Click or tap on any of the sites on the map to read details and to take a quick or extended audio tour.
1. Union Station – Washington Square
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Extended Audio:
Union Station – Washington Square
Built in 1911 of white glazed terracotta, Union Station is a powerful symbol of Worcester at the height of its industrial prosperity. This Beaux Arts Classical style building is modeled after the ancient Basilica of Maxentius in Rome, but with the addition of two ornate baroque-style towers that break the skyline as they rise high above the main facade. Inside, the station's grand hall is one of the city's most dramatic interior spaces – with a soaring vaulted ceiling, stained glass skylights, ornate plasterwork, and marble trim.
Extended version - Brief History
11. Heywood Boot & Shoe Company, Wachusett Building, 68-80 Winter Street
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Heywood Boot & Shoe Company, Wachusett Building, 68-80 Winter Street
This factory was built in 1879 for the Heywood Boot & Shoe Company. Boot and shoe manufacturing was Worcester’s third largest industry.
Extended version - Harding and Winter Street Manufacturing District
2. St. John’s Church and Rectory, Temple Street
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St. John’s Church and Rectory, Temple Street This mid-19th-century Greek Revival style church was built by the first Roman Catholic parish in central Massachusetts.It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Extended version - Worcester’s First Catholic Priest and the College of theHoly Cross.
4. The Cove Music Hall
Audio Tour:
91 Green Street - The Cove Music Hall. Hear about some of the notable bands that have played in clubs at this site and put this building on the “map.”
5. Ash Street School
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Ash Street School – 4 Ash Street
Built in 1850, this is the second oldest surviving school building in Worcester.
Extended version - Early Childhood Home of Poet Laureate, Stanley Kunitz
3. John T. Cahill House
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John T. Cahill House, 42 Green Street
This building was once a grand mansion completed in 1852 as the home of an Irish-born railroad contractor.
Extended version - Irish Community Leader, Tobias Boland
5. Father Matthew's Mutual Benevolent Total Abstinence Society
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Extended Audio:
Father Mathew Hall (White Eagle Building) – 116-120 Green Street
Originally home to an Irish temperance society, this building is now owned by a Polish social club.
Extended version - Irish Temperance Societies
7. Crompton Loom Works
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Crompton Loom Works – 132-142 Green Street
This factory was built in 1860, for the manufacture of textiles and looms. It is one of the oldest surviving factory buildings in Worcester.
Extended version - Homes of George Crompton and Playwright S.N. Behrman
10. Worcester Stained Glass Works
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82-88 Winter Street
Built around 1898, this building has housed a variety of businesses. One of the first was Worcester Stained Glass Works upstairs at No. 88.
Extended version - Anarchist Emma Goldman and Ice Cream
9, J.H, & G.M. Walker Shoe Company
Audio Tour:
J.H. & G.M. Walker Shoe Company 28 Water Street
This factory was built for the J.H. & G.M. Walker Shoe Company in 1870. This company is considered to be the “Father” of most of Worcester’s 23 other late-19th century boot and shoe manufacturers.
8. W. H. Hill Envelope Company
Audio Tour:
W.H. Hill Envelope Company, 48 Water Street
This factory was built for the W.H. Hill Envelope Company in 1890. Envelopes were Worcester’s second largest industry. This building can be viewed from both the Water Street side and the Harding Street side, where the loading docks were.