14 City of Worcester: 300 Years
Although not adopted, the plan inspired a response from the Worcester
Redevelopment Authority, which, in June 1965, created plans for a
$30 million complex on 24 acres to be completed in five years. At the
time, the project was described as "… the only alternative; the choice
is simple - we can take advantage of urban renewal and attack the
cancer in the heart of our city, or we can watch the city decline into
oblivion while communities around us, such as Framingham, Natick,
and Westborough, prosper." And so, work began, 90 historic buildings
came down, and a brighter future was predicted for downtown. With
the opening of Worcester Center, the July 25, 1971 Sunday Telegram
wrote, "With the hope of many, another story about the center is a
bigger, brighter long story is just beginning."
Fifty years later, the shopping mall is history, and what was once
the heart of Worcester commerce has been replaced by residences,
apartments, and condos close by Union Station to address the needs
of an evolving commuter population. Once a city of "tools and spools,"
Worcester has become a city of "eds and meds," building on the arrival
of UMass Medical School in the 1960s and the continuing growth of
Worcester in a world of biotechnology, the internet, and redefined
industrial borders. n
Megan Blomgren Burgess
William Wallace
Covering the Blackstone Canal in Worcester, circa 1890. With the coming of the
railroads the canal was obsolete, and the stone lined trenches were eventually
arched over in the urban center.
source: Worcester Historical Museum
Heart of the Commonwealth
With 300 years under its belt, who
knows what the future holds for
the City of Worcester. Some say it's
experiencing its renaissance right now.
Jonathan Cohen
