LOWELL -- The burnished brick building looked like it had a few rounds with a wrecking ball.

Rows of shattered windows along the Appleton Mills complex resembled missing teeth. Along the canal, piles of crumbling rock and rubble sat in a field of tall weeds.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry took in the sight.

"It's not pretty," he said. "But I know the potential. The more you can save of that, the better the city is for it. It adds to the character."

Starting from the new Edward J. Early Parking Garage at 135 Middlesex St., Kerry hit the pavement yesterday to survey the Hamilton Canal district, nearly 15 acres of land poised for a major face-lift. Circling Kerry as he trekked down Jackson Street, city officials and project planners pointed out their visions for the blighted area.

The downtown walk was one of the senator's first stops along his "Kerry on Your Corner" tour -- a string of planned campaign stops across the state this summer as part of his re-election bid.

Renovation of the decrepit Appleton Mills complex is a big step in reviving the long-neglected neighborhood. But more state and federal funding, officials say, is crucial to the transformation.

Kerry was flanked by the city's entire legislative delegation, including state Sen. Steve Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, another key player in harnessing state funding for the ambitious project, and City Manager Bernie Lynch.

"Kerry has a long history here in Lowell, and he knows the

Middlesex Street has made some strides since John Kerry lived in Lowell in the 1970s. Plans to transform the Hamilton Canal District's vacant lots and boarded up buildings into a massive residential and commercial hub are beginning to show. The grand opening of the new $43 million parking garage, new retail space and luxury condos in the area are a harbinger of the future, Lynch said.

Kerry asked architect Hank Keating for pictures of the Appleton Mills, inside and out. It will help him argue his case to bring in more funding for urban renewal.

Kerry's walking companions were mostly politicians. But the senator gave his feet a rest when an excited constituent flagged him down.

Westford resident Taeomi Martyn Dooley was driving down Middlesex Street at about 11 a.m. when she saw the cluster of Kerry signs. She immediately pulled over.

In September 2000, Martyn Dooley's son, Trebor, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a fast-growing and typically fatal brain tumor. His dream was to see Air Force One up close and personal, and Kerry helped make it happen.

In 2002, Trebor used crutches and a wheelchair to get around the world's most famous plane.

Kerry took Martyn Dooley's hands and said hello. She thanked the senator again for giving her son a "life-changing" experience when he needed it most. Trebor is 21 now and enrolled in classes at Middlesex Community College.

"He took the time to do something really special for Trebor," Martyn Dooley said. "Trebor will have that forever."

Kerry also fielded questions about some key items facing Congress.

With an increasing number of homeowners defaulting on home loans, many are bracing for lawmakers in Washington to provide a little relief. Now on the table, a bill meant to keep homeowners from being foreclosed upon remains tied up in debate.

When asked why Congress didn't take action on the bill before its nine-day holiday break leading into the Fourth of July, Kerry said some Republican members of Congress were hesitant to jump on board.

That opposition included President Bush, who threatened to veto the bill, which he said would assist lenders and borrowers who acted irresponsibly. Then, a week before the Senate went on break, a single legislator, Sen. John Ensign, R.-Nev., slowed the bill's passage by tacking on an unrelated amendment regarding renewable energy.

The longer Congress stalls on this bill, the more homeowners default instead of getting the help they need, Kerry said. He's hopeful the bill will pass this week.

Also, voter anger over soaring gasoline prices is pushing an old debate to the top of Washington's energy agenda. The oil industry has been turning up the heat on Congress to open up more federal land to oil drilling, arguing it will do more to cut energy prices.

Kerry said he wasn't sure why offshore drilling was even up for debate, when the oil industry has "68 million acres available today that they aren't developing."

"Selling off our nation's coastlines to the oil and gas companies won't make a dent in gas prices," Kerry said, "If you started drilling tomorrow, you wouldn't even see a drop of that oil for about 10 years, and it certainly wouldn't be enough to have any effect on the world price."

Rather than doing the bidding for oil companies, Kerry said the country needs a serious long-term energy strategy that reduces its dependence on oil and promotes affordable, clean-energy sources. He compared the issue to Lowell taking the lead in the Industrial Revolution.

"The solution to this problem is not to drill our way out of it," he said. "We have to invent our way out if it. Lowell is a great example of that."

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