Saturday, July 19, 2025

The Shire of Worcester, Part the Seventh

From Dave Brigham:

For my previous Worcester post, I trekked along Shrewsbury Street, just east of Union Station, thrilled to realize I was in the city's Italian-American neighborhood (see July 5, 2025, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the Sixth"). During the same trip, I dipped south on the other side of the railroad tracks and yards and checked out an industrial area with some interesting businesses and a tragic past.

Regular readers of the blog might recognize this building. I featured it in my first Worcester post (see January 27, 2024, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the First"). I couldn't resist making a few more shots of this old factory complex. As I mentioned in that post, in September 2013, the city's planning board cleared the way for potential redevelopment of some of the buildings in this area. Twelve years later, however, nothing has happened.

I also made a photo of a few other buildings in the area, as well as a large open space.

I knew from doing some online research before this latest trip to Wootown this general area was where one of the city's most tragic events in recent memory had taken place. On December 3, 1999, six Worcester firefighters died battling a massive fire in a warehouse. They "lost their lives while attempting to rescue people they thought were trapped inside the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse building on Franklin Street," according to this WGBH article marking the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

I remember this event well. It was huge news not only in Worcester and Massachusetts, but across the United States. I assumed the open space was where the Worcester Cold Storage warehouse had once stood. If I had been more thorough with my research, I would've realized that the site was actually where there now stands the Franklin Street Fire Station, just to the west of where I made my photos.

From that somber site I made my way east to Suffolk Street.

Across from a late-19th century factory complex (which I will discuss shortly), I spied Cicero's Cafe, which a few sources online refer to as a biker bar.

I haven't knowingly photographed any biker bars for this blog. I wish there had been at least one Harley or Indian out front the day I walked by. I had no idea while on my adventure, but this joint is semi-famous. A scene from the 2023 movie "Confess Fletch" was shot inside the bar, according to this article (with accompanying video). Jon Hamm and John Slattery drink in the bar, shown in the trailer below (at the 1:12 mark):

Pretty cool.

Now back to that factory.

I'm so used to seeing factories that have either been a) abandoned or b) converted to condos, that I was shocked to see that the former Graton and Knight Company buildings are occupied by aerospace outfit David Clark Company. Established in 1941, the firm manufactures space suits for NASA, pressure suits for the Air Force, headsets for pilots and many other such contraptions.

As for Graton and Knight, that company was founded in 1861 and manufactured leather belting for industrial uses here until 1962. This factory dates to 1893.

The same industrial complex is home to Westerman Store & Restaurant Equipment, which has been in business since 1959.

In a separate but attached building is the former home of Come Play Products, a toy maker founded in 1948, per this Wordpress blog article.

The founder, Israel Freelander, "was committed to hiring people with physical and mental disabilities, and in 1966 he was named Employer of the Year by the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and the National Association of Manufacturers," per the blog post. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

Across Suffolk Street from the former Come Play entrance is a bar that I knew from advanced research I absolutely needed to make photos of.

Vincent's Bar seems like a great place: "best meatball sub," according to one of my Instagram followers; live music; entertainment in the backyard, where there is a cabin of some sort, per the same IG person. And that sign - hoo boy is it great!

The building dates to 1875, per the Worcester assessor's office. I don't know how long Vincent's has been in business. I'm guessing there has been a watering hole here for generations.

The last feature on this leg of my trip (stay tuned for part eight, which is the final installment covering this jaunt) is a great mural on the back wall of Northeast Precious Metals and Coins.

Located where Franklin, Suffolk and Norfolk streets meet, NPMC was established in 2007. The company "provides precious metal buying and selling services, coin buying and selling services, and e-scrap services," per its web site.

I'm a sucker for all things money, so I was psyched to see the mural's artist, whose name I have yet to find online, included some classic coins, as well as images from the periodic table.

For the previous installments in this series, see below:

November 16, 2024, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the Fifth"

April 13, 2024, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the Fourth"

February 10, 2024, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the Third"

February 3, 2024, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the Second"

Saturday, July 5, 2025

The Shire of Worcester, Part the Sixth

From Dave Brigham:

Benvenuti all'ultimo post su Worcester!

For this latest installment of my ongoing series about Woostah, Mass., I trekked through the eastside, the heart of the city's Italian-American community. I wasn't aware of that designation when I set out along Shrewsbury Street, but I figured it out quickly enough.

Located on Muskeego Street, just southeast of Shrewsbury St., near several industrial properties and large empty lots, the Biscee Club was founded as a mutual benefit society for the Italian-American population, as far as I can tell from the limited information I found online. Evidently it's no longer an active social club.

Around the corner on Shrewsbury Street is Franchi Brothers Auto Body, which has been in business since 1936.

