June 19th 2011: The 2nd day in Worcester

I decided to start off early today, by going to the Christoforo Colombo Park on Shrewsbury Street. Fireworks are usually set off in this park on Independence Day. Unfortunately, when I arrived there, I realized that my camera was out of juice, and I had no spare AA batteries in my car, so my sightseeing for the day had to be delayed for a bit while I tried to look for the nearest convenience store that was open at 8 am on a Sunday to get what I sorely needed.

Finally, with my camera re-energized, I returned to the park. The entrance to the park is fronted by two winged lion (griffin) stone statues, and there were people playing cricket in the field nearby. This place also has a nice amphitheater at the back, and walking trails (East Side Trail) connect it to nearby Bell Pond along Belmont Street and Green Hill Park, the latter which I visited later in the day. Pictures of Christoforo Colombo Park follow.

Entrance to Christoforo Colombo Park

Views of the amphitheater

On the way to my next stop, the City Hall Common, I spotted the Korean War Memorial on the corner of Bridge Street and Foster Street and decided to take a picture. From here, you can also see Union Station, the DCU Center and St. Vincent Hospital.

Korean War Memorial

Union Station

Saint Vincent Hospital

DCU Center

The City Hall Common on Front Street and Franklin Street is a beautiful place with lots of monuments and surrounded by historical buildings. The most impressive is the City Hall itself.



Views of City Hall Common and its Monuments

Views of City Hall

At this point, seeing the beautiful buildings around me, I decided to drive around and take some pictures of them. Some notable buildings taken in this area today are shown below.

Federal Square,
Main Street and Southbridge Street

Liberty Church

Cathedral of St. Paul

Elm Park on Highland Street or Park Avenue was my next destination. The area with the pond is a great place for a morning stroll and to observe little birds and animals. There are also a few statues and monuments littering the park, together with bridges crossing the pond at several points. For a moment I thought a heron made of copper was actually real, and I managed to take a picture of a squirrel sifting through trash for food.

Monuments and Statues at Elm Park

Views of the bridges and pond at Elm Park

The Wildlife at Elm Park

I went to the Institute Park on Salisbury Street and Park Avenue next, which did not seem as impressive as Elm Park. The park encompasses a relatively large pond, Salisbury Pond. There is an amphitheater there as well, but the entrance and the amphitheater was still under construction today.

 Views of Salisbury Pond

Institute Park entrance under construction

Next, I went to the Higgins Armory Museum which has a $10 admission fee.

 

This is a great collection of armor from the ancient beginnings of its usage to its wane with the invention of the gun and cannon, with its height being during the Renaissance period with the knights in shining armor that we have come to associate armory with. Some interesting suits of armor and arms are shown below.

Gun shield

Roman Armor

Evolution of armor

Interesting Weaponry

Jousting

Duelling

Bird-faced helm

Other interesting sights at the museum include an educational area where people can try on various parts of armor. Man are those things heavy. I pity the people who had to wear them, and fight as well.

Helmets to try on

How to Mount a Horse Properly

For the little ones

The next museum I went to was the Worcester Art Museum. This place has a decent collection of artwork, ranging from sculptures, beautiful portraits, to abstract art that probably even I could do, and sell for tons of money. If only I had the time... Some artwork follows.

Museum interior

Even I can do this

DNA gel as art

Enough art and culture for one day. Green Hill Park was my next destination. This is another beautiful place in Worcester where families have barbecues by Green Hill Pond, or picnics on the hilside. Some views from the park follow.

There is also a farm for kids on Green Hill, as well as the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial, shown below.

Some other water bodies  in Worcester include Coes Reservoir and Indian Lake, which both have beaches which were unoccupied when I went to these places.

Coes Reservoir

Indian Lake

My final destination for the day was the Quinsigamond State Park along North Lake Avenue, at the boundary between Worcester and Shrewsbury. I had to pay a $5 fee to park there, although I could easily have parked for free nearby, but it was too late for me to back out when I realized it. It consists of two parts, Lake Park and Regatta Point, both of which lie along Lake Quinsigamond.

Views from Regatta Point follow.

With that, I headed home for the day. Stay tuned for the next post.