A Place for the People

Mechanics Hall, a historic icon of civic and cultural life

by DEBORAH PACKARD Executive Director, Preservation Worcester

Walking into Mechanics Hall, an architectural treasure and an acoustical masterpiece, is like entering a time capsule. Its interior design is spectacular. A gracious stairway welcomes entrants to the second-floor landing, where today two original ticket kiosks flank the entrance to Washburn Hall. Ascending from the second floor, balustraded staircases lead to the Great Hall. This magnificent space measures 80 by 100 feet and is over 41 feet high. Balconies line three sides of the Great Hall while the east wall boasts the dramatic Hook Organ and a platform stage.

Funded by industrialist Ichabod Washburn and designed by Elbridge Boyden, Mechanics Hall was built at 321 Main St. in 1857 as the home of the Worcester County Mechanics Association, a progressive group of contractors, inventors, architects, craftsmen, carpenters, and machinists. In the mid-nineteenth century, Worcester was becoming a manufacturing powerhouse and the Mechanics Association desired a permanent home to propel change and innovation. There, members would be able to gain knowledge, learn the latest technologies, and provide mutual aid. The building also afforded a setting for personal enrichment through the appreciation of beauty and culture. When completed, the classical building fulfilled its promise, affording members a grand space for lectures, demonstrations, displays, classroom instruction, and a library. Over time, Mechanics Hall evolved into the center of artistic, political, and intellectual life in thriving Worcester. Boyden’s ambitious plan reflected the bold declaration he made in 1857: “Show me the architecture and buildings of your city and I’ll tell you the nature of its people.”

For the Mechanics Association members, who actively participated in all aspects of the building process, excellence in design and the integration of state-ofthe-art construction techniques were priorities. The Italian Renaissance Revival facade was built on a frame of durable cast-iron supporting mastic-covered brick with a sand-finish paint simulating stone. Large-scale cast-iron piers, triple round arched windows, Roman Corinthian columns flanked by paired pilasters, a cornice, and a fanlight-modified Palladian window adorned the classical facade.

The Great Hall was built prior to the advent of steel construction, so wood timber trusses spanning the entire width of the hall supported the roof. Amplification was not yet available and acoustical engineering was not yet a science, but somehow Boyden’s design resulted in exceptional acoustics. The Great Hall also featured large portraits of men who personified the Mechanics' foundational values of innovation, enterprise, patriotism, abolitionism, and temperance. Among the original nineteen portraits were Boyden, Washburn, abolitionist newspaper publisher William Lloyd Garrison, John A. Andrew (governor of Massachusetts from 1861 to 1867), and the twentieth U.S. president, James A. Garfield, who served just six months before he was assassinated.

During its first seventy years, the Mechanics Association flourished, and members and the community saw the Great Hall graced by luminaries such as Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Enrico Caruso, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jenny Lind, Susan B. Anthony, and Charles Dickens. However, by the turn of the twentieth century, many considered the building obsolete. Worcester Memorial Auditorium was constructed in 1932 and it soon became the venue of choice for Worcester’s civic and cultural life. By the 1970s, the Mechanics Association was page 7 The Great Hall viewed from the balcony in Mechanics Hall. In the center background of the photograph are the pipes of the Hook Organ. The mechanically operated instrument has 3,504 pipes and fifty-two stops. (Photograph provided by Preservation Worcester) left Mechanics Hall as it looked during the mid- to late nineteenth century. (Courtesy of the New York Public Library) struggling financially, the building’s fire suppression system was inadequate, and an exposed exterior wall had deteriorated to the point where a pencil could penetrate the brick. The Great Hall morphed into a sports venue for wrestling, roller skating, basketball, and boxing, with bleachers unceremoniously located on the main floor. With urban renewal rampant across the country, there was a serious threat that the building would be demolished and replaced with a modern structure.

Responding to the wrecking ball threat, in 1971 the Worcester Heritage Preservation Society (now Preservation Worcester) commissioned a study by architectural historian Denys Peter Myers to determine the significance of the building. Myers concluded that Mechanics Hall was “the finest hall, as distinct from theatre, remaining in the United States from the pre-Civil War decade.” The preservation society immediately nominated the structure for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places; the Great Hall was added to the register in 1972. The Worcester community responded resoundingly, raising $5 million toward a restoration effort. A heartwarming campaign by Worcester Public School students collected over $9,000 in pennies.

The next decade saw the restoration and rebirth of Mechanics Hall. The Boston-based architectural firm of Anderson, Notter & Finegold led the effort. A restoration and addition were executed in keeping with the Mechanics' tradition of excellent craftsmanship and use of stateof-art technologies. A new glass wall rear entrance lobby provided accessibility throughout the building while showcasing the original brick facade. Since the restoration, a strategic preservation/maintenance plan guides the upkeep and longterm preservation of the building while unforeseen issues are immediately addressed.

Aware of the symbolism of the collection of portraits of exclusively white men, in 1999 Mechanics Hall installed portraits of four women who personified the virtues valued by the founding Mechanics. The portraits depict Lucy Stone, suffragist, abolitionist, and the first woman in Massachusetts to earn a college degree; Abby Kelley Foster, abolitionist and feminist social reformer; Dorothea Dix, a nurse and advocate for the mentally ill; and Clara Barton, a nurse and founder of the American Red Cross. Recognizing the absence of people of color, a project is underway to commission portraits of rights activists Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and entrepreneurs and abolitionists William and Martha Brown. William was the first Black American inducted into the Worcester County Mechanics Association.

Mechanics Hall remains a non-profit organization owned and overseen by the Worcester County Mechanics Association (now the Board of Trustees). A beacon of community pride, it is a premier destination for cultural activities and social interaction. Also, it is internationally recognized as a significant entertainment and recording venue, bringing worldrenowned entertainment and culture to Central Massachusetts.