The Shire of Worcester, Part the Second

From Dave Brigham:

Welcome to the second part of my Woostah Walkabout!

In the first segment, (see January 27, 2024, "The Shire of Worcester, Part the First"), I covered a lot of ground, and the same is true for this post (and the next one, and the one after that...). As I mentioned at the end of the first installment, after making a photo of the former Fraternal Order of Eagles building along Main Street, I headed south on Hermon Street. This led me into a manufacturing zone with loads of great old mill buildings, some of them still in use for industry and warehousing, many of them converted to new uses and others awaiting new lives.

I will start my coverage there and eventually work my way a little north and west along Chandler Street, before heading east on Main Street for a while.

The eye-catching sign for Abrasive Blasting & Coating is simple but it stood out enough for me to make a photo of it. The company has been in business since 1985, but hasn't been at this location for too long. Prior tenants included a string of auto-related businesses.

From there, I headed west on Beacon Street, into the heart of the so-called Lagrange Street Historic District, located between the railroad tracks to the south, Oread Street to the west, Main Street to the north and Hermon Street to the east. I say so-called, because while MACRIS uses the term, it's not an official City of Worcester designation. This area is known in some quarters as Main South, and others as the Beacon-Hermon Streets Manufacturing District, and still others as the Junction District.

I'm guessing that Main South and the Junction District were coined by developers or realtors, as this quadrant of the city has seen new apartments rise, and more will follow. It's always easier to sell people on an evolving neighborhood if you give it a hip, catchy name.

Whatever you want to call this district, at the corner of Beacon and Jackson streets stands a building currently occupied by Clark Mailing, which has been in business since 1963.

Built sometime between 1911 and 1922, according to MACRIS, this brick factory was originally used by the Atlas Die Casting Company. The building was constructed by the Estabrook family, which developed much of this area. Between Atlas Die and Clark Mailing, this building was occuped by Montrose Products, which moved out in 1958, according to a someone who commented about one of my photos in a Facebook group.

To say I was intrigued by the smokestack I spied while shooting the Clark Mailing building and its neighbor across Jackson Street would be a ginormous understatment.

Painted by artist Adam K. Fujita in August 2021 for Pow! Wow! Worcester, the vididly hued mural sits on the property of the Ivy Corset Building. The Ivy Corset Company at one time was one of the "almost 130 businesses either making, making supplies for, or selling corsets" in Worcester, according to the web site for an upcoming book by Ann Marie Murphy called City of Corsets.

Founded in 1904 as the Corset H Company, it was a woman-owned business at a time when that was incredibly rare. The owner, Mary Bowne, was originally from Ohio, but eventually moved to New York City and then Worcester, according to the City of Corsets web site. "Mary Bowne arrived in Worcester as a saleswoman for the Royal Worcester Corset Company but by year’s end she had launched the Corset H Company, located in a factory building two blocks from City Hall," according to a chapter description at the web site. "The company grew to overflow at its 8,000 square foot first location as its 'Ivy Corset' model became nationally famous. A family member comes to join her in Worcester and she focuses on marketing her popular product lines."

According to book author Murphy, a lot of the history of Worcester's corset-making industry had been forgotten, and she was driven to uncover it. "From the Worcester corset industry’s beginnings post-Civil War until the disappearance of corset production here completely in the 1980s...[i]t was a city filled with corsets."

Pretty cool project.

I headed a short way north up Jackson Street, where I spied a cool sign, which someday may be a mysterious ghost sign.

New Tradition Co. is a coffe shop and bakery. Evidently, Moto Coffee is one of its products.

I doubled back past the Ivy Corset Building and headed southwest on Beacon Street, where I found my next quarry.

Currently home to Bulbs.com, "the business lighting experts," 98 Beacon Street rose in the early 1890s as part of a growing manufacturing district "ideally situated just west of the major railroad junction formed by the Boston & Maine and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad (formerly the Western and the Norwich & Worcester Railroads)," according to MACRIS. "The area was active in the second half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries serving as a manufacturing center for a diverse set of industries in Worcester. It had a high concentration of industrial brick buildings," MACRIS continues. "These brick rental factories had to be built with flexible floor plans and large open volumes that could be partitioned as needed by the tenants."

