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80-567: The Elizabeth Street School is a historic school building at 31 Elizabeth Street in Worcester, Massachusetts . Built in 1893, it was one of the first commissions for the city by local architect George Clemence , and is stylistically an eclectic mix of Romanesque and Renaissance Revival styles. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It has been converted into residences. The former Elizabeth Street School

160-455: A Mayor/ Bicameral form of government. Together, the two chambers—the 11-member Board of Aldermen and the 30-member Common Council—were vested with complete legislative powers. The mayor handled all administrative departments, though appointments to those departments had to be approved by the two-chamber City Council. Seeking to replace the 1848 charter, Worcester voters in November 1947 approved

240-591: A blizzard traversed over the city as it shed almost 32 inches (81 cm) of snow. This was the highest single-day snowfall total for anywhere in Massachusetts since data collection began in 1892. While rare, the city has had its share of extreme weather. On September 21, 1938, the city was hit by the brutal New England Hurricane of 1938 . Fifteen years later, Worcester was hit by a tornado that killed 94 people. The deadliest tornado in New England history, it damaged

320-503: A center of American revolutionary activity. The Worcester Revolt on September 6, 1774, was an early successful attempt to throw off British rule. British General Thomas Gage was given information of patriot ammunition stockpiled in Worcester in 1775. That same year, Massachusetts Spy publisher Isaiah Thomas moved his radical newspaper out of British occupied Boston to Worcester. Thomas would continuously publish his paper throughout

400-491: A change to Plan E municipal government . In effect from January 1949 until November 1985, this charter (as outlined in chapter 43 of the Massachusetts General Laws) established City Council/City Manager government. This type of governance, with modifications, has survived to the present day. Initially, Plan E government in Worcester was organized as a 9-member council (all at-large), a ceremonial mayor elected from

480-617: A deed to eight square miles of land in Quinsigamond from the Nipmuc people and English traders and settlers began to inhabit the region. In 1675, King Philip's War broke out throughout New England with the Nipmuc Indians coming to the aid of Indian leader King Philip . The English settlers completely abandoned the Quinsigamond area and the empty buildings were burned by the Indian forces. The town

560-924: A few Arbëreshë mixed with them. Arbëreshë Americans, therefore, are often indistinguishable from Italian Americans due to being assimilated into the greater Italian American community. The top 10 cities in the United States that have the most Albanian Americans. Albanians tend to live in the Upper South, the Midwest, and the Northeast. The Albanian community is generally concentrated in the Northeast, with populations mostly in New York City , Yonkers area, Waterbury, Connecticut area, Philadelphia , Boston and nearby Quincy . There are some Albanian communities in Florida, mainly in

640-475: A five-alarm fire at the Worcester Cold Storage & Warehouse Company . The fire took the lives of six firemen and drew national attention as one of the worst firefighting tragedies of the late 20th century. President Bill Clinton , Vice President Al Gore and other local and national dignitaries attended the funeral service and memorial program in Worcester. In recent decades, a renewed interest in

720-597: A higher percentage of males than non-Albanian Americans with 52.1% of the community being male versus the American national average of 49.2%. Albanian-born population in the U.S. since 2010 (excludes Albanians born in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro): New York City Public Schools started teaching Albanian language in the late 2010s; the language was offered to PS 105 in Morris Park, Bronx. Starting in 2024, Albanian language

800-411: A hip roof, from which eyebrow dormers project, while the smaller section, also with a hip roof, has a single hip-roof dormer. Entrances are set in round-arch openings in each tower, with tripled narrow round-arch windows above. A stringcourse of corbelled brickwork separates the two floors, and there is decorative paneled brickwork between the second floor and the roofline, with blind arches above some of

880-400: A large area of the city of Worcester. The tornado left massive destruction and killed 94 people. The Worcester tornado would be the deadliest tornado ever to hit Massachusetts. Debris from the tornado landed as far away as Dedham . In the 1960s, Interstate 290 was built right through the center of Worcester, permanently dividing the city. In 1963, Worcester native Harvey Ball introduced

