it's such a hazard to the abutters and a soreness to the eyes, especially with visitors. I certainly will give no directions that have one driving through that area. [I hope owners' family read threads!]

On another note, on recent NECN the Boss, story was about the Cumberland Farms business: most sites are getting a make-over. Appears that the one up hill will be open soon, if not already re-opened.

Cumby is already open-has been for a few days. They now offer more "to-go" types food-pizza, breakfast sandwiches, etc. Have not tried them yet.

I've been not so observant...
Thanks for the info. Wonder if the one in Meredith will get a make-over?

WE should have FLL try their "to-go" food first!:D

Summer Is Almost Here !
 

And so too is the Wide Open Saloon!

Is anyone else wondering at what point does the process gain some traction and this eye-sore goes away? This will be the 3rd summer looking at that messs and we continue to be amazed that local businesses, residents and out of towners would want to be anywhere near the Weirs, not to mention the continued plummeting home values in and around the area! There is a correlation, it's high time for our residents, business leaders and town fathers to take a stand and get the badly needed revitalization and rejuvenation of the Weirs underway ASAP!

Thurston's, The Lobster Pond, Weirs business association.........let's go!

TEAR IT DOWN!

Hey folks, Beware of what you wish for as far as the Weirs needing to change. Change to what? Upscale is where i see it going in the future which will drive out the working class. I like it honky tonk and bike week forever. Can anyone afford Meredith Bay? If more of these type developments continue I guarantee kiss bike week goodbye. Then the beloved drive-in becomes more condos and before long what attracted people to the Weirs becomes like any other onclave for the wealthy.

I am gonna regret bring this up, but there are two major factors why Laconia is the way it is while all the surrounding areas thrive, one of them being bike week... bike week does not help the city or its people.

Upscale???
 

The Weirs is far more "upscale" today than it was in the 60s when we had the "bike week riots." Back then, the Weirs looked like an atomic bomb had gone off in the 40s or 50s and no one had ever returned. (I still have nightmares!) I agree that the burned building is a safety hazard. But I really don't think the city has the money to tear it down either.

As far as Bike Week is concerned -- IT'S ONLY ONE WEEK OF THE ENTIRE YEAR!! And the quality of visitors has greatly improved with each decade.

IMO, the problem with Laconia is that it can't seem to escape the effects of it's past as a poor mill town and as a "dumping site" for the state's mentally ill... and then there's the prison... toxic waste sites... lack of descent jobs... etc. :rolleye1:

Just in the local paper
 

There was just an article about the concerns of this area.
The lakes region in general is becoming one big retirement community.
Jobs and big business are leaving the area and being replaced by retired people who are moving up here into their 2nd homes as full time residents.
Not sure of all the logistics of this but in a nut shell it isn’t a good thing and is progressively getting worse and unless something is done to change it will continue to do so.

As for bike week it dies a little more every year. Starting this year there will be no more closing of the bridge to any traffic. :D
Last year being the first year my wife started riding a motorcycle we visited the Weirs several times. Each time we heard complaints from venders who are hoping for a more scaled down version of bike week, being less drawn out because they are loosing money. :(
One of the things we noticed was the people we saw had very few items they bought.
Most seemed content on just walking around and stopping at the many watering holes.
I know for us living here, unless we see a gotta have item, we wait till the last day when everything is marked down 30 to 50% or more.

off topic
 

Sorry for getting off topic.
I have fun at bike week, but the idea that it is only one week so it does not effect the area year round, is an idea not followed through.
Too many properties base there income on that one week and the rest of the year are vacant or worse. In a small city economy it is far better to have a more consistent, sustainable year round operation occupy a parcel than it is to have a one week blast of income. There is no need for many property owners to "try". In my view and many others, if bike week never existed the entire city would be in a different place right now. So if bike week ended, slowly all those business owners would need to be productive with there properties, creating jobs, nicer facilities, better neighborhoods, etc.
This all comes back to the wide open saloon. I would be willing to bet that the owner may eventually tear down the building and leave it as a gravel lot so it can be turned in to a tent city during bike week and they will make enough money to satisfy them. With no bike week, they would need to actually do something with the property, create some business, that is sustainable, or sell it to someone who would do something, and I am willing to bet the property would be worth more in the "no bike week" situation. JMHO

birchhaven's theory is really interesting and a different way of looking at bike week. It's too successful and lets people make enough money that week and write off the rest of the year.

