Given Worcester’s strong industrial heritage, “art” here is represented in the many innovations that came about during the American Industrial Revolution. From the sewing machine to the typewriter to carpet looms, the inventor in Worcester occupies the pride of place that traditional artists do in many other communities. However, the Fitchburg Art Museum and Worcester Art Museum do display collections of traditional art consisting of American, European, and Asian paintings, prints and sculptures for the traditional art aficionado.
Architecture in Worcester is imbued with the spirit of the American Industrial Revolution. The many existing examples of mills, foundries and workers homes give ample evidence of the dominance of industrial architecture in the towns of Worcester. In Uxbridge one can see the massive granite Crown and Eagle Mills, built in 1827, that boasted a large-scale waterpower system and clusters of worker's duplexes. The Knowlton factory in Upton has been converted into apartments and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Rochdale Village in Leicester preserves the old town with its many mills. In Hopedale the planned community that the Draper Brothers created for their workers still exists.
Traditional New England architecture can also be seen at Douglas which preserves 19th and 20th century historic buildings, both residential and commercial, and at the Shaker Village in Harvard. Petersham’s elegant town common is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is surrounded by some 45 early 19th century buildings. Templeton is another rural community with significant historic architecture. Northborough’s Old Town Hall is famous for its longest roof span of any known French Mansard roof style building. The establishment of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in 1986 preserves much of this rich heritage for posterity.
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