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960-489: A large part of the city and surrounding towns. It struck Assumption Preparatory School , now the site of Quinsigamond Community College . According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Worcester had a population of 206,518, of which 104,911 (50.8%) were female and 101,607 (49.2%) were male. In terms of age, 81.0% were over 18 years old and 13.6% were over 65 years old; children under 5 made up 5.2% of the city's population. In terms of race and ethnicity, Worcester's population as of 2020

1040-618: A new retail, commercial and living destination in the city. After struggling to secure finances for a number of years, Hanover Insurance took over the project and demolition began on September 13, 2010. Unum Insurance and the Saint Vincent Hospital leased into the project and both facilities opened in 2013. The new Front Street opened on December 31, 2012. Worcester has become home to many refugees in recent years. The city has successfully resettled over 2,000 refugees coming from over 24 countries. Today, most of these refugees come from

1120-597: A place of worship for the Pinellas County Albanian Muslim community since 1996. Nearby St. Petersburg has 500 Albanians, Spring Hill has 400, Gainesville has 400, Egypt Lake-Leto has 350, and Palm Harbor has 300. South Florida has an Albanian community, although it is rather very small in Miami and Miami Beach , with the 2020s estimated data showing that not even a total of 100 ethnic Albanians live in those two cities combined. 30 miles from Miami

1200-439: A riot broke out. Klansmen's cars were stoned and burned, and their windows smashed. KKK members were pulled from their cars and beaten. Klansmen called for police protection, but the situation raged out of control for most of the night. The violence after the "Klanvocation" had the desired effect: Membership fell off, and no further public Klan meetings were held in Worcester. Robert Stoddard , owner of The Telegram and Gazette ,

1280-690: A schoolteacher and studied law in Worcester. Worcester also had a role in the start of the American Revolution , with an event that is oft-forgotten. On September 6, 1774, 4,622 militiamen from 37 towns in Worcester County assembled and marched on Main Street, Worcester; they sought to shut down the Crown's court before it could sit for a new session. The event was dubbed the Worcester Revolution , or

1360-543: A soda-water fountain and some lovely colored dishes." On October 19, 1924, the largest gathering of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) ever held in New England took place at the Agricultural Fairgrounds in Worcester. Klansmen in sheets and hoods, new Knights awaiting a mass induction ceremony, and supporters swelled the crowd to 15,000. The KKK had hired more than 400 "husky guards", but when the rally ended around midnight,

1440-581: A year, as well as an average of 64 inches (160 cm) of snowfall a season, receiving far more snow than coastal locations less than 40 miles (64 km) away. Massachusetts' geographic location, jutting out into the North Atlantic , as well as Worcester's elevation relative to the surrounding terrain, makes the city very prone to Nor'easter weather systems that can dump heavy snow on the region. Extreme winters have brought up to 120 inches (300 cm) of snowfall, as happened in 2005. In late January 2015,

1520-531: Is Oakland Park , which has 800 Albanians, two percent of the city's population, and 350 live in Pompano Beach . Orlando and nearby communities do not have many Albanians, although Sanford , 20 miles away, has 300 Albanian residents. Within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, Plano has a large community in addition to the metropolitan area's two aforementioned cities. The zip code of 75075, west of

1600-408: Is 102 °F (39 °C), recorded on July 4, 1911, the only 100 °F (38 °C) or greater temperature to date. The all-time record low temperature is −24 °F (−31 °C), recorded on February 16, 1943. Worcester is known for being particularly snowy in the cold months, sometimes even experiencing intense autumn blizzards. The city averages 48.07 inches (1,220 mm) of precipitation

