10 Harding Green
Congratulations!
So glad to be part of this project.
torn down; entire sections of neighborhoods in
the Water, Green and Harding Streets area dis-
appeared.
Census records indicated that in June 1920,
nearly 100 Jewish families were living in the
Newton Square area. By 1942, the Jewish pop-
ulation was evenly distributed between the East
and West sides of Worcester. A population study
15 years later found only 17 percent of the Jew-
ish population resided on the East side. By 1984,
only one person was listed in the census as a res-
ident on Water Street.
Infrastructure changes further led to decline in the Canal District.
Automobile traffic surged, prompting new road construction and the
nationwide flight to suburbia. In the late 1950s, Interstate 290 was com-
pleted, cutting through the Water Street district. Many houses and
apartments were
torn down to make way for the new highway. Walk-in
traffic declined and few businesses remained; two bakeries, a Jewish
delicatessen and a couple of hardware stores sat among vacant lots.
By the 1960s, this once flourishing area of Worcester had become
neglected and rundown. Shifting trends and changing times had tak-
en its toll on what had been a bustling Jewish community and refuge
for immigrants. n
Arkus Pharmacy at
97 Water Street, 1983.
