Nashua, NH: Cold Walls, Weird Vibes, and a Haunted Mill

i've been roaming the streets of nashua, new hampshire with a backpack full of spray cans and a sleep debt that could fund a small country. the air is biting, with the thermometer hovering around minus one and a half degrees celsius, and the humidity is a damp seventy-eight percent, making the cold seep into your bones. i kinda love how it slows the paint dry time, but my fingers hate it.

if you want to see where i'm scribbling, here's a little map thing:

nashua's a patchwork of old brick mills, strip malls, and river trails that somehow make it perfect for nocturnal adventures. the *nashua river winds through town like a silver snake, and the rail trail is where i often jog to scope out new walls.

the street art scene here is lowkey but fierce. there's a crew called the night hollers that've been bombing the millyard for years. they mostly do stencils and wildstyle pieces that glow under the streetlights. i've got my favorite spot: the back alley behind the old post office on main street. the city council recently beefed up the anti-graffiti squad, so you've gotta be slick. keep your spray cans in a tight bag, and always have a buff plan (like a bucket of gray paint) to cover your tracks if you get spotted. nozzle tips clog in this humidity, let me tell you.

i heard from a bartender at the copper kettle that the abandoned textile mill by the river is haunted. he swears he saw a shadow figure in a nineteenth century worker's cap. i'm skeptical, but at two a.m. with the mist rolling off the water, it's easy to imagine ghost stories. someone even set up a ghost tour that stops by the mill-check out Nashua Ghost Walks if you're into that.

and there's a rumor that the greasy spoon on elm serves the best breakfast but their yelp rating is brutal because the owner once told a food critic to 'f off'. someone told me that the best pizza in town is actually at a hole-in-the-wall called mario's, but they've got a two-star rating on yelp because they once refused service to a famous food blogger. you can sift through the reviews yourself on Yelp or just follow the line of locals outside the door at midnight.

if you're itching to explore beyond nashua, manchester's just a quick bus ride away-maybe twenty minutes if traffic's chill. you can catch live music at the palace theatre there. boston's about an hour south if you need a bigger city's art scene. and if you've got a car, the white mountains are within a few hours for some fresh air (and new walls).

i always check TripAdvisor's top Nashua attractions before heading out. also worth a look is the Nashua Arts Council for upcoming shows and legal wall locations. the nashua bulletin (our community board) has a thread on the best spray paint spots-worth a scroll.

the nashua river, especially near the broad street bridge, is surprisingly scenic. i snapped a few pics (okay, i lifted some from unsplash because my camera's junk) but they capture the mood:

getting spray paint here is a nightmare-new hampshire has strict laws about possession if you're under eighteen. i'm not, but the clerk at the art store still gives me side-eye. i usually drive down to massachusetts to stock up, which kinda defeats the purpose of local art. pro tip: the hardware store on main sells cans of spray sealant that work in a pinch but they're not archival.

anyway, i'm gonna crash soon (okay, i'm already half-asleep on this bench). if you pass through nashua, look for my tag 'ZONK' on the water tower by the river. peace out, and keep your cans* warm.