I dig the signage, which looks like it's well taken care of.

I continued west along Shrewsbury Street, stopping at the entrance to Cristoforo Colombo Park. Of course, Cristoforo Colmbo is the Italian spelling of Christopher Columbus. Stone griffins flank each side of the main entrance to the park.

They're quite impressive. MACRIS says the artist was Charles McCann and that the sculptures date to 1874.

So, let's learn a bit about this neighborhood.

"New York has Little Italy. Boston has the North End. Worcester has Shrewsbury Street," states this September 2015 article at Pulse magazine's web site. "Shrewsbury Street became the home of Italian immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century," the article continues. "Today, roughly 13 percent of all residents in and around Shrewsbury Street are of Italian descent. The Italians brought their culture and love of food to Worcester and opened the fresh food markets that would eventually evolve into the swath of restaurants locals know and love."

While there are plenty of Italian sites along Shrewsbury Street, other Mediterranean countries are also represented.

Meze Estiatorio is a restaurant owned by "first generation Worcester natives serving what we know so well; authentic, unadulterated Greek food," per its web site. The mural may have been done by someone from Artifakt Studios, a collective that completed a painting inside the eatery.

I featured Artifakt in a previous Worcester post (see February 10, 2024, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the Third"). Also check out the other four installments that preceded this one: Part V, Part IV, Part II and Part I.

In the main entryway to 156 Shrewsbury Street, currently occupied by Root & Press, a cafe and bookstore outfit, I spied another hint of the neighborhood's past.

This space has been occupied by restaurants for many years. I suppose deMarco could have been an eatery or perhaps a market a long time ago.

A few doors down, on the north side, heading west, is the Parkway Diner.

I like the Red Sox font but I'm not crazy about the look of this place. Serving breakfast, lunch and drinks from the bar, the Parkway has been expanded a few times, I believe, since opening in the 1930s as a traditional Worcester Lunch Car Company diner. There is a more traditional-looking diner across Shrewsbury Street that I will discuss below.

At the major intersection of Shrewsbury and East Central streets stands Pampas Brazilian Steakhouse, which is located in the former D'Errico's Market building. I'm unsure whether D'Errico's runs its butcher shop, which opened in 1947, from another location.

On the side of 102-116 Shrewsbury Street -- aka the Zamarro Block -- I found an old sign that had me scouring the Internet, breaking out my magnifying glass and fine-tuning my photo-editing software.

The building, which was built in 1911, was "[i]mportant in the life of Worcester's Italian community throughout the first half of the 20th century," according to MACRIS. Constructed by Carmine Zamarro, who owned a bank on Shrewsbury St., this block housed businesses such as an Italian-language newspaper, several Italian doctors, a dry goods store, bakeries, a shoe shop, a restaurant and many more, MACRIS continues.

I tried my best to decipher the ghost sign but had no luck.

Near the western end of Shrewsbury Street, across from the railyards serving Union Station, is a fantastic old building, the likes of which I haven't seen in such great condition.

Currently home to Wormtown Brewery and Volturno Pizza, the former Worcester Buick Co. showroom looks amazing from the outside. I'm guessing the interior is no less fantastic.

Opened in 1922 from a design by architect Arthur Hunnewell Bowditch, whose notable projects include Boston's Paramount Theatre and Myles Standish Hall (now a Boston University dorm), the building served as a Buick and GMC dealership until 1961.

"The Worcester Buick building is Worcester's only unaltered example of the 'grand' automobile showroom," according to MACRIS. "The slightly earlier F. S. Howard Showroom (1918) on Main Street is little altered but not as elaborate or imposing as this. The 'grand' M. E. Tuller Showroom (1928-1929) on Park Avenue has been altered. Because of its excellent state of preservation and because its relative opulence recalls an era when the automobile was still a luxury, this building is important in the history of the automobile in Worcester."

I've mentioned Bowditch in posts about Boston's Downtown Crossing area (see April 12, 2020, "Crossing Through More of Boston's Downtown"), the Newton Corner neighborhood (see December 31, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part XI: Newton Corner (Section 3)") and Brookline (see March 13, 2014, "What's in a Named Building? (Part 2)").

I have written about old car dealerships before. In the summer of 2018, Google Maps led me to an old Saab business once run by author Kurt Vonnegut (see October 24, 2018, "A Literary Icon, a Naval Celebrity & a Stern Warning About Micturation"). Earlier this year I mentioned a place that's currently home to a market in Everett, Mass., that was originally a Chevrolet dealership, followed up by a BMW showroom (see May 3, 2025, "Kicking Around Downtown Everett"). In 2024, I included a former Willy's dealership in my write-up about Somerville's Davis Square (see November 2, 2024, "It's Hip to Be Davis Square").

