The scenic Salisbury Cultural District (SCD) in Worcester is home to some of the region’s most venerable cultural, historical, educational, and religious organizations, as well a thriving restaurant, retail, and art community. With sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle paths, lighting, ample shade trees, historic buildings, and an attractive natural and built environment, the district is safely and pleas
antly walk-able. Around every corner Worcester’s vibrant past and visions for its creative future are revealed. Conveniently reached from Interstates I-190 and I-290, the SCD takes its name from the Salisbury family, whose history as merchants, entrepreneurs, gentlemen-farmers, founders and benefactors of arts, cultural and civic institutions in Worcester dates back to 1767. Thousands of visitors to the district each year enjoy over 50 centuries of art (including one of the finest arms and armor collections in the nation) at the Worcester Art Museum, the largest collection of books and materials printed through 1876 in the United States at the American Antiquarian Society, the classical sounds of the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra in beautiful Tuckerman Hall, and a look at life in 18th century Worcester at the Worcester Historical Museum’s restored Salisbury Mansion. The district also includes the cutting-edge Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI); picturesque Institute Park (with the Levenson Concert Stage and Gazebo) and Salisbury Pond (one of the water sources for the historic Blackstone Canal); six Houses of Worship (including the oldest Armenian congregation in America); 17 restaurants; 6 specialty galleries/gift shops; over 50 adaptively re-used properties; and 10 National Historic Register buildings. Nearby attractions include the Worcester Center for Crafts, Bancroft Tower, the Sprinkler Factory, Worcester’s historic Northworks Mill, and Rural Cemetery, as well as Worcester State University’s Sagamore Road Studios and WPI’s Life Science incubator labs at Gateway Park.
