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Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Sweeping park overlooking Institute Pond, built on donated land in 1887. Holds many festivals and concerts throughout the summer.
Institute Park is a public park in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded on donated land in 1887, it is located next to the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The park is 24.6 acres (100,000 m2) in size.
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The older parts of this campus are perched on a ridge line between Highland Avenue and Institute Park.
The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) is one of the most under-rated attractions in New England. If it weren't for its proximity to the much better known Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, WAM might get more recognition. WAM is the second largest art museum in New England, covering four floors and every period from ancient Egypt to today. The museum acquired the collection of the defunct Higgins Armory museum, giving it the largest collection of arms and armor in the United States. While WAM does not have the space to display the whole collection, they do put on a series of rotating exhibits featuring pieces from the collection integrated with other related art.
Neo-classically-designed, triangular-shaped building, next to the Worcester Art Museum, contains a breathtaking 550-seat main hall adorned with magnificent plaster detail and ornate gold leaf. A pristine circular auditorium seating 200 and six fireplaced turret suites, each with a different architectural motif including Colonial, Dutch, Moorish, and Renaissance revival styles.
Historic house museum that is part of the Worcester History Museum. Admission to the house is included in admission to the history museum, just keep your ticket and present it at the mansion. Former home of the Salisbury family, once the wealthiest in the city. The house is now the oldest structure in the city, having been built in the 18th century. The tour covers the history of the house and the family who built it, but also touches on aspects of life in the very early history of Worcester.
A folly built to commemorate the achievements of George Bancroft by Worcester's richest man at the time, Stephen Salisbury. Bancroft Tower sort of looks like it belongs in an old castle. It is in a wooded park at the top of a hill. Usually the interior of the tower is closed to the public, but occasionally it is open and the view from the top looks out over all of Worcester.