1680-850: Is 3% ethnically Albanian. There are 5,000 Albanians in Macomb County , and several thousand in Wayne County . While few live in the Detroit city proper, many live also in the suburbs such as St. Clair Shores and Farmington Hills . (See History of the Albanian Americans in Metro Detroit ). Chicago has a large population of Albanians; the state of Illinois has over 15,000 Albanians, and 3,000 reside in Chicago proper. Exurban communities like Minooka have abundant Albanian populations. Jacksonville has

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1760-646: Is 4% Albanian. There are 1,200 Albanians in St. Louis County . There is an Albanian presence in the Nashville area. While much smaller in other parts of Tennessee , such as Memphis and Knoxville where both cities have less than 50 Albanians live in said cities proper, over 1,000 Albanians live in Nashville. There is an Albanian-language Christian monastery that is adjoined with a community center there. In addition to New York, Connecticut, Florida and Michigan having most of

1840-530: Is a regional hub of government, industry, and transportation hub. Since the 1970s, and especially since the construction of Route 146 and interstates 90 , 495 , 190 , 290 , and 395 , both Worcester and its surrounding towns have become more integrated with Boston's suburbs. The Worcester region now marks the western periphery of the Boston–Worcester–Providence (MA–RI–NH) U.S. Census Combined Statistical Area (CSA), or Greater Boston . The area

1920-496: Is distinguishable from other Albanian Americans due to their Italianized names, as well as their Albanian Greek Catholic religion. Nevertheless, Arbëreshë have a strong sense of identity, and are unique in that they speak an archaic dialect of Tosk Albanian called Arbëresh , which does not have any Ottoman influence. Greater New Orleans has a history of an Arbëreshë community, mostly descended from 19th century Sicilian immigrants. Oftentimes, wherever there are Italians, there are

2000-415: Is governed by a council–manager government , with a popularly elected mayor . A city council acts as the legislative body, and the council-appointed manager handles the traditional day-to-day chief executive functions. City councilors can run as either a representative of a city district or as an at-large candidate. The winning at-large candidate who receives the greatest number of votes for mayor becomes

2080-530: Is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth" because of its proximity to the center of Massachusetts. The city is about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston , 50 miles (80 km) east of Springfield , and 38 miles (61 km) northwest of Providence, Rhode Island . The Blackstone River forms in the center of Worcester by the confluence of the Middle River and Mill Brook. The river courses underground through

2160-476: Is located in central eastern Worcester, in a residential area south of Massachusetts Route 9 . It is bounded on the west by Elizabeth Street and the south by Reservoir Street. It is a two-story brick structure, consisting of two rectangular sections, the southern one larger than the northern, joined by a narrow section that continues south of the larger one. Square entry towers, capped by pyramidal roofs, project from these narrower sections. The largest section has

2240-514: Is near the geographic center of Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth"; a heart is the official symbol of the city. Worcester is the historical seat of Worcester County . Worcester developed as an industrial city in the 19th century because the Blackstone Canal and railways facilitated the import of raw materials and the export of such finished goods as machines, textiles, and wire. Many European immigrants made up

2320-666: Is rife with Albanian-descended persons. Philadelphia city proper, as well as the suburbs of Progress and Berwyn are over 2% Albanian ethnically, and Philadelphia has over 5,000 Albanians in residence; 0.3% of the city's population. The DMV area encompassing D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, has several thousand Albanians: many reside in Fairfax County, Virginia (1,000; 120 in Dulles Town Center; 100 Floris; 100 in Oakton, and several dozen in other various cities and communities within

2400-580: Is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the 114th most populous city in the United States . Named after Worcester, England , the city had 206,518 people at the 2020 census , also making it the second- most populous city in New England , after Boston . Worcester is about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston, 50 miles (80 km) east of Springfield , and 40 miles (64 km) north-northwest of Providence . Because it

