Framingham is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers 25 square miles (65 km2) with a population of 72,362 in 2020, making it the 14th most populous municipality in Massachusetts. Residents voted in favor of adopting a charter to transition from a representative town meeting system to a mayor–council government in April 2017, and the municipality transitioned to city status on January 1, 2018. Before it transitioned, it had been the largest town by population in Massachusetts.
Hopkinton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, 25 miles (40 km) west of Boston. The town is best known as the starting point of the Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots' Day each April, and as the headquarters for the Dell EMC corporation.
This is a list of historic sites in Framingham, Massachusetts. There are several notable historic sites in Framingham, according to the Framingham Historical Society. This local society asserts:
While there are many historic spaces in Framingham, the Centre Common is the focal point for the town's past. Three of the town's most historic buildings on the Centre Common face "demolition by neglect." The Village Hall, the Edgell Memorial Library, and the Old Academy building not only house over 10,000 artifacts spanning four centuries of the town's history, but they are symbols of Framingham's commitment to educational excellence, civic engagement, and community pride.
The Framingham Public School District or Framingham Public Schools (FPS) comprises thirteen public schools in the city of Framingham, Massachusetts. It is classified as one of the state's 24 urban school districts, while the district generally describes itself as urban/suburban. The school district's main offices are located at 73 Mount Wayte Avenue in Framingham, in what is known as the Perini building.
The First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton occupies a prominent location at 1326 Washington Street in the heart of the village of West Newton in Newton, Massachusetts. Architect Ralph Adams Cram designed the church, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed the grounds, the cornerstone was laid in 1905, and it was dedicated in 1906; it is one of the village's oldest buildings. The church is in Cram's signature Gothic Revival style, with buttressed walls and a blocky square tower with crenellations and spires. An enclosed courtyard is formed by an office wing, banquet hall, and parish house, which are built to resemble Elizabethan architecture with brick first floor and half-timbered upper level.
The Old Centre Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic town center of Winchendon, Massachusetts. It includes the town's first cemetery, the First Congregational Church, and the oldest surviving house in town, and only one building constructed after 1850. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The Harvard Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the traditional village center of Harvard, Massachusetts, USA. The district is centered on the town common, a triangular grassy space bounded by Elm Street, Still River Road, and Ayer Road. The common is ringed by residences, civic and religious buildings, and a small commercial area. The common was laid out when the town was founded in 1732, and has grown, mainly in periods of growth at the late 18th and late 19th/early 20th centuries. Most of the village's buildings post-date 1831. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Framingham station is a historic Boston and Albany Railroad station located in downtown Framingham, Massachusetts. Designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson, it was one of the last of the railroad stations he designed in the northeastern United States to be built. The station, built in 1884–85, served as a major stop on the B&A Main Line as well as a hub for branch lines to Milford, Mansfield, Fitchburg, and Lowell. After years of deterioration, the station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Framingham Railroad Station, and restored a decade later.
The Acton Center Historic District encompasses the historic heart of the once-rural, now suburban, town of Acton, Massachusetts. The district includes properties on Main Street, Wood and Woodbury Lanes, Newtown, Concord, and Nagog Hill Roads, and has been the town's civic heart since its establishment in the 1730s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Concord Square Historic District is a historic district on Park, Concord, and Kendall Streets, and Union Avenue in Framingham, Massachusetts. It encompasses a portion of the town's central business district, extending from the junction of Concord and Union Streets south to the South Framingham Common, and then west along Park Street. Most of the buildings in this area were built between 1890 and 1920. The oldest building is the Wallace Nutting Factory at 46 Park Street, built in the early 1870s. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Saxonville Historic District of Framingham, Massachusetts, encompasses a historic 19th century mill village at the heart of Saxonville. The district is centered on the mill complex at the junction of Water, Central, Elm, and Concord Streets, radiating north on Elm Street and west on Water Street. The extant mill brick and concrete buildings were built after fires destroyed older mill buildings in the 1880s by the Roxbury Carpet Company, whose owner, Michael Simpson, had successfully orchestrated the commercial production of carpets in a single facility. The district includes mill worker housing, some of which dates to the 1820s, as well as private residential development from the period, and a cluster of commercial and civic buildings adjacent to the mill complex.
The Irving Square Historic District is a historic district on Irving Square, Waverly, South, Columbia, Irving, Gordon and Hollis Streets in Framingham, Massachusetts. It encompasses a portion of the town's central business district just south of the railroad tracks. It includes buildings on Hollis Street, extending south from Irving Street to Gordon Street, and buildings on Irving from Hollis to just beyond Columbia Street. Most of these commercial buildings were built between 1890 and 1930, most in the 20th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Common Historic District is a historic district encompassing the civic and institutional heart of Reading, Massachusetts. The district is centered on the town common, at the intersection of Main and Salem Streets. The common has been communally owned since at least 1737, with the original burying ground to the north. In 1769 the area's first meeting house was built, giving the area a sense of identity separate from portions of Reading that would later be set off as Wakefield and North Reading. Since then the area has become a focal point for religious and civic institutions in the town.
The Common District encompasses the main civic center of Wakefield, Massachusetts. It is centered on the historic town common, just south of Lake Quannapowitt, which was laid in 1644, when it became the heart of Old Reading. The area was separated from Reading as South Reading in 1818, and renamed Wakefield in 1868. The 25 acre district includes the buildings that line the common on Common Street and Main Street, which include the town hall, public library, YMCA, post office, and several churches. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Amherst Village Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Amherst, New Hampshire. Centered on the town's common, which was established about 1755, Amherst Village is one of the best examples of a late-18th to early-19th century New England village center. It is roughly bounded on the north by Foundry Street and on the south by Amherst Street, although it extends along some roads beyond both. The western boundary is roughly Davis Lane, the eastern is Mack Hill Road, Old Manchester Road, and Court House Road. The district includes the Congregational Church, built c. 1771-74, and is predominantly residential, with a large number of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival houses. Other notable non-residential buildings include the Farmer's Bank, a Federal-style brick building built in 1806, and the Amherst Brick School, a brick Greek Revival structure that has served as the School Administrative Unit 39 offices since 1997.
Alexander Rice Esty was an American architect known for designing many Gothic Revival churches in New England. His work also encompassed university buildings, public buildings, office buildings, and private residences across the Northeastern United States.
Framingham, Massachusetts, has 20 locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This National Park Service list is complete through NPS recent listings posted June 14, 2024.
The Salem Common Historic District encompasses the early colonial center of Salem, New Hampshire. The district dates to the earliest period of settlement of Salem, and includes the historic common, old town hall, fire station, and library. The town hall was built in 1738 and extensively altered in 1838 and 1899; it served as a place for town meetings until 1958. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
The Town Center Historic District encompasses the historic village center of South Hampton, New Hampshire. Centered around the Barnard Green, the town common, on New Hampshire Route 107A, it includes architectural reminders of the town's growth and change over time. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Southborough Center Historic District encompasses a historically significant portion of the town center of Southborough, Massachusetts. It extends from the Fay School grounds in the west, along Main Street to the railroad crossing east of Lanisquama Road. The area has been the town center since its founding in 1727, and now houses a diversity of 19th and early 20th-century architecture. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
