A Short Hitch in Fitchburg

From Dave Brigham:

In the spring of 2022, a friend and I went to the Fitchburg Art Museum to see an exhibit called American Roadsides: Frank Armstrong's Photographic Legacy. I had never heard of Armstrong before stumbling across mention of the show, but I could tell from the write-up on the musuem's web site, that he was a kindred soul - and a quite talented one at that.

Check out the video below from Clark University, where Clark served as a photography professor from 1999 to 2021. In it, he talks about his photos and his approach to life. "Photography was the excuse," he says in the video. "I was really going out there to be in that country."

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit, which featured plenty of gorgeous images of the sort that I make of small towns and medium-sized cities alike. I totally connect with Armstrong's sentiment about using photography as an excuse to explore the world. I haven't traveled outside of the United States much, but I've made up for that a little bit by going on adventures in cities and towns in New England, largely in Greater Boston.

I had never been to the museum, nor to Fitchburg, so the opportunity to check out a new city while peeping some great art really appealed to me. After our museum visit, my friend and I went looking for a place to eat. We ended up at the Moran Square Diner, which looked amazing from the outside, and served good food in a hip atmosphere.

Ever since that trip, I'd wanted to get back to Fitchburg. In late September of 2025, I made that trip, and of course my first stop was the diner.

Below are a few images I made back in 2022:

How about that shiny enamel facade?! And the lettering for the name of the diner, and the remnant of what I imagine was once a very cool neon sign?!

Below is a shot of the interior:

LPs above the counter - never seen that before, and I loved it. Miles Davis, Real Estate and the Postal Service. Eclectic and smart choices. The owners, Brittany and Adam Willoughby, launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2021, looking to raise funds to restore the diner and add new features, such as a deck in front and a refurbished sign. "The diner was built in 1939 by The Worcester Lunch Car Company and has remained open until 2018 when it was permanently closed," the Kickstarter page indicated.

I knew none of this when I ate there; I'd just happened upon the place and insisted to my friend that we had to eat there.

I'm not sure what happened between my first visit to the diner and my second. This eatery is now known as Royal Chicken. Based on the menu available online, it appears to be a Middle Eastern affair.

Below are images I made in September 2025:

I was saddened to see the beautiful Moran Diner script sign covered up. This happens a lot with these historic diners, which change hands and names every so often. I didn't go inside. I hope the counter and booths are intact.

From there I headed west along Main Street. In relatively short order I walked past a trio of ghosts of retail past.

The top one looks like it says "MILLER'S." I found mention of Rome's on a Fitchburg-oriented Facebook group, but nothing about Miller's or a store called Lewis. I'm always happy to stumble across these old tile entryways.

Speaking of stumbling...let's check out the Rollstone Boulder!

I walked past all sorts of old buildings, some in good shape, others not, some with ground-floor tenants, others not. I checked out a ghost sign I'd learned about in my pre-search, but it was too faded to interest me. Then, at the top of the Upper Common, located in a showcase triangle where Main Street splits to the west of downtown, I spied a GIANT ROCK.

The Rollstone Boulder was "carried by the last glacier from Mt. Monadnock New Hampshire to the summit of the hill whose name commemorates it," according to a plaque on the big stone. Rollstone Hill is situated about three-quarters of a mile southwest of this spot.

The boulder "was for centuries a land mark to Indian and settler," the plaque's text continues. "Threatened with destruction by quarrying operations, it was saved by popular subscription, and reassembled here, 1929-1930."

I have to say I find that story fascinating and inspiring. The stone weighs 110 tons and is made of porphyritic granite.

A few doors down Main Street, heading west, I was taken by the groovy sign and sad facade for The Recovery Room.

The upholstery store has been closed for quite some time. I noticed the peaked roof sticking out above the brick building, but didn't think much about it. MACRIS tells us that the original part of this building dates to 1833 and was at its completion the city's first Baptist church.

On the side of the former house of worship is a cool old sign.

Littlehale + Fisher was a construction contractor. I'm not sure what years the company was in operation.

Around the corner, heading southeast on Main Street is another former church building.

