Worcester's colonial past and high-technology present fuse: historic homesteads coexist with science centers and modern sculpture. The American Antiquarian Society, dating to 1812, is the third oldest historical society in the country. The Society maintains a collection of materials pertaining to American history and culture; tours are held on Wednesdays. Salisbury Mansion is another architectural artifact; this 1772 home, one of the best documented in New England, has been restored under the auspices of the Worcester Historical Museum. The home has been recreated to replicate the life of the Salisbury family during the early to mid-1800s. Old Sturbridge Village, located near Worcester in Sturbridge, is a recreated 1830s village that is open year-round. Talks, walking tours, and performances are highlights of the Sturbridge Village experience and vary throughout the year. The Ecotarium is a multi-million dollar natural science and environmental education center on the old New England Science Center 60-acre campus. Inside is the three-level hands-on exhibit hall, a multimedia planetarium, and a solar-lunar observatory. Outside are a maze of nature trails, a train ride, a 100-foot tower that uses wind to generate power, and an indoor-outdoor zoo. The American Sanitary Plumbing Museum offers a unique look at antique fixtures, tools and accoutrements of the plumbing world.
Worcester's "Artworks in Our Parks" program has gained national attention for its innovative combination of park preservation and outdoor sculpture. Memorials, statues, bridges, and fountains by leading artists can be found throughout Worcester's parks. Floral displays can also be enjoyed at the Worcester County Horticultural Society, located in Boylston, which also offers lectures and workshops. The Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wild-life Sanctuary, the largest urban wildlife sanctuary in New England, offers more than five miles of marked trail on over 400 acres. Broad Meadow Brook also features nature exhibits and programs appealing to visitors of all ages.
Music Worcester, Inc. presents Worcester's 140-year-old Music Festival which draws crowds each fall to Mechanics Hall, as do the international Arts Series, and the Mass Jazz Festival. The group also produces chamber ensemble, world music, jazz, and choral performances. The city's choral tradition includes the All Saints Choir of Men and Boys, established in 1868, and the country's oldest continuous choir. Many other choral groups entertain the region's audiences, offering barbershop quartet melodies, sacred music, and Broadway hits. Perhaps the most famous is the Worcester Chorus, which performs with the Worcester Orchestra. Tuckerman Hall, designed by Josephine Wright Chapman, one of America's first female architects, is home to the Central Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra.
Grand opera and children's operas are staged by Opera Worcester and the Salisbury Lyric Opera Company. The Central Massachusetts Symphony performs many of its concerts at Tuckerman Hall and Mechanics Hall, and its summer offerings at Institute Park. College of the Holy Cross music performing ensembles include the Brass Ensemble, College Choir, Chamber Players, Crusader Band, Schola Cantorum, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, Liturgical Music Ministry, Madrigal Singers, and Opera Scenes workshop, all of which perform regularly in a variety of settings both on and off campus.
Worcester theater claimed national attention with the emergence of the Worcester Foothills Theatre Company in 1974. This residential troupe stages some seven productions annually. Other companies include the Worcester Forum Theatre Ensemble, the Clark University Theatre Program, Worcester Children's Theatre, the Peter Pan Players and Side Show Troupe children's groups, and Phoenix Players. Performances by the Pyramid Gypsy Dance Company have helped gain renown for Worcester's dance community.
The Worcester Art Museum, one of the largest and finest in the country, houses a notable collection of Dutch, English, Italian, and French masters in 36 galleries. Museum holdings span 50 centuries and include a complete room from a medieval French monastery. The Museum's collection consists of 35,000 pieces, including paintings, sculpture, photography, prints, decorative arts, and drawings. The Worcester Historical Museum, founded in 1877, maintains exhibits of American history and a library, and sponsors self-guided walking tours of the city. Changing exhibits and special programs highlight contributions of groups and individuals over the course of Worcester's history. The Higgins Armory Museum displays more than 100 suits of armor, part of the most comprehensive collection in the Western World and also hosts an annual renaissance fair.
Art galleries include Gallery 70 at the Heywood Gallery, which showcases emerging artists from the Boston area; the Fletcher/Priest Gallery, which focuses on contemporary art; and the Prince and Potter Gallery, which offers artwork and contemporary crafts. The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery on the campus of Holy Cross College attempts to link displays to the broad intellectual aims of the college's liberal arts curriculum. Arts Worcester is a private, non-profit organization that hosts satellite galleries and advocates for the arts in the Worcester region.
