Popular Architecture Tour Series In Westborough Continues

WESTBOROUGH, MA—R. Christopher Noonan and Luanne Crosby continue their popular architecture tours of historic Westborough with their first tour of 2018, “From Head to Toe: Westborough’s Early Mercantile Period.” The tour starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, on the steps of the Westborough Public Library on 55 West Main Street.

According to the announcement, during this tour participants walk the 18th and 19th century residential neighborhoods where early “cottage” industries, from shoes to blacksmithing, flourished and began to feed into the Main Street mercantile trade. Meander Ruggles, Charles, School, Cross, Harrison and Myrtle, we will experience how this section of the Westborough village grew over the 19th century. Join in the interactive discussion about early 19th century architectural styles and appropriate historic exterior colors.

Also learn the story of John Ruggles, father of the US Patent Office, and the importance reflected in a street name. Can a late 19th century barn/outbuilding find a new life in the 20th century? How does one historic property have an interesting evolution as an Admiral’s home, later the town’s first permanent Congregation of B,nai Shalom, then reinvented due to the deinstitutionalizing of the state’s mental health system as a “community house,” and finally evolving into its current use an historic two family?

Guide R. Christopher Noonan is a historic preservationist and historic real estate specialist and will address Westborough’s oldest downtown neighborhood. Luanne Crosby, troubadour and songwriter/singer, will entertain the audience with some appropriate ditties and sing her 300thAnniversary Song, a tribute to the town’s evolution. Guest Speaker will be Westborough’s own Lizotte Family of Westborough Design Center located at 3 Ruggles Street.

Check www.westborougharchive.org for weather updates, a full listing of Walking Tours for 2018, and downloadable booklets that will accompany each tour.