Introduction to Worcester, Massachusetts
Incorporated in 1722, Worcester is the third largest city in New England (behind Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island), and the second largest city in Massachusetts. Worcester has a population of approximately 175,000 people.
Worcester is located in central Massachusetts. It is about an hour drive southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, an hour and ten minutes northeast of Hartford, Connecticut, and 50 minutes northwest of Providence, Rhode Island. Worcester is one of only a few cities to win the National Civic League's coveted "All-America City Award" five times. Worcester is also home to one Fortune 1000 corporate headquarters. Many others are located in communities near by.
Worcester's climate is characterized by four distinct seasons. Winters are cold and summers tend to be warm and humid. January is the coldest month of the year with an average daily temperature of 31 degrees Fahrenheit. July is the warmest month of the year with an average daily temperature of 79 degrees Fahrenheit. Worcester gets an average of almost 68 inches of snow during the winter.
Worcester Arts and Entertainment
For a city of modest size, Worcester provides a good assortment of arts and cultural offerings. Some of the more notable include:
- The American Antiquarian Society
- Ecotarium
- The Foothills Theatre Company
- The Higgins Armory Museum (the largest collection of arms and armor in the western hemisphere)
- Musicians of the Old Post Road
- Music Worcester
- Opera Worcester
- The Worcester Art Museum
- The Worcester History Museum
Worcester is also a relatively short drive to all of the arts and cultural offerings of Boston, Massachusetts, Hartford, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island.
For sports enthusiasts, Worcester's central location gives residents and visitors easy access to numerous professional sporting teams. Worcester itself is home to a professional baseball team, the Worcester Tornadoes, who play in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, or Can-Am League. Boston to the east is home to Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox. For individuals who like minor league baseball action, nearby Pawtucket, RI is home Minor League Baseball's (MiLB) Pawtucket Red Sox, and Lowell, Massachusetts is home to the Lowell Spinners. The Red Sox are a Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, and the Spinners are a Class A Short-Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. For individuals whose interest turns to hockey, the National Hockey League Boston Bruins play in Boston, and the the American Hockey League (AHL) Providence Bruins, play in Providence. Other nearby sports teams include Major League Soccer's (MLS) New England Revolution, the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Softball New England Riptide, the NBA's Boston Celtics, the NFL's New England Patriots, the United Soccer League's (USL) USL-W Division Boston Renegades, and World Team Tennis' (WTT) Boston Lobsters.
