Look, up in the sky! It’s… an Airstream trailer?

The Arts Alley airstream awaits lift-off.

The Arts Alley airstream awaits lift-off. Steve Savage

People lined the sidewalk on South Main Street on Wednesday morning to watch a 4,500-pound Airstream trailer get lifted high into the air and placed atop the Arts Alley building under construction.

People lined the sidewalk on South Main Street on Wednesday morning to watch a 4,500-pound Airstream trailer get lifted high into the air and placed atop the Arts Alley building under construction. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

People lined the sidewalk on South Main Street on Wednesday morning to watch a 4,500-pound Airstream trailer get lifted high into the air and placed atop the Arts Alley building under construction.

People lined the sidewalk on South Main Street on Wednesday morning to watch a 4,500-pound Airstream trailer get lifted high into the air and placed atop the Arts Alley building under construction. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

By DAVID BROOKS

Monitor staff

Published: 07-02-2025 11:25 AM

As Concord natives, Steve and Laurie Savage know a good downtown show when they hear about it.

“We saw on Facebook it was going to happen at 7. We were here at 6:30,” said Steve Savage.

They weren’t alone. At least 50 people using the camera function on their phones lined the sidewalk Wednesday morning to watch a 4,500-pound Airstream trailer get lifted high into the air and placed very, very carefully atop the Arts Alley building under construction.

“My daughter texted me and said, ‘Mom, there’s a live feed! You don’t have to be there,’” said Laurie Savage. But she knew it would be more fun in person. And she had a reason to do something special: “It’s my birthday.”

The 1976 Airstream trailer, polished to a gleaming shine that turned its sides into a funhouse mirror, has been refurbished into a bar that will serve the rooftop area with room for some 60 people. Steve Savage took a quick tour while it was parked on the street prior to being hoisted aloft. “They really did a nice job of it,” he said.

A crane capable of holding 70 tons with its 157-foot-long hydraulic boom lifted the Airstream in a three-hour process that slowed Main Street traffic but didn’t block it completely.

The crane is owned by Chasse Steel of Hudson, the contractor for the building. Lifting heavy things in tight downtown spaces is routine for the company, but even so, owner Steve Chasse showed up to watch. “I thought I’d come and see how it went,” he said.

Lifting the trailer took just a few minutes once all was ready, but placing it onto the roof exactly atop its steel frame support took much longer.

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The two-story complex between the Concord Food Co-Op and the Bank of New Hampshire Stage on South Main Street will feature an outdoor area surrounded by art, a retro diner and a Friendly Toast brunch restaurant, a private function space seating 100 people and the rooftop bar with the Airstream.

Construction broke ground a year ago. Arts Alley is scheduled to open next month.

“It’s amazing how fast it has gone up,” said Steve Savage.

David Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@cmonitor.com