A Day in the Life

On Green Street just south of the Providence and Worcester Railroad overpass, stairs leading to the second floor of Worcester’s second ugliest building (the first being the AT&T Building) provide a bit of shelter for one of the city’s approximately 3000 homeless [Statistic from WHAC]. Though the causes of homelessness are many and complex, the lack of political will is surely a prime reason that there seems to be no real solution.

Hadwen Arboretum is a decent chunk of land in the middle of a typical neighborhood. It belongs to Clark University, and contains a community garden near the top (south end) of the arboretum.

Renovation continues for the Grand Palace Theater at Federal Square. It was used as a movie theater but closed soon after I came to Worcester, so I’ve never been inside. Looks like it’s going to be amazing.

John, a volunteer at the Artichoke Cooperative, pours out a bag of vegetables while describing the co-op’s mission to the community.

Friendly service, three keys for a dollar, and “3 Keys” the cat. Places like Jerry’s are harder and harder to find, so get your keys copied for cheap and try to stump Jerry with some obscure item to find somewhere around the shop while you still can.

The Assabet River Rail Trail is the newest paved trail in the area. Eventually, it will run for 12.5 miles from Marlborough to Acton, but only a little over 5 miles is currently rideable.

Lights of a different sort swirl around the menorah in the center of the Newton Square rotary. According to the Telegram and Gazette article, the menorah, hosted by Yeshiva Academy, has gone up during Hanukkah for nearly 30 years.

Unions Station is put to good use for the second annual Holiday ARTS At The Station.

The EcoTarium is the best science and nature museum in the Worcester area, but that’s mainly because it’s the only science and nature museum in Worcester. It’s not that it’s a terrible place. I’ve been to far worse, like the Turepentine Creek Wildlife Refuge outside of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where I was praying that a lion would break out of its cage and maul me just to put me out of my misery. But it is clear that the EcoTarium is not nearly at its full potential. The outdoor habitats are especially crude to the point of being sad, and duct tape holds some of the playground equipment together. Though the inside exhibits are much better, a few million dollars would really help the place out. This is a little gem that needs some major polishing, but I’m happy to know that it’s there and hopeful that some day the whole place will be as pleasant as the little water pavillion pictured here.

And speaking of holiday trees, the Common is nicely decked out with holiday lights.