2480-777: The Albanian language as their mother tongue in 1920 was around 6,000. After World War II the Albanians who emigrated to the U.S. were mostly political emigrants, and by 1970 the figure rose to around 17,000. Following the Expulsion of Cham Albanians from Greece in the aftermath of World War II, many of them migrated to the United States, asserting that the Communist government in Albania discriminated against and persecuted them. They managed to retain their traditions and language, and created in 1973

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2560-729: The American Revolutionary War . On July 14, 1776, Thomas performed the first public reading in Massachusetts of the Declaration of Independence from the porch of the Old South Church, where the 19th-century Worcester City Hall stands today. He would later go on to form the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester in 1812. During the turn of the 19th century, Worcester's economy moved into manufacturing. Factories producing textiles, shoes and clothing opened along

2640-536: The Chameria Human Rights Association which later merged and became Albanian American Organization Chameria which aimed to protect their rights. (see Cham Albanians ). Allowing for the families that had abandoned their mother tongue, it is estimated that around 70,000 US citizens with an Albanian background lived in the US in 1980. In the 1990s, many Albanians from Albania , Montenegro , Serbia , and

2720-545: The Democratic Republic of the Congo , Iraq , Somalia , Bhutan , Syria , Ukraine and Afghanistan . Worcester has a total area of 38.6 square miles (100 km ): 37.6 square miles (97 km ) of land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km ), comprising roughly 2.59%, of water. Worcester is bordered by the towns of Auburn , Grafton , Holden , Leicester , Millbury , Paxton , Shrewsbury , and West Boylston . Worcester

2800-628: The Greater Phoenix area, has about 2-3,000 ethnic Albanians, and an Albanian cafe in Phoenix . A small yet sizable Albanian community can be found in Washington state , including Mercer Island and within the Seattle area . Albanian-Americans are on average younger than non-Albanian Americans, having an average age of 33.5 in comparison to the American national average of 37.7. Albanian-Americans also have

2880-661: The Jacksonville area. The main other Albanian communities are in the Midwest, such as in Metro Detroit , Michigan, and Chicagoland . There are few Albanian communities elsewhere, with a small population in California and a slightly higher proportion in Texas, especially Dallas . With over 60,000 Albanian-Americans, the largest community is in New York which serves as an important pillar of

2960-686: The Republic of North Macedonia emigrated to the United States as refugees of war. Another Albanian American ( Kosovan-Americans ) community in the Riverside / San Bernardino area of California includes Kosovars who entered the United States at the March Joint Air Reserve Base in Riverside. A wave of mass immigration came in 1992 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and it continued in the 1990s. Some Catholic ethnic Albanians from Montenegro entered

3040-672: The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that encompasses Northern Virginia and Maryland . West of the Mississippi River , there are smaller ethnic Albanian communities in Dallas-Fort Worth , Houston , Phoenix , and San Diego areas. To avoid service in the Turkish War during the late 19th century, due to Albania being under the rule of the Ottoman Empire , Albanians would arrive in the U.S., namely to Chicago , Boston , and New York. The first Albanian documented to have emigrated to

3120-423: The poverty threshold . Worcester is known for its diversity and large immigrant population, with significant communities of Vietnamese , Brazilians , Albanians , Puerto Ricans , Ghanaians , Dominicans , along with Chinese and Indian Americans. 22% of Worcester's population in 2018 was born outside the United States. Data is from the 2015–2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Worcester

3200-805: The Albanian community. 0.3% of New York State reports Albanian ancestry, and about 0.5% of NYC residents report Albanian ancestry. There is a concentrated Albanian community around the Bronx, especially around Belmont , Bedford Park , Morris Park , as well as also in Staten Island , which is nearly one percent Albanian. Parts of Westchester County such as Yonkers and White Plains are rife with Albanian people, both having over 2,000 and 1,000 Albanians each, respectively. The New Jersey cities of Garfield , Clifton , Elmwood Park , and Lodi all bear over 500 Albanians each. The Greater Philadelphia Area of Pennsylvania

