Framingham Gets Approval For 49th Cultural District In Mass

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A state board approved Framingham's Centre Common area to become Massachusetts' 49th cultural district, a designation that will help boost the profile of the city's historic center.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council board voted on creating the Framingham Centre Common Cultural District on Tuesday. The designation expires in five years, but within that time the state Cultural Council will help promote things to do and see in the district.

Work on the designation stretches back years. Former state Rep. Chris Walsh worked on it following the 2011 passage of the state law creating the cultural districts program. The City Council approved asking for the designation last winter at the behest of the Framingham Centre Common Cultural District Organizing Committee, whose members include Annie Murphy from the Framingham History Center, Debra Petke of the Danforth Art Museum, Dale Hamel of Framingham State University, and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce.

The Centre Common and surrounding buildings were designated a local historic district at the 1978 Framingham Town Meeting, and the area became a National Register of Historic Places district in 1990. Major organizations like the Framingham History Center, Framingham State University, and Danforth, have backed the district initiative.

Learn more about state cultural districts on the Mass Cultural Council website.