If he is right, then as bike week winds back down to bike weekend (my guess) this may be corrected. Time will tell.

His theory kind of lines up with one of my theories about the condo-fication of the lakefront. My theory is that when hotels and camps changed to condos, the client list changed from week long vacationers to owners visiting on the weekends. So the place is dead during the week. Business now have to adapt to that model.

To start, with all due respect to the Baldi family and their right to due process… be a good neighbor and tear down that ugly eyesore! To the Laconia City manager and mayor… WTH! If that building was located in downtown Laconia we would not have this issue! The building would have been razed a year ago!

The intrinsic dynamic of the Weirs has changed radically in the last 10-12 years. There used to be a lot of small mom & pop motels that people spent their vacation week in. This provided a large turnover of people on weekly basis for the Weirs attractions and kept them busy. In the last real estate boom those mom & pop motels all but disappeared… turned into condos. This process virtually eliminated 60% - 70% of the revenue stream to the Weirs attractions. Condominium owners are more likely to patronize the attractions 2-3 times a season vs. a new bunch of people staying at the local motels every week. It has always been difficult for any business to make a year’s salary in the short 3-4 month summer season here in the Weirs. Couple that with a down economy and you can really understand the struggle business owners have. Unfortunately I don’t think this can be corrected. The damage is done. The City of Laconia and local business owners need to adapt to this unfortunate outcome and think of NEW ways to attract visitors to the Weirs.

Of the 3 biggest towns on the lake, Wolfeboro has always been quiet and rather upscale, Meredith was transformed to upscale, and unfortunately the Weirs has remained somewhat stagnant. This needs to be reversed. What the Weirs needs is better planning and leadership… The Weirs needs a makeover that sticks to its honky-tonk roots! The Weirs has always been the honky-tonk spot on the lake! This should be embraced not discouraged!

Bike Week should be EMBRACED! Years of heavy handed police presence coupled with economic discouragement by Laconia City Hall have diminished the attendance of Bike Week. Other communities throughout the state such as Meredith, Rochester & North Conway have jumped on the Bike Week bandwagon looking to cash in on what the City of Laconia doesn’t seem to want. This all has an effect on attendance.

I think in order to make the Weirs a destination again there needs to be some radical shift in thinking. I would recommend the Weirs become a designated resort area… loosen the rules a little! Look at Key West for inspiration!! Awesome restaurants… Cool bars with great entertainment, funky shops. Clean the area up. Tear down that stupid eyesore. Let people enjoy themselves a little. Maintain a police presence but discreetly (think undercover cops). No need for 3 cruisers and 2 bicycle cops hanging out waiting for something, anything to happen! Let people drink along the boardwalk and enjoy the lake (plastic containers). Allow outside music in the summer up until 12:00. Encourage people to visit. Adjust the rules so that people WANT to VISIT! Adjust the rules so that people WANT to open NEW businesses!

Make the Weirs friendly and people will visit…

Woodsy

I couldnt have put it better myself Woodsy. I've lived in eye sight of the weirs my whole life, if they could do what you said it would turn around the weirs and make it boom again. A couple cool groovy new bars would be cool, You want to attract the college kids, these are the ones that are going to be growing up and wanting to buy places on the lake

Bring back Teen Haven and Winnipesaukee Gardens! These were destination sights that brought hundreds from all over every Friday and Saturday nights. The "Gardens" changed with the ever changing demographics. My parents listened and danced to Duke Ellington. I did the same to Vanilla Fudge and The Turtles. The places were always jammed. I was a teenager and don't think there was alcohol at Teen Haven. I don't know about The Gardens. I think if you were over 21, you'd BYOB!

My parents had friends on Bear Is. that had a steel-hulled tugboat named 'Lil Toot. They'd pick-up my parents and other friends and have a bond fire burning on the steel bow (it was a BIG boat). After a night at The Gardens you could hear the "revelry" from a great distance as 'Lil Toot made the rounds returning everyone home. This wouldn't happen today! The Lake had a lot less people then, but The Weirs had a lot more!

