Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - All this talk about improving the Weirs..is there an alternative?

jeffk · 04-01-2016, 06:38 AM

IMO, the Weirs stays as it is mostly because no one wants to change it, or is afraid to change it. I have been staying up here for 23 years either summer or full time. I have been to the Weirs maybe once every 3 years, several times for a Mount Washington cruise. When I get there I walk the town. I see nothing that interests me. If it is time to eat, I might grab something. However, there are no restaurants there I would be drawn to go back to. Most of the time I just walk and I am amazed how little things have changed since I vacationed there in the 60s as a kid. There were lots of families staying in the cottages nearby and the kids hung out in the arcades and on the beach.

When I go to Meredith or Wolfeboro I go in many of the shops. I buy stuff. I like several of the restaurants and am drawn back to them just to have a meal. There are grocery stores, bookstores, hardware stores, good ice cream shops, and other interesting venues in these towns. I look forward to going to them and do.

There is NO draw for people like me in the Wiers. The docking is a bit awkward to get into. The attractions that are there are small scale and while they may generate an OK income for the current owners, are never going to generate money to drive change. Someone would have to come in with BIG money and, for better or worse, sweep away the current old time arcades. It would require a fundamental transformation in how the Weirs is perceived and presented. It would probably also require a private/public partnership like is going on at the Balsams to get permits and allow major construction. Some of the cottages would probably get bought up and demolished.

It would take a complete re-envisioning of the town and the will and money to drive it.

04-01-2016, 06:38 AM	#39
jeffk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,144 Thanks: 203 Thanked 425 Times in 243 Posts	Small change would be useless IMO, the Weirs stays as it is mostly because no one wants to change it, or is afraid to change it. I have been staying up here for 23 years either summer or full time. I have been to the Weirs maybe once every 3 years, several times for a Mount Washington cruise. When I get there I walk the town. I see nothing that interests me. If it is time to eat, I might grab something. However, there are no restaurants there I would be drawn to go back to. Most of the time I just walk and I am amazed how little things have changed since I vacationed there in the 60s as a kid. There were lots of families staying in the cottages nearby and the kids hung out in the arcades and on the beach. When I go to Meredith or Wolfeboro I go in many of the shops. I buy stuff. I like several of the restaurants and am drawn back to them just to have a meal. There are grocery stores, bookstores, hardware stores, good ice cream shops, and other interesting venues in these towns. I look forward to going to them and do. There is NO draw for people like me in the Wiers. The docking is a bit awkward to get into. The attractions that are there are small scale and while they may generate an OK income for the current owners, are never going to generate money to drive change. Someone would have to come in with BIG money and, for better or worse, sweep away the current old time arcades. It would require a fundamental transformation in how the Weirs is perceived and presented. It would probably also require a private/public partnership like is going on at the Balsams to get permits and allow major construction. Some of the cottages would probably get bought up and demolished. It would take a complete re-envisioning of the town and the will and money to drive it.