Triple Decker Housing

Houses

Three-deckers are a unique element pertaining to Worcester’s environment. In the pre-1930’s, they were the dominate buildings. They represented an important part in Worcester’s industrial and urban growth that included the ethnic diversification, physical expansion, and population growth. Approximately 4000 remain today compared to the 6000 built over the fifty-year industrial development period of Worcester. Three-deckers allowed easy accessibility to streetcar lines so people could get to their inner city jobs. They were proficient multi-family housings for growing middle-class and working-class citizens. There are distinct architectural styles that these three-deckers were styled after, correlating with the time period they were built in: Italianate (pre-1895), Stick Style (pre-1895), Queen Anne (1890-1910), Colonial Revival (1900-1930), Gambrel (1900-1930), and Craftsmen (1925-1930). Three-deckers were built in a fashion that mimicked high style architecture. The construction of three-deckers ended in the early 1930’s with the onset of the Great Depression, marking the end of the city’s industrial and population growth.

These photographs are of 1 Summerhill Ave., Worcester, MA

unknown

Information from Gibson-Quigley, S., & Knowlton E. B. (Eds.). (1996). Worcester’s Best: A Guide to the City’s Architectural Heritage. 2nd Ed. Worcester: Preservation Worcester.

10-29-2009

Julie Tran

Three-Deckers by Julie Tran is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License

Swedish Cemetery

Cemeteries

The Swedish Cemetery was founded in 1885 by the Swedish pioneers of Worcester. It was formally dedicated on May 31, 1936 by the Swedish Cemetery Corporation of Worcester Massachusetts. The Swedish Cemetery is located on Webster Street, Worcester, MA.

Swedish Cemetery Corporation of Worcester Massachusetts

Founded 1885. Formally dedicated May 31, 1936

Elizabeth Chapman

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Our Lady of Angels Parish

Our Lady of the Angels Parish is a Roman Catholic Church located at 1222 Main Street in Worcester. The church was founded in 1916 by Bishop Thomas D. Beaven on the corner of Montague and Main Street. On October 8, 1916, the first mass was held by Fr. O’Connell and celebrated at the nearby Gates Lane School. In 1917, a barn on the church property was transformed into a temporary church. Because of the fast growing number of parishioners, the church acquired a nearby property in 1922 (This is where the church is currently located; a street down from the old church property). The cornerstone of the church was laid on June 19, 1927 and was said in the newspapers of the time that it was “one of the largest gatherings of Catholics in the history of Worcester”. On Christmas 1928, the first mass in the newly built church was held. The church is a Gothic style church and has been through a few major renovations and restorations since it was built. The church still offers daily masses and provides numerous services to the parishioners and residents of Worcester. Source: The History of Our Lady of the Angels Parish, 75th Anniversary Commemoration Book; written in 1991 for the church.

Bishop Thomas D. Beaven, Worcester Archdiocese

Parish founded 1916. Building constructed 1927.

Sarah Fulginiti

Higgins Armory

Buildings. museums

The Higgins Armory Museum evolved from a private collection of arms and armor from medieval and Renaissance Europe, Feudal Japan and ancient Greece and Rome into a world-renowned museum. The founder, John Woodman Higgins, a leading Worcester industrialist, spent a lifetime building his collection. In 1929, he constructed a four-story building to house it, and in the same year, received a charter for a museum of historical and modern metal artifacts.

In 1979 the Museum passed out of the hands of the Higgins family and into the control of a public governing board. The Board revised the original mission statement, hired its first professional director, and set out to create a new presence in the museum world, thereby asserting its claim to greater public support.

Cited from http://www.higgins.org/About/history.shtml

John Woodman Higgins

Built in 1929
Picture taken October 2009

Justin Choe

English

Normal School in 1900

Worcester Normal School, schools

This building is now the City View Elementary School on Prospect Street, but was once the Worcester Normal School building as in this 1900 photograph. It was built in 1874 as the state-funded teaching training school. The name of the school comes from the support of professional "norms" for teacher training. It offered two and three year programs of study in the training to become a public school teacher. The need for instructors in Worcester was dire in the late 19th century; the population of the city tripled between 1866 and 1894 to over 100,000. The Worcester Normal School played a great role durign this time in the success and knowledge of the community. The school grew over the years and was relocated to our school, Worcester State College, on the Chandler St campus.