3280-696: The Albanian population, pockets of sizable Albanians are found in San Diego County , which has roughly up towards 1,000 Albanians, many residing in Santee , or in the East San Diego County area. There are also several hundred Albanian Americans in the Sacramento Valley , especially in and around Carmichael . Pasadena , in Los Angeles , also has several hundred Albanians. Scottsdale, Arizona , as well as

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3360-709: The Canal District Business Association, have proposed restoring the canal and creating a Blackstone Valley National Park . Worcester is one of many cities claimed, like Rome , to be found on seven hills : Airport Hill, Bancroft Hill, Belmont Hill (Bell Hill), Grafton Hill , Green Hill, Pakachoag Hill and Vernon Hill. However, Worcester has more than seven hills, examples of which include Indian Hill, Newton Hill, Poet's Hill, and Wigwam Hill. Worcester has many ponds and two prominent lakes: Indian Lake and Lake Quinsigamond . Lake Quinsigamond (also known as Long Pond) stretches four miles (6.4 km) across

3440-733: The Central Expressway in Plano, is 1.5% Albanian; 500-600 residents. There is a Balkan/Albanian restaurant, cultural center in Lewisville , and one to two thousand Albanians reside in the Dallas area. There is a sizable Albanian population in Missouri , especially in Greater St. Louis ; the town of Bella Villa , which also has a large population of another Southern European ethnic group ( Bosnian Americans ),

3520-513: The Earles and the Chases, whose organizing efforts were crucial to the anti-slavery cause in central Massachusetts and throughout New England. Anarchist Emma Goldman and two others opened an ice cream shop in 1892. "It was spring and not yet warm," Goldman later wrote, "but the coffee I brewed, our sandwiches, and dainty dishes were beginning to be appreciated. Within a short time, we were able to invest in

3600-474: The N.Y.C. area , especially in the Bronx . Workers settled in New York in the early 20th century, many of whom would find work in shoe, glass, and textile factories. A second wave of Albanians arrived after World War II , and many of them were refugees from the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha . These refugees came from all regions of Albania and settled mainly in New York. Albanians would also be instrumental in

3680-621: The Performing Arts . In 2000, the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences built a new campus in downtown Worcester. In 2007, WPI opened the first facility in their new Gateway Park center in Lincoln Square. In 2004, Berkeley Investments proposed demolishing the old Worcester Center Galleria for a new mixed-used development called City Square . The ambitious project looked to reconnect old street patterns while creating

3760-411: The United States from Mexico and settled in Detroit. Some of the first ethnic Albanians to arrive in the United States were immigrants from Italy who descended from a group of Albanians known as the Arbëreshë . The Arbëreshë were a group of Albanians who fled to the Kingdom of Naples and to the Kingdom of Sicily in the 15th century to avoid invasion by the Ottoman Empire . This group of Albanians

3840-435: The United States was Kolë Kristofori (English: Nicholas Christopher ), who landed in Boston in the early 1880s and is remembered as the pioneer of the Albanian ethnic group in the U.S. It was not until the 1900s that large numbers of Albanians reached the U.S. East Coast: most of them were young bachelors from southern Albania. In addition to the Boston and Chicago areas, large numbers of Albanians would make their home in

3920-410: The United States. Worcester would also claim many inventions and firsts. New England Candlepin bowling was invented in Worcester by Justin White in 1879. Esther Howland began the first line of Valentine's Day cards from her Worcester home in 1847. Loring Coes invented the first monkey wrench and Russell Hawes created the first envelope folding machine. On June 12, 1880, Lee Richmond pitched

4000-452: The United States. Many had initially lived in New York and New England, but moved to Detroit by the 1910s. The majority of this first wave of emigrants, approximately 10,000, did not intend to permanently settle in the U.S., and went back to Albania after World War I . Meanwhile, the post-WWII group of emigrants from Albania reached the U.S. The second group settled and intermarried in their new country. The number of Albanians that reported

