Westborough – Meet on the steps of the Westborough Public Library, 55 W. Main St., on Sunday, July 15, at 1 p.m. to begin the next architectural walking tour of downtown Westborough. The tour is guided by Christopher Noonan, historic preservationist and historic real estate specialist and Luann Crosby, troubadour, songwriter/singer, who will entertain with period appropriate ditties.
The tour begins in the mid-19th century neighborhood north of West Main Street at a time when the manufacturing sector in Westborough was maturing and taking hold. On Church Street, the group will visit Kirkside, a 1917 high style Colonial Revival – one of many gifts of property bestowed to the Westborough community. The property is now Right at Home, a private duty home care agency. Owners will be available to answer questions on services and the facility.
The tour continues onto Grove Street and the 1906 Classical Revival Eli Whitney School. There, the group will get a short lesson on public ownership of a historic property. Moving onto Parkman Street, the group takes in a unique subdivision planned by Reverend Parkman’s descendant with a predominance of Greek Revival style houses. The group will see 13 Parkman built in 1844 by the Sibley brothers, William and Francis (the younger), for William – along with a blacksmith shop that later became a successful sleigh-maker operation (no longer existing).
There will also be a short visit to the Spurr House for an opportunity to hear how the Westborough community is weighing development and growth with re-use options for this historic property.
From Parkman, the tour will head back to Grove and Milk streets where focus will turn to the many community development approaches throughout the years and their impact on the historic downtown village. As the group travels back on West Main Street, they will be introduced to the “Look Up” campaign and a new song by Luanne, “This Beautiful Town.”
For more information or a full list of this years’ Walking Tours of Historic Westborough, visit westboroughlib.org. Program booklets are online and free to download.
