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"