Worcester is located in central Massachusetts, 45 minutes west of Boston and north of Providence, RI. Set in Worcester County, on a series of hills overlooking the Blackstone River and Lake Quinsigamond, the eastern boundary of the city. Worcester is the state's second-largest city, with a population of 175,000 and more than six million people living within a 50-mile radius. An important manufacturing, medical, insurance, and transportation center the city has convenient highway access and daily train service from major metropolitan cities, offering visitors direct connections from all points. A five-time recipient of the All-American City Award, Worcester combines the historic charm of a small town with the convenience of a thriving metropolitan city.

A beautifully restored Union Station offers attendees a fully functioning transportation center, with commuter rail service to and from Boston, Amtrak’s daily train service to and from Albany, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. Union Station is also served by several bus lines connecting to destinations throughout New England and beyond. All of this is walking distance from downtown Worcester and the DCU Center arena and convention center. Taxis are always available and shuttle service is available for your attendees, upon request.

A manufacturing and innovation giant for more than 200 years, Worcester has emerged as a leader in education, medicine, biotechnology, culture and entertainment. A growing business and commercial base, the recent addition of a multi-million biotechnology research park, and an influx of high technology companies into the region have positioned Worcester as an attractive location for developers and companies.

Every great American city boasts at least one college. Worcester is home to ten colleges and universities. With more than 35,000 students arriving in Worcester every September to begin the new school year, the colleges and their students make an enormous impact on the area’s economy and culture.

A mix of new and old, Worcester’s landscape blends impressive mills and diverse architecture with community-oriented neighborhoods and inviting green spaces. The downtown district is on the brink of a dramatic renaissance with a new hotel adjacent to the DCU Center, a new courthouse, a performing arts theater and housing and retail projects in the works. Worcester’s many development projects confirm the city’s arrival into the 21st century as an energized community with a renewed sense of momentum, vitality and pride.

EXPERIENCE Worcester
When in Worcester, there is plenty to do and attendees will have the opportunity to experience the city and everything it has to offer. Whether a day trip to Broad Meadow Brook, shopping in the eclectic Canal District or a visit to any of the dozens of boutique shops and eateries that line popular Shrewsbury Street, Worcester will deliver an exciting and unique experience for the meeting attendee, athletes, fans and all those associated with events here in Worcester.

Worcester is home to a world-class, 14,800-seat DCU Arena and Convention Center and boasts a trifecta of professional sports teams, including the Worcester Sharks, an AHL franchise of the San Jose Sharks, the Worcester Tornadoes, a CanAm League baseball team, and the New England Surge, a Continental Indoor Football League team.

Our convention center has hosted political conventions, association and corporate meetings with great success. Public and private tradeshows have filled its halls and gala events have graced the ballrooms. Our facilities are truly versatile and staffed by veteran hospitality professionals.

Attractions
Worcester is a place where art and culture shine from world-renowned museums to award-winning restaurants to theater performances and festivals. Come for a meeting and stay for a visit.

American Antiquarian Society
EcoTarium
Elm Park
Foothills Theatre
Green Hill Municipal Golf Course
Higgins Armory Museum
Lake Quinsigamond
Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra
Mechanics Hall
New England Surge Arena Football
Tuckerman Hall
Worcester Art Museum
Worcester Historical Museum
Worcester Sharks Hockey
Worcester Tornadoes Baseball

Worcester History
The Nipmuc people were living in the region when the first European settlers arrived in the 1670s and created a community they called Quinsigamond Plantation. The community was renamed Worcester in 1684, possibly for Worcester, England, as an angry gesture at King Charles II of England, who had suffered defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Hostility from the Nipmuc twice forced the abandonment of the settlement; the first permanent colonization came in 1713. Incorporated as a town in 1722, major industrial development began after the opening of the Blackstone Canal in 1828, linking Worcester with Providence, RI. Worcester, Massachusetts was incorporated as a city in 1848.

Worcester played an important role in the political development of the United States. During the American Revolution (1775-1783), it was home to pamphleteer Isaiah Thomas, whose words helped unite opposition to the British. The city was active in Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787), a revolt against excessive land taxation that helped spur the creation of the Constitution of the United States. Residents were also early supporters of reform movements such as the abolition of slavery in the United States. The first national women's rights convention was held in Worcester in 1850.

Worcester was home to industrial innovation, including new methods of manufacturing wire, textiles, grinding wheels. Rocketry pioneer and Worcester native, Robert H. Goddard, a professor at Clark University, fired his first liquid fuel rocket in nearby Auburn in 1926. Biotechnological research is important to the city's economy. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park accommodates research facilities for numerous companies. The University of Massachusetts Medical School, also home to research, is adjacent to the Park. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has constructed a new center for its Bioengineering Institute in the Gateway Park just north of Main Street. Scientists from the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology developed the birth control pill in the 1950s.