You get my vote for "Best Post of the Year"!

Well done! Let's get behind any effort to get the Weirs 'right' again.

R2B

I like your thinking man...

I agree with the condos changing the biz model, and I agree a new line of thinking is required and it needs to be radical, but it is easy to say and another thing to get an investor to do, with the current dynamic.
Another example is where the rotary is being built, (I am going to pick on this property for a second but it applies to all) there is the vacant parking lot that has been sitting there forever, the owner has no urgency to invest or sell the property since he makes money from bike week. No bike week... he would have sold to someone who is willing to invest in the property in some fashion that makes money year round or at least all summer, this creates local jobs, increases the population, and in-turn further drives jobs creation. All while creating a valuable tax base for laconia rather than a vacant lot, this added tax base they could use to fix the current laconia school problem, again helping draw in full time residence, etc, etc. I disagree with anything that promotes land owners to not invest in their property (leave it a parking lot) so they can make money.
So it is great to say all these things about changing the rules etc, but if the current land owners have no reason to change they won't.

Sorry if make no sense I am much more articulate in person.

All seasonal jobs
 

Unfortunately until NH figures out how to attract businesses nothing will change.
You can tear down the ugly rebuild the ugly and attract all the tourism you want.
But all tourism creates is seasonal jobs, not the type of atmosphere to attract or support families.

Birchhaven...

That property you mentioned was originally a restaurant that went out of business (Karl's) and later burned. The property owner did the right thing and tore down the building. The owner of the property has since used it for Bike Week parking. I seriously doubt that 9 days of Bike Week parking covered the taxes on the property.

Meanwhile, they found a buyer for the property (rumoured to be Irving Oil) who was going to transform the property into some sort of gas station/drive thru, contingent on approval from the city. The city was onboard but wanted the property developer to pay the COST of the now being built rotary. That KILLED the project dead.

Just another example of how the City of Laconia thinks....

I suspect with the rotary being built and paid for by the city & state this vacant property will be more "buildable" now. No doubt we will see something there fairly soon.


Belmont Resident...

I agree that NH as a whole needs to create jobs and attract families. The Weirs IS a tourist/resort area, no different than Gunstock or Cannon or Sunapee. I think its in the best interest of the area and the state to attract tourists in any manner possible. Unfortunately, the Weirs is primarily a summer destination. There are some fall/winter activities but it is VERY weather dependent. This year there was no snow so there was no snowmobile business at all and the ski tourist business was off as well.

Woodsy

Thanks for the Karl's site story, which I had forgotten.
Let me add about the Lobster Pound site, especially up hill portion.
It goes unused and ugly all year, till a week before bike week when tent set up starts. When all set ups are done, I am so discouraged, since it's impossible to see that a restaurant exists!!! The Lobster Pound sign is totally obstructed! I tried to communicate that observation to the business via their website, to no avail two years ago.

The entire area looks like it could pass for a municipal transfer station (formerly referred to as the dump): this trash goes here and that used item goes over there, all waiting for recycling by third party businesses. The site is deplorable from the street! It's not inviting at all.

In Meredith, the Hart's and Harley dealer property still maintain their identity.

I think it will be difficult to design a business on the roundabout edge; I can't imagine planners approving new accesses directly to the roundabout, BUT I like the thinking in some recent posts. We can wait and see, if some group will reveal creativity in design, of which I am not.

I hope the open site downhill from Cumberland's will not become another tent/vendor city, or a mobile home/RV park, or a storage unit rental site. Maybe we'll see something attractive and useful year round.

One personal 2¢.

I disagree with your information. I went to the meetings about the development of that property, spoke with the lawyers, and attended several hearings at Laconia City Hall. The city was never "onboard" with the plans for that lot.

The demise of that plan was because the developers wanted to combine a gas station, convenience store, and Dunkin Donuts with a drive through, on a very small lot. The concerns about more underground gas tanks close to Laconia's water supply, overdevelopment of that lot, impact on neighboring properties, and the impact on traffic caused the city to reject the plan.

At all of the meetings I attended there was no mention of the property owner paying for any expenses related to the traffic circle. This happened 3 or 4 years ago and I do not recall the subject of the traffic circle ever being mentioned.