Arts and Culture Information: Worcester Cultural Commission, Office of Planning and Community Development, 418 Main St., Worcester, MA 01608; telephone (508)799-1400
Worcester's festival season begins with the Central Massachusetts Flower Show, sponsored by the local horticultural society in February and the Worcester Wine and Food Festival at Union Station, also in February. The show features 30 gardens and displays from 10 garden clubs. May brings a Craft Fair at the Worcester Craft Center, and the Worcester Spring Home Show. St. Mary's Albanian Orthodox Church and St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church jointly celebrate a festival in June. July is the time for fireworks during the Festival at East Park; the Sunday series played by the Central Massachusetts Symphony in Institute Park also takes place in July. The Annual Abbott's Mime Festival and the Worcester County Music Association Concert series both play in Institute Park in August. The Irish Festival at Quinsigamond College and the Boticelli Ball at Mechanics Hall are annual August events.
The Worcester County Music Association's Annual Music Festival in October, begun in 1858, is the oldest music festival in the United States. Entertainment includes symphonic programs, ballet, opera, choral music, and performances by individual artists. The Horticultural Hall hosts the Harvest Fest and Autumn Show while Mechanics Hall hosts the Black Debutantes' Ball. December brings a Christmas Lighting Parade and the First Night Celebration on New Year's Eve.
Worcester has a long sporting history, as the city was home to one of the eight original National League (baseball) teams and hometown of the author of Casey at the Bat. Today, the Worcester Tornadoes of the CanAm Professional Baseball Association play in Worcester at Fitton Field. The region's universities offer mens' and womens' varsity sports. Worcester's Centrum Centre offers events such as motocross races and has played host to preliminary rounds of the NCAA basketball and ice hockey tournaments. Boston, an hour's drive from Worcester, offers professional baseball, basketball, and hockey.
With 47 parks covering more than 1,200 acres, outdoor athletes can always find something to do in Worcester. Elm Park, near the city's center, was the country's first park purchased with tax money. It was renovated thanks to a $1.5 million state grant; its charm owes much to its ornamental bridges, under which skaters glide in winter. Other activities there include jogging, sunbathing, picnicking, tennis, and basketball. Both Elm Park and the Worcester Common, set aside as open space in 1669, are on the National Registry of Historic Places. Quinsigamond State Park is the city's largest and includes two beaches and facilities for picnicking, boating, and fishing. Green Hill Park, Worcester's largest public park, includes an 18-hole golf course, picnic groves, a skating pond, a little league field, handball courts ski run, and the Barnyard Farm and Educational Area petting zoo. A recent addition to Worcester's sporting scene is the "upscale" Boston Billiard Club. Worcester is conveniently located near the northern New England mountains, state parks, ski lodges, and bays and beaches. Golfing opportunities abound in the greater Worcester area.
A multitude of discount stores and factory outlets bring shoppers from miles around to Worcester and its neighboring towns. The bargain stores offer locally produced items such as clothing, shoes, and fabric. Greendale Mall, which boasts more than 54 shops and restaurants, features pseudo-Victorian brick and iron decor and is filled with plants and flowers under an atrium ceiling. Tatnuck Bookseller & Sons' expanded operation on Chandler Street displays 10,000 square feet of books in a new location that also features retail outlets and a cultural center. The Perkins Farm Marketplace is a community shopping center just north of the Massachusetts Turnpike. Worcester has many unique shops featuring the crafts and wares of local artisans. Antique shops are also plentiful in the Worcester area.
Worcester restaurants delight palates, whether serving sturdy New England fare in colonial settings or nouveau American cuisine in streamlined luxury. Ethnic food can be had as well, including Greek, Italian, Indian, and Jewish Kosher dishes. Legal Seafood Outlet offers more than 300 varieties of seafood. Shrewsbury Street, traditionally known for its Italian cuisine, has seen the opening of several new upscale restaurants. To the north of Worcester, the Nashoba Valley Winery offers a gourmet restaurant as well as a winemaking and distillation facility and a brewery; tastings are available throughout the week.
Visitor Information: Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02202; telephone (617)727-3201