Worcester Blackstone Visitors Center, Contemporary Massachusetts Property, MassDOT Building News
Worcester Blackstone Visitors Center, MA
Dec 4, 2020
Worcester Blackstone Visitors Center Building
Address: 3 Paul Clancy Way, Worcester, MA 01607, USA

Phone: 508-341-0741

Location: Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
Design: designLAB architects

Photos by Chuck Choi
Rising like a phoenix from the ashes’? literally. The Blackstone Visitor’s Center in Worcester, MA, was originally planned as an adaptive reuse renovation of the former Washburn & Moen wire mill in Worcester’s Quinsigamond Village. Then, in 2010, a fire swept through the original mill building, burning it to the ground and prompting a radical redesign for an entirely new building. Now, nearly a decade later, the Blackstone Visitors Center engages the community with restored access to its treasured industrial heritage.
The visitor’s center building occupies 11,000 sqft of the 4.5-acre site. In order to increase the impact and visual identity of the relatively small building within its larger context, two large events venues were positioned as bookends to the north and south of the site. At the northern end, a hardscaped events pavilion offers a robust infrastructure for concerts and events; to the south, a grassy expanse serves as a festival lawn for outdoor recreation.
Positioned between the two outdoor spaces is the visitors’ center building. All three components...