4080-442: The West Side of Cleveland), 14,500 live in Illinois and about 13,000 live in Connecticut. The three largest communities (New York, Michigan and Massachusetts) account for 58% of the total Albanian-American population. Michigan has an Albanian American percentage for the state recorded at 0.4%, higher than New York's at 0.3%; thus having Michigan having the highest percentage of Albanian Americans of any state. Hamtramck, Michigan

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4160-406: The Worcester Revolt. Having seized the courthouse, the militiamen waited for the 25 appointees from the Crown to arrive, where they were denied entry and later forced to disavow their appointments by King George III. Bloodshed and violence was avoided, with not a shot fired. British authority had been demonstrably overthrown in the American colonies for the first time. In the 1770s, Worcester became

4240-484: The Worcester and Shrewsbury border and is a very popular competitive rowing and boating destination. Worcester's humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfb ) is typical of New England . The weather changes rapidly owing to the confluence of warm, humid air from the southwest; cool, dry air from the north; and the moderating influence of the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Summers are typically hot and humid, while winters are cold, windy, and snowy. Snow typically falls from

4320-404: The aforementioned Eastern U.S. states (52,000 in New York State , 30,000 in Michigan , 21,000 in Massachusetts , 16,000 in Florida , 15,000 in Illinois , 15,000 in New Jersey , and 12,000 in Connecticut ). There are also smaller, yet sizable communities within the Midwest such as Greater Cleveland , and Kenosha and Milwaukee , and as well as smaller East Coast communities like that of in

4400-463: The center of the city, and emerges at the foot of College Hill. It then flows south through Quinsigamond Village and into Millbury. Worcester is the beginning of the Blackstone Valley that frames the river. The Blackstone Canal was once an important waterway connecting Worcester to Providence and the Eastern Seaboard , but the canal fell into disuse at the end of the 19th century and was mostly covered up. In recent years, local organizations, including

4480-405: The city's downtown has brought new investment and construction to Worcester. A Convention Center was built along the DCU Center arena in downtown Worcester in 1997. In 2000, Worcester's Union Station reopened after 25 years of neglect and a $ 32 million renovation. Hanover Insurance helped fund a multimillion-dollar renovation to the old Franklin Square Theater into the Hanover Theatre for

4560-615: The city's growing population. After World War II , manufacturing there waned; economic and population decline was not reversed until the 1990s, when higher education, medicine, biotechnology , and new immigrants started making their mark. The population has grown by 28% since 1980, reaching its all-time high in the 2020 census and effecting urban renewal . Modern Worcester is known for its diversity and large immigrant population, with significant communities of Vietnamese , Brazilians , Albanians , Puerto Ricans , Ghanaians , Dominicans , and others. Twenty-two percent of Worcester's population

4640-541: The council by the councilors, and a council-appointed city manager. The manager oversees the daily administration of the city, makes all appointments to city offices, and can be removed at any time by a majority vote of the council. The mayor chairs the city council and the school committee, and does not have the power to veto any vote. From 1949 through 1959, elections were by the single transferable vote . Voters repealed that system in November 1960. Despite non-partisan elections, two groups alternated in control of council:

4720-414: The country and naturalized citizens, as well as those with dual citizenship who affiliate themselves with both cultures. People of Albanian descent are often concentrated in the Greater Philadelphia , Greater Boston , Metro Detroit , Chicagoland , Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida ; New York City , and Waterbury, Connecticut areas. About three-quarters of the Albanian American population lives in

4800-424: The country and Washburn became one of the leading industrial and philanthropic figures in the city. Worcester would become a center of machinery, wire products and power looms and boasted large manufacturers, including Washburn & Moen, Wyman-Gordon Company, American Steel & Wire, Morgan Construction and the Norton Company . In 1908, the Royal Worcester Corset Company was the largest employer of women in