Designed by Peabody & Stearns of Boston and built in 1898 by the Norcross Company, a local firm, the present City Hall replaced the town hall, built on the same site in 1825. But in the days before the town hall existed, Worcester citizens conducted community business in “Old South” Church (1763). It was there that town meetings, annual elections, and any business requiring citizen participation were held. It was also the location of the first public reading in New England of the Declaration of Independence, read by Isaiah Thomas.

The church stood on the common next to the site chosen for the town hall. In 1894, forty-six years after becoming a city, Worcester was authorized by the state legislature to borrow $300,000 to build the present City Hall. The four-story building was constructed with grey Milford granite, and has a central tower rising 205 feet above the street. The interior, decorated in marble, oak and mahogany, boasts a grand staircase that goes from ground floor to the third floor. Marble stairs, ornate cast iron balusters, and a mahogany handrail contribute to the elegance of this remarkable architectural feature.

City Hall stands on Worcester Common, land set aside in 1669 for militia training, burials, and livestock grazing. Over the years, the original parcel of twenty acres has been reduced to five. The tracks that were laid across the Common in the early days of flourishing railroad transportation were removed in the 1870s.


The Common we know today is very different in appearance and in use from what it was in the past. The following excerpts are taken from the Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity (now Worcester Historical Museum) for the Year 1884: “About 1840...two streets ran diagonally across it (the Common)...Near the site of the Bigelow Monument, and fronting west, was the gun house for the keeping of the cannon belonging to the town; also the hearse house, and hook and ladder company's quarters...The burial ground, situated at the east end of the Common, surrounded by a low stone wall, had an entrance on the west end...This old ground was given up for burial purposes many years ago, and those grave stones which were not removed were laid flat and covered with earth…On the southeast corner...there stood for many years a one-story wooden school house...It was here (on the Common) that the county cattle shows were held. Four rows of pens for the exhibition of cattle, swine and sheep, were put on the north side, near Front Street...On Fast days it was the custom to have games of round ball on the Common, which attracted crowds of spectators...much more exciting than our modern baseball. Football and cricket, too, were often played here.”

The man immortalized by the monument that stood at the immediate left of City Hall since 1908 is the Senator George Frisbie Hoar. His statue, by Daniel Chester French, was paid for by voluntary contributions from more than 30,000 of his admirers. Hoar, whose Worcester home was on Oak Avenue, had been their congressman from 1869 to 1877 and their senator from 1877 to 1904. Throughout his career, he was a passionate abolitionist and advocate of women’s rights.

Worcester is home to the headquarters of the American Antiquarian Society (founded in 1812), with a research library specializing in Americana; the Worcester Art Museum, with a wide-ranging collection of Western and Asian art; and the Worcester Historical Museum, emphasizing the city's industrial achievements. Also of interest are the Higgins Armory, a museum of arms and armor, and the EcoTarium, with collections on the biological and physical sciences. The annual Worcester Music Festival dates from 1858.

Getting Here

Worcester is located in central Massachusetts, 45 minutes west of Boston and north of Providence, RI. The Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) offers direct connection to the city from the east and west and Rt. 146 connects us to our south. Routes 9, 290 and 395 all also provide direct access to Worcester.

By car Worcester can be reached by car from:
" Boston, MA 56 minutes
" Providence, RI 1 hour
" Hartford, CT 1 hour, 15 minutes
" Concord, NH 1 hour, 30 minutes
" Portland, ME 2 hours, 15 minutes
" Montpelier, VT 3 hours, 20 minutes
" New York City 3 hours, 20 minutes
Click here for Directions

By air Worcester is serviced by regional, national and international airports.

Worcester Regional Airport Worcester, MA 5 Miles 10 Minutes		Logan International Airport Boston, MA 46 Miles 56 Minutes
T.F. Green Airport Providence, RI 53 Miles 60 Minutes		Bradley International Airport Hartford, CT 60 Miles 75 Minutes

By rail & bus Worcester can be reached via the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Agency (MBTA) commuter rail, which runs between Bostonís South Station and Worcesterís historic and renovated Union Station several times daily. Amtrak also has train service to and from Albany, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. daily. Union Station is also served by several bus lines connecting to destinations throughout New England and beyond.

All of this is walking distance from downtown Worcester and the DCU Center Arena and Convention Center. Taxis are always available and shuttle service is available for your attendees, upon request.