Among 98 Beacon's earliest tenants, according to MACRIS, were the W. H. Warren Machine Tools Company; the Hutchins Machine company; the W. H. Warren Company, which manufactured large universal radial drills; the Massachusetts Machine Company, which manufactured cylindrical grinding of automobile crankshafts; Sleeper & Hartley, which designed built-automatic machinery for wire spring molding, spring coiling, nail manufacturing, grinding, hooking, and knotting; W.M. Steele Co. Machinists; the Worcester Ferrule and Manufacturing Co., which manufactured automobile hub caps that were hardened, polished and ready to assemble, and sheet metal fittings for automobiles; J. E. Snyder for upright drills, drill presses, and shuttle manufacturing; the Worcester Pressed Steel Co. for bicycle fittings and sheet metal stampings; Machine Screw Manufacturing; J. S. Wheeler, manufacturer of metal planers; and Robert G. Pratt for the manufacturing of quills, battens, and webbing looms."

There is a plan to redevelop this building and three others along LaGrange Street. In September 2021, the Worcester Planning Board approved developer Worcester Lagrange MM LLC's plan for 63 apartments, commercial space and parking areas, according to this Worcester Business Journal article. A 900-square-foot building will be demolished to make room for parking, but otherwise historical preservation is a project priority, according to the WBJ article. A Patch article from the previous month indicated that the project calls for preservation of an existing community farm in the neighborhood.

To be known as LaGrange Mill Lofts and include 68% affordable units, the project footprint will include three other buildings, shown below.

The beautiful old brick building at 35 LaGrange has, like many of its industrial neighbors, red plywood covering the windows. I love this look. Known historically as the P.E. Somers Tack and Nail Manufacturing Company, the complex rose in 1902. Later tenants included Diamond Tack and Nail and Viko Shoe Company, the latter of which manufactured corrective shoes for women, according to MACRIS.

This building is currently occupied (I think) by Sem-Tech, Inc., which manufactures ball valves for various uses. Below is an adjacent Sem-Tech building, another part of the proposed apartment development.

The Sem-Tech building is located at 47 LaGrange Street, which is known historically as the L.D. Thayer Manufacturing Company. MACRIS indicates this building rose in the early 1880s and was initially used by multiple companies before Thayer took over the expanding complex.

Finally, the building shown below, at 50 LaGrange Street, hard by the railroad tracks, is the final part of the project.

This place was originally home to the Harwood & Quincy Machine Co.

Speaking of railroad tracks...the bridge visible from the intersection of LaGrange and Jackson streets is quite dominant and impressive.

Known historically as the Pennsylvania Central Railroad Bridge, this load of iron "was apparently built for the B&A RR in 1912 as part of a large-scale, multi-railroad project to eliminate grade crossings in downtown Worcester," per MACRIS, "and to better handle all of the railroad liines serving the city by construction of...Union Station in Washington Square."

After making a photo of the bridge, I headed northwest up Jackson Street and checked out a massive former mill complex that's been redeveloped into apartments.

As I mentioned above, this area is known by some as the Junction District. That is due to this place, the former Junction Shop, which was developed by the aforementioned Estabrook family in stages in the late 19th century for a variety of tentants, according to MACRIS. One of the sections of the long brick building facing Beacon Street is described thusly by MACRIS: "76 Beacon is a three-storey (sic) brick building built between 1886 and 1896 (probably after 1892) when it was occupied by the Glasgo Thread Company. It is identical to [other] sections facing Beacon Street, all of which have flat roofs, corbelled cornices and crenellated parapets. Together these four structures present a single continuous facade along Beacon Street."

That continuous facade is quite impressive. The photos above show the west-facing facade of this complex, along Jackson Street. Those buildings date to the same rough time period, and were built for the Cereal Machine Company, according to MACRIS. The Cereal Machine Co." manufactured [its founder's] inventions which included the first shredded wheat biscuit, wheat-shred drink, granulated wheat shred, wheat-shred baby food and the machinery with which these various products were made," MACRIS continues.

Along Hermon Street is the main entrance into the housing complex now known as the Junction Shop Lofts.

These buildings include the Junction Shop, which was completed din 1851; an addition to the shop dating to around 1880 that was occupied at that point by Knowles Loom Works; a power plant building; and at least one other building that was part of the Cereal Machine operation. Junction Shop Lofts is comprised of "1-4 bedroom loft apartments [with] exposed brick and beams, original wood floors, soaring ceilings, and bright oversized windows," per the development's web site.

Across Hermon Street from the loft development's entrance is a white-washed brick building that appears to be vacant.

The front section was built between 1870 and 1878, according to MACRIS, and was occupied during that time by the Taber Organ Company. The rear portion of the building rose between 1896 and 1911. I didn't spy the very faded ghost sign on the building until after I'd gotten home and was editing my photos. I have no idea what it says.