Next door to the old Buick dealership is another well-preserved old building.

I haven't found any background on this place. It is currently home to Carbonneau Bridal and Formalwear, as well as Keller Williams Realty.

At this point, I doubled back, heading east on Shrewsbury Street. At the intersection with East Worcester Street, I was impressed by a restaurant's large sign.

Via Italian Table says on its web site that it has been "acclaimed Worcester’s best Italian restaurant and most romantic restaurant in recent media polls." Along with other businesses, the eatery is located in a former Worcester public schools maintenance facility (!).

Built in 1905, the building is the gateway to a few other municipal buildngs I made photos of.

The Worcester Public Works building on East Worcester Street dates to 1920. It is located on the property of the former Pine Meadow Burial Ground, according to MACRIS.

Next door is the headquarters of the Worcester Sewer Department.

Built in 1932, the sewer department building, according to MACRIS, replaced a wood-frame structure belonging to Darling Brothers, which I'm assuming was a construction company.

Back out on Shrewsbury Street, I knew in advance that I needed to check out a few places, starting with Wonder Bar Pizza.

Opened in 1922, Wonder Bar was closed at some point in the last decade, I believe. But new owners brought it back to life. My photo doesn't do the sign justice. It is truly wunderbar!!

Continuing northeast, I arrived at the spot that was my inspiration for checking out this neighborhood: the Boulevard Diner.

Now THAT's a diner, right?!

Built by the Worcester Lunch Car Company some time between 1934 and 1936, the Boulevard is in the popular barrel-roof style that diner guru Richard Gutman has called "the VW Beetle of diners," according to MACRIS. "Additional distinguishing features seen here are the Art Deco neon roof cresting with illuminated central clock and the striped metal facade awning," MACRIS continues. "Both were probably added in the 1940's or 1950's. A brick structure was added at the rear sometime before 1957."

Claims have been made, but not substantiated, MACRIS adds, that the Boulevard is the oldest continuously operated diner in the United States.

Across Plum Street from the diner, I spied a nice old bank entryway.

Now occupied by an Italian restaurant named Piccolo's, 157 Shrewsbury Street dates to around 1890 and was originally home to a grocery store and apartments. MACRIS picks up the story: "About 1917 the store became the real estate office of Laraia and Ermilio. The principals in this firm were Gennaro Laraia and Pompeo Ermilio. Laraia, among the city's earliest Italian settlers, had come to Worcester from Italy in 1878. Ermilio was born in Anzi (Potenza), Italy. In 1900, he came to the United States, settling first in Philadelphia and coming to Worcester about 1915. Laraia, who had begun his real estate business about 1912, took Ermilio as his partner about 1917 when his daughter, Catherine, and Ermilio were married....About 1924, or perhaps earlier, the business was expanded to include banking services for the Italian community in the surrounding neighborhood."

So cool that the entryway has been preserved.

Across Shrewsbury Street, next to the Greek restaurant mentioned above, is the East Side Improvement Club.

I haven't found anything about this club online, as is often the case with these neighborhood joints. I'm guessing it was founded a long time ago to help out new immigrants from Italy.

Back on the south side of Shrewsbury Street, across from the entrance to the previously mentioned park, I spied a date of 1925 and a difficult to read name at #179.

Occupied by Invidium Salon / Hair by Eva, this place was originally occupied by Reliable Auto Radiator, per MACRIS. "By 1930 the Arthur S. Manzi Motor Co. was in business. By 1934 the building housed and (sic) auto repair business, trucking Co. (sic) and Arthur S. Manzi Funeral Home Inc. The Funeral Home eventually took over the entire building."

I was impressed by the entrance to 225 Shrewsbury Street, home to Mexicali Cantina Grill.

My photo doesn't give the feel of this place, which is a large rectangular building with fancy flourishes at the roofline, looking like it dates to the 1920 or 1930. I suspected it was once an auto dealership, and I was right.

Lawless Cadillac-Pontiac was located here from at least 1961 to 1979, from what I've found online. I'm not sure if the place was built as a dealership.

OK, I'm wrapping up this installment in my ongoing Worcester series with an underwhelming building, using the theory of leave the audience wanting more....

I made that photo of #252 because I am a sucker for coin dealers. Unfortunately, Rare Metals, which dealt in jewelry, diamonds, gold, silver and coins, appears to be out of business. Make sure to check for the seventh, eighth and ninth posts about Worcester, covering a biker bar with a Hollywood connection, a factory that makes spacesuits, great ghost signs, murals, a place called Smoke 'n' Munch, a diner-slash-live event venue and much more.

The Shire of Worcester, Part the Seventh

From Dave Brigham: For my previous Worcester post, I trekked along Shrewsbury Street, just east of Union Station, thrilled to realize I wa...