Built in 1797 (!), this was Fitchburg's second meeting house. It was originally located near the corner of Main and Prospect streets, near where the Unitarian Church now is, according to MACRIS. "When the affairs of the church and town were divided, the meeting house was moved to its present location."

A few doors down, on the side of the historic Joslin House where both The Break Bicycle Shop and The Boulder Cafe (established in 1934) are located, is a massive promotional poster for the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, an annual bike race.

From Wikipedia: "The race was founded in Fitchburg...in 1960, as the Arthur M. Longsjo Jr. Memorial Bicycle Race, in memory of Fitchburg native and resident Art Longsjo. In 1956 Longsjo competed in the Winter Olympics as a speed skater and at the Summer Olympics as a cyclist, making him the first American to compete in Summer and Winter Olympic Games in one year. In 1958, Longsjo perished in a car crash in Vermont, while driving home after winning the 180-mile long Quebec-Montreal Road Race."

In 1991, "the race expanded to a four-day stage race format, which continued through 2010," Wikipedia continues. "Stages included a time trial, a circuit race on a 3-mile loop in the Fitchburg State University area, a road race in Princeton and Westminster that finished atop Mount Wachusett, and the traditional downtown Fitchburg criterium. As a stage race, the event was one of the largest pro-am bicycle stage races in the country and part of the various national calendar races of the period."

The race was canceled in 2011 and 2012, but revived in 2013. The final race was held in 2019.

At 781 Main Street is the Phoenix Building, a Renaissance Revival building completed in 1893 for the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Co.

Today, the building is occupied by the Fitchburg Historical Society.

Next door is the unusual-looking Proctor Block.

This building dates to 1832. It was designed in the Federal style, MACRIS indicates, but in the 1880s, a man named H.M. Francis remodeled it in the Victorian Eclectic mode. "[T]he only remaining features from the earlier design are the parapet end walls and the asymetrical bay spacing of the street level shops," MACRIS indicates. "The building maintains many character defining features of its Victorian Eclectic Style, including the decorative brick patterns, terra cotta panels and capitols, door transoms, parapet gable dormer, and the cast iron pilasters along the street level shop fronts. The building's main feature is the semicircular masonry opening in the center bay of the third story."

That semicircular opening sure is eye-catching. Prior to the remodeling, tenants included a grocer, a jeweler and a photography studio. More recent occupants included a pharmacy, a card shop and a tailor. Today, tenants include Grizz Gang Forever Studios, a music recording business.

At 721 Main Street is the Quinlan Building, which opened in 1913 (or 1929, depending on which source you check) with theater, commercial and office space.

The theater operated under at least a few names -- Saxony Theatre and Estre Cinema, per MACRIS -- over the years. Cinema Treasures indicates that it closed in the 1980s. Antiquity Echoes says there are 1,700 seats in the auditorium (click that link to see some photos from the now times as well as the past), and that in its heyday the theater featured films, live acts and musical performances.

Cinema Treasures indicates that Fitchburg State University purchased the building in 2018, and that the school began renovations in 2022 with the goal of turning it into a performing arts space. As you can see in the photo above, however, there is a sign under the marquee that indicates, as of late September 2025, CONSTRUCTION STARTING SOON.

In January 2023, the university received $2 million in federal funding "toward the development of a 'black box' theater to be constructed adjacent to the main theater building in the downtown performing arts center," according to this press release fron U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts. "The new construction will be used for university productions and the public, with the restoration of the historic theater to follow in a future phase of construction."

Fingers crossed.

Just up Main Street is what surely is one of the most beautiful buildings in Fitchburg.

In 1883, George Fay had this Victorian Gothic home built, after he had amassed a fortune through his investments in Massachusetts railroads, per MACRIS. "In 1894, [Fay], along with others, helped establish Burbank Hospital. When he died in 1895 his daughter, Lucy Fay, inherited the $100,000 home and several million dollars. With these funds Lucy helped Fitchburg working girls by providing room and board at several homes belonging to the Helping Hand Society for Working Girls."

