Things to do in Worcester
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Mechanics Hall
This hall took shape in 1857 on the orders of the Worcester County Mechanics Association, a group of artisans and small business owners that typified Worcester’s inventive and industrial strength in the mid-19th-century. Boasting superb acoustics and housing the historic Hook Organ, Mechanics Hall is regarded as the finest standing pre-Civil War concert hall in the US. Notable speakers have included Henry David Thoreau, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt. Restored in 1977, the hall is still used for concerts (Yo-Yo Ma, jazz), lectures and recording sessions, some of them free. Call for information on visiting hours.
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American Sanitary Plumbing Museum
See if you can resist making this pun (or worse) when you visit the American Sanitary Plumbing Museum, the world’s only known museum devoted to the subject. Withstanding the urge will probably challenge all of your mental strength. Begun by Charles Manoog in 1979 (by day a fellow running a plumbing parts distribution business), this family-operated museum contains a legitimately fascinating and well-displayed collection of artifacts.
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Boulevard Diner
Reason enough to live in Worcester, this old dining car looks much like it did in 1936. Experience red Formica tables, dark wooden booths, old iceboxes and a big painting of a yellow-jacketed dude who has long stared from the doorway. Food-wise, enjoy eggs, plus a menu of Italian specialties including meatballs, veal and eggplant parmesan. Wistful memories of fabulous grapenut custards haunt college students’ dreams decades after leaving Worcester.
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Blackstone River Bikeway
When it is finished in the next five years, the Blackstone River Bikeway will offer a mostly off-road bike trail from Union Station in Worcester to Providence, RI, 45 miles to the south. The trail laces through historic mill villages and farmland, following remnants of the historic Blackstone River Canal as well as a railroad right-of-way. Until the bikeway is complete, you can follow the trail on marked roads. Visit the website for updates and maps.
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Annie’s Clark Brunch
On the edge of Clark University’s campus, this greasy spoon attracts students, professors, neighborhood Joes and a gravedigger. Nearly everyone dining here is on a first-name basis with Annie, the proprietor so connected with the community that Clark University recently awarded her an honorary degree. Inside, find dusty pictures of regulars from the last 20 years and an eyebrow-raising number of pigs.
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George’s Green Island Diner
Inside this spare diner, sit at the counter to behold the world’s eighth wonder: a grill in constant use that never dirties. Just how George Army’s spatula cooks up all that meat, egg and potato without a stain remains a mystery, but you’ll be too distracted by kielbasa and liver and onions to notice. It’s in a tough-looking Irish neighborhood. Coffee costs 55¢!
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Moynagh’s Tavern
This authentic Irish-American pub of the first order is the oldest bar in Worcester, which means it’s beaten up and working class. Babe Ruth once bowled here when the place was a bowling alley. The after-work crowd of regulars likes to play keno (a televised lottery game) and the bartender looks at out-of-state IDs with suspicion.
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American Antiquarian Society
The documents in this research library, a few blocks from the art museum, comprise the largest single collection of printed source materials relating to the first 250 years of US history, and covering all aspects of colonial and early American culture, history and literature. Free tours run each Wednesday at 3pm.
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Corner Lunch
Here, you’ll find a sweet prefab built by DeRaffelle in the 1950s. The exterior contains plenty of silvery metal panels and a big neon sign. Inside, there are fries, club sandwiches, meatloaf and eggs. While the food is bland, the seating is not – it’s a patchwork of duct tape and glittery gold Naugahyde.
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Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner
This old green diner attached to a rock club serves chili, burgers, booze and nothing else. Come for some sweet gigs, mostly local and often talented. The place attracts college kids and townies wearing prescription safety glasses. The stellar jukebox contains a homemade disc simply labeled ‘really good songs.’
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Lucky’s Cafe
Inside a sprawling brick manufacturing complex begun in 1831, this modest joint’s remarkable soups (white bean escarole with tomato) would cost twice as much in another city. A loyal lunch crowd fills the dozen tables, though weekend BYOB dinners (pork chops, Portuguese fish stew) have recently been added.
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Irish Times
Set in a 19th-century three-story building, this place emulates a Dublin pub, with dark paneling, high ceilings and the scent of Caffrey’s. On weekends the upstairs is a disco where the DJ spins out techno and dance tunes. The dinner patrons are largely urban professionals who come for the fish and chips.
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Higgins Armory Museum
The amazing Higgins Armory Museum is a military buff's heaven. It started as the private collection of a local steel tycoon who built a fanciful art-deco armory to house thousands of military collectibles including Corinthian helmets from ancient Greece and more than 100 full suits of armor.
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Ecotarium
At this museum and ‘center for environmental exploration, ’ there is an array of exhibits to intrigue young minds. However, the most exciting offerings (tree-canopy walks, planetarium shows, and rides on the one-third size model steam train) cost an extra few bucks.
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Sano Café
An offshoot both physically and philosophically of the Living Earth food store, this tiny café has a menu featuring healthy fare. Everything, including the meat, is as organic as possible. Eat nori, smoothies, fresh juice combinations, beef and lots of vegan stuff.
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MB Lounge
Depending on the night, this queer lounge runs the gamut from casual neighborhood bar to bass-thumping dance club to Sunday piano bar. The decor could use some updating, but hey, that only makes it typical of the rest of Worcester. Expect beers and a pool table.
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Palladium
This mid-sized general admission club only books all-ages shows, and some of them have aired on MTV. The offerings range from hip-hop to metal to hardcore to rock. Recent performers have included The Roots, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday and 50 Cent.
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Sole Proprietor
Overlook the cheesy name and head under the neon marquee for fresh, honest seafood at moderate prices in an upscale, linen-clad dining room. Eat lobster, Dijon and horseradish bluefish, maple-glazed scallops and ocean catfish with bok choy and parmesan crust.
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One Love Café
Fill up on organic Jamaican and West Indian food at this cozy, art-filled hole-in-the-wall. Depending on your appetite, you can get ‘big tings’ or ‘likkle tings.’ Try the pungent escoveitched porgies (fish in a spicy vinaigrette) and hot jerk.
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Coney Island Hot Dog
A giant neon fist grips a wiener dripping yellow neon mustard in the six-story sign outside this 1918 Worcester institution. Inside, eat dogs in an eerily quiet, cavernous space chock-full of wooden booths carved with generations of graffiti.
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Cinema 320
This independent operation, on the campus of Clark University, screens an incredible array of acclaimed and hard-to-find films, many of them foreign. The school is about 2 miles south of the town center on Main St.
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DCU Center
This huge venue (formerly known as the Centrum Center), attracts nationally known rock groups and other big-crowd acts. Care for a monster truck show?
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Worcester Art Museum
The first-rate Worcester Art Museum showcases works by luminary French Impressionists and American masters like Whistler.
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Java Hut
Aside from featuring Worcester’s only manual espresso machine, Java Hut also hosts slam poetry and folk singers most nights.
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