4880-555: The county), Arlington County, Virginia , Loudoun County, Virginia , Montgomery County, Maryland , and Washington, D.C. itself has an Albanian American proportion that is slightly higher than the American figure of 0.06% (D.C.'s is 0.08%). Massachusetts has a large Albanian population, especially in the communities of Worcester , which has 3,000 Albanians, and Quincy with over a thousand. Some 30,000 live in Michigan, about 20,000 live in Massachusetts, approximately 4,000 live in Ohio (in Greater Cleveland , especially Lakewood and

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4960-519: The first perfect game in Major league baseball history for the Worcester Ruby Legs at the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds . The first three-decker homes were built by Francis Gallagher (1830–1911) in Worcester. After World War II, Worcester began to fall into decline as the city lost its manufacturing base to cheaper alternatives across the country and overseas. Worcester felt the national trends of movement away from historic urban centers. The city's population dropped over 20% from 1950 to 1980. In

5040-463: The iconic yellow smiley face to American culture. In the late 20th century, Worcester's economy began to recover as the city expanded into biotechnology and healthcare fields. The UMass Medical School has become a leader in biomedical research and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park has become a center of medical research and development. Worcester hospitals Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Health Care have become two of

5120-425: The largest employers in the city. Worcester's many colleges, including the College of the Holy Cross , Worcester Polytechnic Institute , Clark University , UMass Medical School, Assumption University , Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences , and Worcester State University , attract many students to the area and help drive the new economy. On December 3, 1999, a homeless couple accidentally started

5200-404: The local Democratic Party and a slate known as the Citizens' Plan E Association (CEA). CEA members included the Republican Party leadership and other groups not affiliated with the regular Democratic Party. In 1983, Worcester voters again decided to change the city charter. This "Home Rule" charter (named for the method of adoption of the charter) is similar to Plan E, the major changes being to

5280-554: The mayor (at-large councilor candidates must ask to be removed from the ballot for mayor if they do not want to be listed on the mayoral ballot). As a result, voters must vote for their mayoral candidate twice, once as an at-large councilor, and once as the mayor. The mayor has no more authority than other city councilors, but is the ceremonial head of the city and chair of the city council and school committee. Currently, there are 11 councilors: 6 at-large and 5 district. Worcester's first charter , which went into effect in 1848, established

5360-418: The mid-19th century and later many immigrants of Lithuanian, Polish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Syrian, and Lebanese descent. Immigrants moved into new three-decker houses (which originated in Worcester) lining hundreds of Worcester's expanding streets and neighborhoods. In 1831, Ichabod Washburn opened the Washburn & Moen Company . The company would become the largest wire manufacturing in

5440-580: The mid-20th century, large urban renewal projects were undertaken to try to reverse the city's decline. A huge area of downtown Worcester was demolished for new office towers and the 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m ) Worcester Center Galleria shopping mall. After only 30 years, the Galleria would lose most of its major tenants and its appeal to more suburban shopping malls around Worcester County. On June 9, 1953, an F4 tornado touched down in Petersham , northwest of Worcester. The tornado tore through 48 miles (77 km) of Worcester County including

5520-442: The most Albanian Americans in Florida with 3,812 Albanians, having almost 1/4 of all Albanian Americans in Florida and 1.76% of all Albanian Americans. Jacksonville's population is 0.4% Albanian by ancestry. Clearwater , in the Tampa area, has 900 Albanian residents, almost one percent of its population, as well as an Albanian Islamic mosque. There is also another Tampa-area Albanian mosque located in Dunedin , which has served as

5600-501: The nearby Blackstone River . However, the manufacturing industry in Worcester would not begin to thrive until the opening of the Blackstone Canal in 1828 and the opening of the Worcester and Boston Railroad in 1835. The city transformed into a transportation hub and the manufacturing industry flourished. Worcester was officially chartered as a city on February 29, 1848. The city's industries soon attracted immigrants of primarily Irish, Scottish, French, German, and Swedish descent in

