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Tag: history

  • Framingham Streets: What’s in a Name?

    FRAMINGHAM,MA – The Framingham Historical Society & Museum, (FHSM), invites the public to come and find out how streets in Framingham were named. The program Street Smarts, “What’s in a name?”, will unlock the mysteries of street naming in Framingham on Sunday, January 22, at 2 p.m. at the Edgell Memorial Library.

    Ed Convery, former Framingham teacher and principal and former President of FHSM will particularly explore the history of the Musterfield and how the streets were named. He will answer questions such as: whose field was this, what is the meaning of muster, what is an arsenal, and why were the streets named after WWII battles.

    In conjunction with the program, several retired green and white street signs will be available for purchase for only $10 each in the Edgell Memorial Library gift shop.

    All welcome and refreshments will be served.

    Snow date is Sunday, January 29th.

    For further information call 508-872-3780.

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  • Framingham Bracelet Available for Gift Giving

    Framingham Bracelet Available for Gift Giving

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – Janice Kiley, of the Framingham Cultural Council, announces that the sterling silver limited edition handcrafted Framingham Bracelet is still available for last minute gift giving.

    The Framingham Bracelet
    The Framingham Bracelet

    The tulip design incorporated into the bracelet is patterned after the wrought iron railing around Framingham’s downtown common.

    The bracelet was designed and is made by Vera Jeweler’s in downtown Framingham.

    The bracelet is a fundraiser for the Framingham Cultural Council, which supports many Framingham organizations and activities, including the Framingham Historical Society, and the summer concerts series.

    Bracelets are $ 100, and $ 50 is considered a donation to the Framingham Cultural Council.

    If you have a friend or family member, or special employee or associate who likes jewelry and has ties to Framingham, this makes a great and unusual gift, plus you are giving a gift to the town at the same time.

    For more information call 508-628-1382, or send email to: culturalcouncil@framinghamma.org

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  • Toward Victory Exhibit Opens

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – The Framingham Historical Society & Museum opened its latest exhibit with a well-attended reception on Friday, April 1st.

    Toward Victory: Winning World War II from Home, explores the extraordinary efforts and sacrifices made by the people of Framingham during WWII. The exhibit, housed in the Edgell Memorial Library, (a monument to Framingham’s Civil War soldiers), is free and open to the public Thursdays through Sundays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is an expansion of the museum’s usual hours.

    Edgell Library is located at the corner of Edgell Rd. and Oak St. and is notable for the Civil War statue and large, cast iron urn on its lawn as well as its Gothic style architecture.

    The exhibit is a combination of museum holdings, including an impressive number of wartime posters, uniforms, and memorabilia, as well as loans from area residents.

    The exhibit will run through September 24, 2005.

    For further information, call 508-872-3780 or visit framinghamhistory.org

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  • Wallace Nutting Chest Sells for $18,700

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – Decades before Martha Stewart, Wallace Nutting, whose home and office were in Framingham, held sway over popular home furnishings and taste.  Nutting’s Old America Company was located on Park St., in Downtown Framingham and produced prints, picture frames and reprodution furniture in the 1920’s-30’s.

    A leader of the Colonial Revival movement, he helped Americans rediscover and appreciate their local and historic treasures through his nostalgic photographs, travel books like “Massachusetts Beautiful” and quality reproduction colonial furniture.

    Today his works are sought after. There is a collectors society and an auctioneer, Michael Ivankovich, of Doylestown, PA, specializes in selling Nutting items.

    Ivankovich recently sold a Nutting mahogany Goddard block front chest at auction for $ 18,700. It was the third highest price ever paid for a piece of Nutting furniture. The others were a highboy for $33,000 and a Goddard desk secretary for $ 36,750.

    (For more information about Nutting, see our Wallace Nutting historic profile page).

  • Exhbition: Toward Victory: Winning World War II from Home

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – The Framingham Historical Society & Museum presents the exhibit Toward Victory: Winning World War II from Home from April 2 – Sept. 24, 2005 at the Edgell Memorial Library Building, corner of Edgell Rd. & Oak St.

    The exhibition features not only items in the museum’s collection, but also materials on loan from area residents. The exhibit includes 1940’s home furnishings to provide a sense of the WWII home. Several posters, momentoes and war souvenirs will be part of the exhibit.

    For information, call 508-872-3780 or visit www.framinghamhistory.org

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  • Memorial Building Rotunda Skylights Restrored

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – Skylights in the lobby of the Memorial Building which houses a Veteran’s Memorial will soon be uncovered as part of a renovation project.

    Another project inspired by Framingham Town Owned Building’s Director Jim Egan who found the tar-papered and painted skylights and worked to get the project rolling to restore the hall’s entrance to it’s pre-WWII glory.

    The skylights were covered up in 1942 per order of the governor as part of a blackout operation during WWII.

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