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www.wbjournal.com Book Of Lists 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 59 Top tourist attractions Ranked by annual attendance, 2014 Name 2014 attendance No. of employees Description Chief executive Year founded 1 DCU Center 50 Foster St., Worcester 01608 508-755-6800 • www.dcucenter.com 505,917 N/A Arena and convention center Sandra Dunn General manager 1982 2 Southwick's Zoo 2 Southwick St., Mendon 01756 800-258-9182 x 210 • www.southwickszoo.com 500,000 N/A More than 150 species of wild animals; educational presentations, rides, picnic grounds, food and gift venues; events for large and small groups Justine A. (Southwick) Brewer President 1963; incorporated in 1965 3 Wachusett Mountain Ski Area 499 Mountain Rd., Princeton 01541 978-464-2300 • www.wachusett.com 424,000 1 30 2 Ski mountain open year-round for private events, weddings, summer outings and business meetings Jeff Crowley President 1934 4 Old Sturbridge Village 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd., Sturbridge 01566 800-733-1830 • www.osv.org 262,117 N/A 200-acre living history museum depicting a 19th-century New England rural farm village James E. Donahue President & CEO 1946 5 The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts 2 Southbridge St., Worcester 01608 877-571-7469 • www.thehanovertheatre.org 208,898 25 Consistently ranked by Pollstar as one of the top 50 theaters in the world. Offers entertainment including Broadway shows, music and more. Troy Siebels President & CEO 2008 3 6 Mechanics Hall 321 Main St., Worcester 01608 508-752-5608 • www.mechanicshall.org 200,000 11 Hosts classical, jazz, folk, blues and world music performances and community events Robert M. Kennedy Executive director 1857 7 EcoTarium 222 Harrington Way, Worcester 01604 508-929-2700 • www.ecotarium.org 144,756 53 4 Museum of science and nature, with hands-on exploration, live animals, planetarium, year-round public programs, special events and changing exhibits Joseph P. Cox President 1825 8 Nashoba Valley Winery 100 Wattaquadock Hill Rd., Bolton 01740 978-779-5521 • www.nashobawinery.com 125,000 N/A Family-owned orchard, vineyards, winery, brewery, distillery, wine sensory gardens and gourmet restaurant set on 52 acres with a wine and gift shop Richard Pelletier 1978 9 Tower Hill Botanic Garden 11 French Dr., Boylston 01505 508-869-6111 • www.towerhillbg.org 101,444 60 Year-round museum of plants on 132 acres owned and operated by the Worcester County Horticultural Society; special events, cafe and gift shop Katherine F. Abbott Executive director 1842 10 Worcester Art Museum 55 Salisbury St., Worcester 01609 508-799-4406 • www.worcesterart.org 86,226 5 233 6 Houses art from over 50 centuries, including paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, prints, drawings, arms and armor and new media Matthias Waschek Director 1896 11 Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field 1 College St., Worcester 01610 N/A • www.hanoverinsurancepark.com 54,136 N/A Home of Worcester Bravehearts (www.worcesterbravehearts.com) and the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders 2005 12 Danforth Art 7 123 Union Ave., Framingham 01702 508-620-0050 • www.danforthart.org 40,000 N/A Art museum and school encouraging visitors to experience art through exhibitions, educational programs and studio art classes Debra Petke 1975 13 Worcester Historical Museum 30 Elm St., Worcester 01609 508-753-8278 • www.worcesterhistory.org 22,000 13 Museum and library dedicated to collecting and preserving shared experience of the Worcester community through exhibitions and public programs William Wallace Executive director 1875 14 Garden in the Woods (New England Wild Flower Society) 180 Hemenway Rd., Framingham 01701 508-877-7630 • www.newenglandwild.org 16,000 25 8 45-acre native plant botanic garden; largest landscaped collection of native plants in Northeast; headquarters of New England Wild Flower Society Debbi Edelstein Executive director Society 1900; Garden 1931 15 Museum of Russian Icons 203 Union St., Clinton 01510 978-598-5000 • www.museumofrussianicons.org 15,793 8 With close to 700 icons, museum is the largest private collection of Russian icons outside Russia. Kent Russell CEO & curator 2006 16 Vaillancourt Folk Art 9 Main St., Ste. 1-H, Sutton 01590 508-476-3601 • www.valfa.com 13,590 18 Producer of highly detailed, hand-painted collectible chalkware figurines from antique molds Gary Vaillancourt, President Luke M. Vaillancourt, Director, digital marketing 1984 Source: Individual attractions. N/A = Not Available. Note: Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park resort in Fitchburg, did respond to the survey and would have likely made the print list but does not release attendance figures. It is ranked at the bottom in the full version of the list. 1 Number from Nov. 2013 - Oct. 2014 includes ski season and festival season 2 In season 1,100 3 Opened in March 2008 4 22 full time, 24 part time, 7 part-time auxiliary 5 FY 2014 (Sept. 2013-Aug. 2014) 6 Full time: 73, part time:160 7 Organization did not respond to survey. Data are from 2013. 8 Also, 12 seasonal employees - Compiled by: Roger Magnus, rmagnus@nebusinessmedia.com