Worcester Public Library local history files

1900

Cara Snyder

Independent Order of the Odd Fellows Monument

Statues, Monuments, Cemeteries

The Independent Order of the Odd Fellows is an organization that dates back to 17th century England. It was formed as a group to help the community, giving back to others and bettering the public. The organization came to America in 1819 and a home was built for members of the Worcester district in 1890 in Worcester. This monument was put together in 1929 for members of the Order, most likely the first set of members to Worcester. The monument shows the three linked chain symbol which represents the orders values, friendship, love, and truth. The monument gives great representation of the group, with many members buried in front and shows the effect that an organization can have on a community.

Source: The Sovereign Grand Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Winston-Salem, NC. 2008. (accessed. October 17, 2009). http://www.ioof.org/

Independent Order of Odd Fellows

1929

Stephanie Mullen

Odd Fellows Monument by Stephanie Mullen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License

"The Location of the Hoar Statue"

Statues, Momnuments

A portrait statue of Senator George F. Hoar, constructed by Daniel C. French, sits at the north side of City Hall facing Main Street in Worcester. Hoar practiced law in Worcester before entering politics. He was a fighter against political corruption, campaigned for the right of African Americans and Native Americans, and argued in favor of Women’s Suffrage. He died in Worcester in 1904, and shortly after his death, this statue was erected. The monument was thought by the article's author to be placed in the wrong position, therefore losing its dignity and importance.

The Worcester Magazine Illustrated (pages 215,216)
Published by Worcester Board of Trade

September 1908 issue

Cory Bishop

Public domain

English

Goddard House

Retirement homes

The Goddard House was built in 1918 in dedication to the memory of Dorrance Sibley Goddard and Mary Howe Williams Goddard by their son Harry Williams Goddard as a tribute to their example of industry, fidelity and sterling character. It is a place for retired citizens to live in an apartment style of housing. It is located on 1199 Main Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1983, the Goddard house collaborated with the Homestead Hall close by and from then on, offered care at both facilities. Until 1989, the Goddard House was used only for elderly men. Harry Goddard was the cousin of Robert Goddard, who was the first creator of rockets.

Harry Williams Goddard

Jackie Slack

Built in 1918, picture taken in October, 2009

Cathedral of Saint Paul

Churches

Nestled on the corner of High Street and Chatham, stands the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Its magnificent marbled-gray granite facade with arched, dark-wooden doorways, and ornamented stained glass windows are reminiscent of Gothic architecture. The cathedral’s tower crests to the sky at ninety-six feet and commanders most of High Street as it stretches sixty-eight feet long and splays ninety-one feet wide.

In the late nineteenth-century, as the number of Catholics in Worcester increased, Father John J. Power saw the need for another Catholic church. Plans to build were delayed as the initial location was rejected and neighbors of the second choice of community were apprehensive about an encroachment upon their properties. Once the High Street location was accepted and agreed upon, construction began in 1868.

On July 4, 1869, upon completion of the basement, the first Archbishop of Boston, John Joseph Williams, celebrated the inaugural mass at Saint Paul’s. Five years later in 1874, the remainder of the cathedral was established. The final construction of the cathedral commenced in 1889 when the tower was augmented.

Today, one-hundred and forty years after celebrating its first mass, the Cathedral of Saint Paul is a reaffirmation to its faithful following. Its beauty is reflected with its fortress-like strength coupled with its intricate old-world design, and is even more life affirming through the numerous ceremonies that are held within. It was utilized as a sanctuary and safe-haven for the masses of immigrants arriving in this host city in the late 1800’s, and it has sustained their faithful ancestors for generations. The Cathedral of Saint Paul is a remarkable testament for the vivacious, industrious, and historic city of Worcester.

Father John J. Power
Archbishop John Joseph Williams

Kerri Bichekas

Cathedral of Saint Paul is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Hanover Theater

Theaters

The original structure of the theatre was built in 1904. It was formally known as the Franklin Square Theatre, and after that, the Grand Theatre. Over the years it was constructed into a 3,000 seat theatre with elaborate paintings and architecture. In 2002 the restoration of the present day Hanover Theatre began, and now just eight years and $31 million later this theatre represents a historical beauty.

Erin Harvey

The Hanover Theatre photograph by Erin Harvey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License