Upon marrying and moving to California in 1910, she donated her home to the Park Club, of which her father had been a founding member. One stipulation was that the club change its name to the Fay Club. The stable was converted to a gymnasium.

The organization still exists, although it shut down in 2015, only to reopen the following year. From what I can gather at its web site, the club exists as a place for members to eat, drink and be merry. I suppose there may be charitable efforts made.

Across Main Street is the Classical Revival Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company building.

Currently home to Italian eatery Dario's Ristorante, this place dates to 1925 and "is the best example of Neo-Glassical architecture on Main St.," according to MACRIS. The company eventually was merged into Unitil Corp.

A few blocks east, on the north side of the street, is a fantastic former YMCA building.

Completed in 1894, the Y building was originally five stories, according to MACRIS, but two were removed at some point. The facility featured a boy's reading room, an association hall, a gymnasium and bowling alleys, MACRIS indicates. The building was later home to a branch of the Worcester County National Bank. I'm not sure if there are currently any tenants.

Next, I made a quick detour heading south on Putnam Street, and I'm glad I did.

I'm not sure the details of Putnam Street Lanes (how long it's been open, info about the building), but I'm glad it's still in business. Whenever I'm researching towns to explore, I look for diners, old theaters, ghost signs and bowling alleys first.

Speaking of ghost signs:

I passed plenty of old buildings along Main Street, but I only caught sight of one faded advertisement. Located on the side of the Coggshall and Carpenter Block, the sign is unreadable. If anyone can read it or knows the history, let me know.

As for the building, it dates to 1877. Tenants over the decades have included, according to MACRIS: Albee, Lyons & Company, which sold trunks, valises, & bags; LH Pratt & Co, watchmakers and jewelers; the tailor shop of Charles Clement and John Holland; a dry goods store known as Nichols & Frost; Royal Hat Co.; and many more. The upper floor was a hall used by various groups over the years, including Fitchburg Lodge of BPOE 847; the Spanish War Veterans; the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States; Lawrence Ayers Post 794 and the American Legion Post, Fitchburg No. 10.

Current tenants - I'm not sure.

After making that image, I scooted down Mill Street, a pedestrian-only way that skirts behind several Main Street buildings. The street was renovated and decorated by local artists in 2019. I dug the look of Eddy's Music.

I swung up Cushing Street and back to Main Street. The JL African/Caribbean Food Market is located in the Drury Building, at the corner of Blossom Street.

Fred Drury built this place in the 1920s to house his grocery store. Whelan Drug was in this space from the 1930s to 1960s, MACRIS indicates, while St. Paul Catholic Book and Film Center occupied the first floor later in that decade. Upstairs tenants, according to MACRIS, have included the Knight Templars Education Foundation; several attorneys; The Morrill Photography Studio; Fitchburg Conservatory of Music; American School of Music); Gagnon & Fitzpatrick real estate; The Pink Salon beauty Shop; Francis J O'Connell real estate; P Fusco, a music teacher.

My final stop was on Day Street - a former hotel and one-time mansion.

MACRIS doesn't have a lot to say: "Unique (to Fitchburg) row-houses along Cherry Street, and brick mansion and large hotel section along Day Street. Hotel Raymond, named after Raymond Dwyer, was for years most important hotel in town. Henry A. Hatch erected Mansard section along Cherry Street (by 1875)....Hatch ran a grocery business."

The Fitchburg Historical Society Facebook page offers some color commentary: "In the early 1900s the Hotel Raymond at 35-41 Day St. was owned and operated by J. Raymond Dwyer. Besides being the proprietor of the hotel, Dwyer was also in partnership with Andrew H.M.. Hawthorne in owning bowling alleys and pool tables at 16 Putnam St."

So the bowling alley mentioned above has been around for more than 100 years. That's cool to find out.

One more tidbit from that Facebook page: "The Hotel Raymond on Day Street was the playing site of one of the earliest nationally rated chess tournaments held in Fitchburg. The event was the 4th annual Central New England Open Chess Championship, sponsored by the Wachusett Chess Club of Fitchburg, the second-oldest chess club in Massachustts, and held in June 1965 in the hotel's ballroom."

These buildings are now apartments.

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.