TiltonBB

The city would have allowed the construction of the gas station. They would have demanded the same triple redundancy as Cumby's up the hill. I believe the drive thru and the roundabout construction was the sticking point for developer.

Woodsy

What memories ! I had such a good time at Teen Haven and the Winnipesaukee Gardens. There were so many great bands. It was such fun and the Weirs was booming back then.

Bike week was never a "family" event. And like I said, it's only one week that people who find it annoying have to put up with it. (Not like the traffic in Meredith *all* summer long!) I had always thought of it as sort of "Spring Break for Antichrists." Until I went a few times recently and found myself thinking: "Man, this is lame... the only thing to do is walk around and shop. Where's the party?? I'm not gettin' any younger y'know?"

Unfortunately, like what's happened to Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale, I believe trying to tame the event has driven the crowds elsewhere. It used to be a week where wild, crazy, sh*t happened -- folks went home and told their friends about it: "We were THERE! We SURVIVED!" And everyone wants to go next year!!!

Come to think of it, if the bike gangs want to beat the cr*p out of each other it would be good publicity (we got a lot of mileage off the 60s riots! ;) ) Maybe they could tear down that building for us...? We could set up a beer tent... blast ZZ Top from the Drive-In... and the building would be gone by morning!! :eek:

(you know I'm joking, right?)

Where is Everybody
 

Unfortunately I don't see a change in the Weir's until some outside money comes in and changes things on a grand scale similar to the transformation of Merideth. Looking at what those old mills have been turned into (and not overnight) is pretty fascinating.
We opened up our store on the Pier in 2008 with great promise and high hopes trying to create a fun retail experience that seemed to be missing. The first year we did great numbers even though everyone else was crying they were down 30% from the previous year and had their worst year in 30 years. Figured if business was that good when everyone else was down then things could only get better the next year. Well the next year everyone said they were down 30% and this time we were too. Had to figure the next would be better but the same story. Finally called it quits after this season. I believe Kevins on the Pier did the same.
Each and every year less and less people came. Not just to our store but to the Weirs. We had bad weather, high gas prices, the storm that knocked out the train tracks and the dockage, Ecoli that shut down the beaches, everyone had a theory. This was at the same time that everyone down the Cape was talking about how great things were. Staycations and short trips were in. It looked like they were going everywhere but the Weir's. :(

Correct. In total this is not a good thing for the area. Yes, some jobs do cater to seniors. But with little growth in industry and factories there will be a gradual decline of area.

I think that the Weirs was much better in the 1940's, 1950,s and 1960,s.

And some think that putting a few more Yuppie bars at the Weirs will help? The Weirs is a beach and a playground for kids.

The Weirs is a beach and playground for kids?
 

If The Weirs is going to be successful, there needs to be an economic draw. I'm not sure how you make a profit on a strip of sand and catering to kids who have no money?

It was better in the 40's, 50's and 60's because adults went there and spent money. They hadn't coined the word "yuppies" yet. Winnipesaukee Gardens was a playground for adults with money to spend. Today, it caters to "kids" as a penny arcade as do the other arcades. Lots of things for kids to spend their coins on. We need a draw for adults with dollars.

I think it would be a nice place to hit for afternoon and evening activities, some sit down restaurants some vendors, nice stores, a place where people would want to come and walk around at night, much like lets say the boardwalk in Myrtle beach, or downtown Disney. Not that crazy, but like people say above, make it so people will want to come down and spend the money. I think still have a arcade or two to get the kids involved. but some nice restaurants
maybe a dueling piano bar and grille. and a couple more restuarants with a bunch of local shops for local craftsmen and what not, a couple of arcades, with the mount. with a nice little deal like that who would not want to go up there and stroll the boardwalk. Maybe even a redesign of the road to make some waterfront restaurants


What it is turning into or already has, is been a hangout for teenages to escape from their parents and hang out and cause mischeif. there is also hints of bad elements seeping into the area because it is getting so run down. THe Town should be on the property owners and shop keeps to upgrade or refinish and if that means that somethings close down and are forced to sell, new owners (new money) will come in and revitalize the area. The town should set up a revitalization project and model it from ideas taken from Wolfboro, Meredith, and others around the country

By the way this still does not mean that bike week can't happen, it could.