5680-401: The pizzeria and restaurant industry in New York, Boston, Chicago, and other metropolises. In 1912, Albanians began arriving in the Detroit area. At the time there were groups in east Detroit, northwest Detroit, and Grosse Pointe . The early settlers originated from southern Albania, but they were recorded as being from Greece, Turkey, or from the country in which they boarded their boats to

5760-617: The second half of November into early April, with occasional falls in October; May snow is much rarer. The USDA classifies the city as straddling hardiness zones 5b and 6a. The hottest month is July, with a 24-hour average of 70.2 °F (21.2 °C), while the coldest is January, at 24.1 °F (−4.4 °C). There are an average of only 3.5 days of highs at or above 90 °F (32 °C) and 4.1 nights of lows at or below 0 °F (−18 °C) per year, and periods of either extremes are rarely sustained. The all-time record high temperature

5840-446: The structure of the council and the election of the mayor. The 9-member Council became 11, 6 at-large and 1 from each city district. The mayor is chosen by popular election, but must also run and win as an at-large councilor. Worcester's history of social progressivism includes a number of temperance and abolitionist movements. It was a leader in the women's suffrage movement: The first national convention advocating women's rights

5920-645: The windows. The school was built in 1893, when Worcester architect George Clemence was in the first year of what would be a highly successful practice. Unlike the Dartmouth Street School , another Clemence design, this school was not enlarged, probably because the neighborhood in which it was built was already completely built out at the time of its construction. The school has been converted to condominium residences. Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( / ˈ w ʊ s t ər / WUUST -ər , locally [ˈwɪstə] )

6000-491: Was 67.7% White (including Hispanics), 13.0% Black or African American , 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 7.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 5.2% from Some Other Race, and 6.4% from Two or More Races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 24.6% of the population (of whom nearly half were Puerto Rican). Non-Hispanic Whites were 48.93% of the population in 2020, down from 96.8% in 1970. In 2010, 19.7% of Worcester's population are below

6080-428: Was again abandoned during Queen Anne's War in 1702. Finally, in 1713, Worcester was permanently resettled for a third and final time by Jonas Rice . Named after the city of Worcester, England , the town was incorporated on June 14, 1722. On April 2, 1731, Worcester was chosen as the county seat of the newly founded Worcester County government. Between 1755 and 1758, future U.S. president John Adams worked as

6160-540: Was born outside the United States. A center of higher education, it is home to eight colleges and universities, including the College of the Holy Cross , Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), and Clark University . Worcester has many 19th-century triple-decker houses, Victorian-era mills and related buildings , and lunch-car diners, such as Miss Worcester . Worcester is the principal city of Central Massachusetts , and

6240-533: Was held in Worcester on October 23–24, 1850. Two of the nation's most radical abolitionists, Abby Kelley Foster and her husband Stephen S. Foster, adopted Worcester as their home, as did Thomas Wentworth Higginson , the editor of The Atlantic Monthly and Emily Dickinson 's avuncular correspondent, and Unitarian minister Rev. Edward Everett Hale . The area was already home to Lucy Stone , Eli Thayer , and Samuel May Jr . They were joined in their political activities by networks of related Quaker families such as

6320-516: Was inhabited by members of the Nipmuc tribe at the time of European contact. The native people called the region Quinsigamond and built a settlement on Pakachoag Hill in Auburn . In 1673, English settlers John Eliot and Daniel Gookin led an expedition to Quinsigamond to establish a new Christian Indian praying town and identify a new location for an English settlement. On July 13, 1674, Gookin obtained

6400-595: Was one of the founders of the John Birch Society . Albanian Americans In 2024, there were 224,000 counted people of Albanian descent living in the United States , mostly in the Northeast and the Great Lakes region . This is a major increase since 1990, when there were only 47,710 Albanians in the U.S. The figure includes all people affiliated with United States who claim Albanian ancestry, both those born in

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