Situated on the Androscoggin River, the town of Berlin New Hampshire became the center of the pulp and papermaking industry in New England in the mid 1800’s. In 1853 the construction of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad line through the town, coupled with the availability of the new turbine technology, made the Androscoggin River Valley an ideal place in which to locate pulp and papermaking mills. By the early twentieth century Berlin had become the most prominent pulp and papermaking in New Hampshire and had been recognized in the papermaking industry nationally.

The mill had been in use, sold and bought several times after World War II. It was purchased by Fraser Paper (formerly The Brown Company) in 2001, but in March 2006, the mill was closed permanently . Over 250 employees, mostly residents of the town of Berlin were subsequently laid off. In October of 2006 the North American Dismantling Corporation bought the mill and the site. All but one of the smoke stacks was demolished, along with the buildings and portions of the mill that accompanied them.

The 121 acre site now sits abandoned, waiting to be redeveloped.

I want to propose a program that would:
-revitalize the town by bringing tourists to Berlin
-provide jobs for local residents
-recycle as much of the old mill as possible (keeping the smoke tower intact, as it is an icon of the town)
-implement systems within the program that would directly benefit the town/surrounding environment (this is going back to the "givining back to nature" theme)