The South Common Historic District of Lowell, Massachusetts, encompasses the city's South Common and the various public, religious, and private residential buildings that flank its borders. The South Common, about 22.5 acres in size, was purchased by the city in 1845 in an auction by the Proprietors of Locks and Canals, who owned much of the city's industrial area. Although the common was landscaped, it was not apparently done so to a plan.