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42 W o r c e s t e r 3 0 0 : C i t y o f I n n o v a t o r s The decision to locate UMass Medical at the center of the state reflects the desirable logistics that Worcester has enjoyed since 1722. 1922-2021 In the third century, manufac- turing gave way to biotech Life sciences takes foothold in Worcester W orcester's bicentennial anniversary in 1922 dawned with an optimistic view of the city's place in the world. Why not? It was the advent of the Roaring '20s, with a flush of post-World War I prosperity in the city's highly concentrated manufacturing community, supported by a strong backbone of immigrant workers, both first- and second-generation, and more on the way. By 1922, Worcester had become urbanized. Trolleys and buses transported workers who lived just outside walking distance of their jobs, for example. But that can be seen as a symbol of the intra-city nature of Worcester's strength then. It was as if the city's vision did not extend outside city limits. Aided by wartime production. Worcester's role as a leading provisioner dated from the Civil War and then World Wars I and II. Workers in Worcester participated in the war efforts, as the fruits of their productivity had been exported all over the nation and then the world. e city's road and rail access, establishing it as an economic bulwark in the center of Massachusetts in the previous two centuries, were essentially le to exist as they had been. Unofficial lore indicates that this was by implicit design. Industry leaders, many of whom were active in city politics (some of them second- or third- generation participants), were reputed to want to keep the city's economy exactly as it was. Who could blame them if they did? It had worked so well for so long. e 1922 bicentennial topped a blockbuster 200 years in which leading local innovators had created something from next to nothing, oen at considerable risk, establishing economic-upward paths for not only themselves but for thousands of others. eir job creation had come out of genuine whole cloth – in some cases, literal, due to the technology innovations of textile and loom industries. en, the fabric started to fray. Aer the Civil War, regional textile manufacturers had begun moving south and then overseas to keep up with lower-cost global competition. At first, Worcester's steel and wire industry would be beset by numerous U.S. competitors in vigorous patent fights to protect its intellectual property. en, along came global competition in the 1970s from Asia, resulting in some of Worcester's long established wire companies either closing or becoming acquired. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which has from its 1865 inception been a prime nurturer of the An Abbive executive gives a tour of its Worcester lab.