For years, this rhyme has been well associated with the city on the North Shore. A history of deadly house fires and Hell's Angels had damaged Lynn's reputation around the state, but all that's coming to an abrupt end.

When asked what Lynn offers today, many people will tell you: "The Gold Block."

The Gold Block is an area in downtown Lynn that has been converted from commercial and warehouse space into some of the most wired buildings in the state. Located just across the street from Primus Communications, formerly Shore.Net, the occupants of the Gold Block (who pay a paltry $18 per square foot) are hard-wired into the Primus servers.

Lynn has taken an aggressive approach in luring high tech companies into the area to fill several tens of thousands of square feet of office space around the city. The efforts are not going unnoticed.

The Dot.commonwealth Coalition, continuing in its series of roadshows throughout the state, made a stop on the North Shore earlier this month, featuring presentations by several companies in the area.

The roadshows, which began in May on Cape Cod, are designed to highlight technology companies operating outside the Boston area.

Stretched between the Gold Block in Lynn and the Cummings Center in Beverly, the North Shore's high tech companies have been moving into the area with a rapidity that local politicians hope will revitalize the traditionally blue-collar economy of the area.

"This is a very interesting community and all of you are seeing it on the cusp of a major reinvention of itself," said Stephen Harausz, the director of economic and community development for Lynn. "I don't mean to be melodramatic, but the development of the Gold Block could be as profound for this city as the Industrial Revolution."

Verizon executive Bob Mudge, who also attended the event, said the company's millions of dollars and millions of feet of fiber-optic cable have made Lynn one of the hidden gems in the Boston area for companies looking to avoid the skyrocketing real estate prices in the Hub.

Beyond the Gold Block is the Clock Tower, located on Lynn Shore Drive, and now occupied by a Lightbridge Communications call center and Primus. In addition, the Canadian firm 360 Networks will soon bring online its 1.4 terabit fiber-optic cable laid from Ireland to the U.S. coast, right in Lynn.

Pam Reeve, the chief executive of Lightbridge Communications, said she enjoys the idea of having a facility in this North Shore city.

"Being in Lynn is like starting the company all over again," she said. "Lynn has been through revamps and rebirths. The city has a strong draw for tech companies and is providing the people and the infrastructure and the finances to draw upon."

"Moving into Lynn was a real no-brainer," she continued. "Lynn is recognized as fast becoming one of the developing mainstays in technology. With the start coming from Shore.Net, the wiring coming from Verizon and 360 Networks, and the wireless access from Lightbridge, Lynn is really helping give rise to some future General Electrics."

Lowell Gray, founder of Shore.Net, has been one of the few shouting Lynn's praises from the rooftops long before it was chic to do so. Gray was the founding father of Lynn's Cyber District and Shore.Net, which proved that technology and Lynn really can mix. Prior to his arrival, the Cummings Center in Beverly or the office parks in Peabody were the only tech hotspots on the North Shore. Now, partially because of Gray and those who followed him, the city that once led the nation in shoe production could soon take its place as one of the hottest places to have a company outside of Boston.

A veteran of Lynn's mean streets (I worked for the Lynn Daily Item for a couple years) I can appreciate how far the city has come. The economic plans the city has made for drawing technology companies can only end well for them.

Where some residents wailed when the city brought in a gambling cruise ship to bring in some extra cash, this latest effort for revitalizing Lynn is good for all involved. New jobs, new buildings, new wires and a new image - not bad for a day's work in the city of sin.