On the wall of the newer portion of that building, along Beacon Street, are a few murals. I particularly like the one below.

I started to work my way north back toward Main Street. Along the way, I passed the former Worcester Boys' Club on Ionic Avenue.

The future home of Creative Hub Worcester -- plans call for artist studios, a makerspace, youth classes and workshops, high-quality childcare, exhibitions and an event space -- the Boys' Club building rose in 1915. Located across from an equally imposing Masonic Temple, the Classical Revival building was in use untnil 2006.

In the parking lot adjacent to the old Boys' Club, I spied the psychedelic STEM school bus.

Made me think of this:

The bus is located behind the old Hadley Furniture Company Building, which I will detail shortly.

From Main Street, I headed north on Chandler Street, where I was agog over the two apartment buildings seen below.

The St. Ives (left) and Vendome (uh, right) are "[o]utstanding examples of upper middle class high-rise apartment blocks built in Worcester around the turn of the century," MACRIS says. "The buildings were designed by the locally prominent architectural firm of Barker and Nourse and were built by Judson W. Hall, a local real estate agent and speculator active in the Chandler Street area from 1860 to 1910."

The Vendome is the older of the pair, constructed in 1898. The St. Ives dates to 1913-14, according to MACRIS.

Next door to the St. Ives (at least as of the summer of 2023, when I made this photo) is the Hovey Laundry Building.

Those red signs with white X's in them located on the facade are usually good indicators that a building is doing to be razed. Most recently home to O'Connell & Dickie, a moving company, the building dates to 1905, according to MACRIS. The original tenant was Hovey Laundry, which over the course of its business life "employed 175 persons and ran twenty-four trucks covering Worcester and outlying towns." The company went out of business in 1956. The moving company took over the space in the late 1970s.

In November 2021, the Worcester Business Journal reported that the old Hovey place "may be demolished depending on approval from the Worcester Historical Commission." After a foreclosure, the building was sold twice before L.A. real estate firm Benedict Canyon Equities purchase it for $1 million in January 2020, the article indicates.

Benedict Canyon Equities has nearly $4 billion in multi-family property assets and manages more than 13,000 residential units, per its web site. The company "submitted a request for demolition in October [2021]" and stated that "there were no economical uses of the existing structure," according to the WBJ article.

As of my visit in August 2023, the building was still standing.

(Main entrance to the old Hovey Laundry property.)

(Side view of the old Hovey Laundry property.)

I continued west-northwest along Chanlder Street until I reached the absolutely charming house of worship you see below.

Built sometime between 1890 and 1896, it was erected for a German Lutheran congregation. St. Andrew's Methodist Church acquired the building in 1924. According to MACRIS, St. Andrew's is one of the oldest Black congregations in Worcester. The Google Maps pin on this building indicates Faith Tabernacle Church, but I haven't found out anything about the congregation, other than that its Facebook page hasn't been updated since October 29, 2015.

The author of the MACRIS document sums up the attractiveness of this place this way: "Standing in quiet dignity, almost hidden between larger buildings, this well-preserved little church is a delightful surprise."

Crossing the street and heading back east-southeast, I spied not one, but two, ghost signs on the side of a building housing 7X Studio Barbershop and El Buen Sabor Restaurant.

I couldn't read this sign in person, nor once I'd edited the photo on my computer. After looking at it in Adobe Lightroom using a black-and-white filter and really pushing the settings, however, I was able to make out the name KEN JONES. This led me to Google, which indicated a tire seller by that name at this address. These days 73 Chandler Street is occupied by Spa Depot. I looked at previous dates on Google Street View and, lo and behold, I saw Ken Jones, Inc. Tire & Chain Distributor was here until a few years ago.

With the other sign, I can read it just fine, but I haven't been able to find out anything about Tony's Tuff 'n' Ruff Indian Grocery. I'd like to know more.

Heading back toward Main Street, I made a somewhat long-distance shot of the old Hadley Furniture Company Building, which I'd passed earlier.

Built in the 1920s, the Classical Revival building was originally home to Hadley Furniture and The Kay Jewelry Co. In 1964, David Burwick Furniture took over the space until 1996. These days the building is home to Creative Hub Worcester and other businesses, as well as 44 apartments.

(I've never seen a tile entryway with a clock sunk into it. Pretty cool.)

(Ghost sign on the rear of the Hadley building for David Burwick Furniture.)

From the corner of Main and Madison streets, I headed north-northeast along Main Street. A few blocks into my stroll, in front of the Dexter-Franklin Building, I spied a very cool "brass and terazzo apron sign" (thanks, Roadside Architecture, for the knowledge) for the long-gone Regal Shoe Store.

From Roadside Architecture: "The Regal Shoe Company was established in Boston in 1893 and operated its factory in Whitman, MA. The company opened hundreds of shoe stores nationally and globally. It was one of the most successful shoe companies in the world before it went bankrupt in 1922."

Amazing that more than a century after Regal went belly up, this remnant survives.

On the south side of Main Street, I couldn't ignore the Great Wall Restaurant sign and building, as well as the buildings around it.

The Great Wall building and the one to the right in the photo above are 521-525 Main Street. Known as the Holbrook-Sawyer Building/Cheney-Laugher Building, the pair date to the 1850s, according to MACRIS. The south portion "was either added or the entire building may have been rebuilt around 1923," MACRIS indicates.

As you can obviously tell, the Chinese restaurant has greatly altered its building with what appear to be metal panels. I don't know if the restaurant extends from the ground floor into the upper stories. As for the building to the right, it was most recently home to Alpha Travel Agency. I'm not sure if there are any active businesses there.

The building on the opposite side of the Great Wall is #517, and is known historically as the Cheney-Ballard Building.

"This structure is among the few Second Empire buildings remaining in downtown Worcester," MACRIS indicates. The red brick was added sometime between 2019 and 2023, based on Google Street View images over the several years.

In the shadow of the impressive city hall, at the corner of Front and Main streets, is fantastic Harrington Corner. That paint job is just outstanding.

From MACRIS: "After owning the property for twelve years, [William] Harrington had existing buildings removed from the lot and the present building built in 1850, at which time he moved his tavern to the new building. The home of a great variety of local businesses, including the city's first telephone switchboard, Harrington Corner remained in the possession of the Harrington Family into the twentieth century."

Current tenants include local businesses Crown Fried Chicken, Weston & Sampson and *cough cough* Dunkin'.

For my last two stops on this leg of the trip, I headed west on Pleasant Street for just a short distance. At 9-15 Pleasant sits the wonderful Odd Fellows Hall, shown in the foreground below.

"Built in 1880, the Odd Fellows Hall is an exceptional local example of Victorian Gothic architecture," according to MACRIS. It is "[t]he only commercial block of its style extant in Worcester....Although known locally as the Odd Fellows Hall, this block was never owned by the organization, but rather was owned jointly by Edwin Morse and Thomas Rogers. The building's upper floors were designed for and rented to the Odd Fellows at the time of the building's completion, while the first storey (sic) contained storefronts."

These days, the building is occupied by an insurance agency, a title company and likely other small businesses.

This post is almost done, so let's allow the fat lady to sing. The Odd Fellows' neighbor to the immediate west is a fortress-like former opera house and theater.

I assumed that the Lothrop Opera House's rather austere and severe facade was the result of changes made, or decorations stripped, in the years since its 1890 opening. But MACRIS tells me otherwise. "Faced with yellow/brown Roman brick, Lothrop's Opera House has an unusual, nearly unornamented facade. Rising four stories, the facade is dominated at its center by two recessed wall panels which terminate at the third storey (sic) in low, semi-elliptical lights; fenestration on either side of and above these panels is irregular. It is likely that much of the facade's severity and lack of windows results from the difficulty of fitting a theater onto the building's restricted site. Lothrop's Opera House is now the last nineteenth-century theater in Worcester."

"Over the years it presented drama and vaudeville, with stars such as Al Jolson & Charlie Murray appearing," according to Cinema Treasures. "By 1914 it was operating as a movie theatre named Pleasant Theatre. By 1926 it had been renamed Olympia Theatre [and] was operated by E.M. Loew’s Theaters Inc. as a movie theatre. It was later twinned and operated for many years as an adult film theatre, which closed in January 2006."

Pretty cool that the tile entryway likely dates back nearly 100 years. These days at least some of the space is filled by Dubai Restaurant & Lounge and Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Center. Cinema Treasures reports that the theater has been "de-twinned" and that "in 2019 there were proposals put forward to reopen as a music hall/bar & grill named Olympia Music Hall with a 999 seating capacity."

I'd love to see that happen!

Make sure to check back for the third part of my initial Worcester adventure, which will feature murals, a music venue, a former theater's empty (but very nice) space, a mall, some ghost signs, an old hotel and much more.