What is the West Side?

Growing up here, I knew I lived on the West Side and that was a good thing. Returning home, I was sure I wanted to buy a home on the West Side. Now that I'm here I'm wondering is the West Side of Worcester what it once was? Is it still desirable? And what exactly is the West Side?

My intial thoughts went something like this:

the zips: 01602, 01609

the schools: Doherty, Forest Grove, Flagg, Midland, Tatnuck, West Tatnuck and maybe some other elementary schools

nice homes, nice neighborhoods, suburbia in the city

But what's the truth? Well, it gets hazy....

The Worcester Public Schools lists the following schools in the Doherty Quadrant:
Forest Grove Middle School, 495 Grove Street, 01605
Chandler Community School, 115 Chandler Street, 01609
Chandler Magnet School, 525 Chandler Street, 01602
Elm Park Community School, 23 N. Ashland, 01609
Flagg Street School, 115 Flagg Street, 01602
Jacob Hiatt Magnet School, 772 Main Street, 01610
May Street School, 265 May Street, 01602
Midland Street School, 18 Midland Street, 01602
Nelson Place School, 35 Nelson Place, 01605
Tatnuck Magnet School, 1083 Pleasant Street, 01602 and
West Tatnuck School, 300 Mower Street, 01602


Google gives you this list:
West Side Steak & BBQ - maps.google.com - (508) 756-6328 - more

Westside Animal Clinic - www.westsideanimalclinic.com - (508) 756-4411 - 5 reviews

West Side House Nursing Center - maps.google.com - (508) 752-6763 - more

West Side Family Chiropractic - maps.google.com - (508) 757-1865 - more

Westside Landscaping - maps.google.com - (508) 791-2668 - more

West Side Pediatrics - maps.google.com - (508) 856-0200 - more

West Side Properties - maps.google.com - (508) 757-1395 - more

Westside Association - maps.google.com - (508) 756-0045 - more

West Side Grille - www.westsidegrillerte9.com - (508) 366-6277 - more

Westside Design - maps.google.com - (508) 885-9045 - more

My Dad says it's probably a colloquialism used by local residents.

Finally and ultimately, much more definitively (although still rather arbitrarily determined) is a report commissioned by the City of Worcester’s Executive Office of Neighborhood Services that was presented by RKG, Inc. in September of 2002. While much of the data and some of the conclusions are now outdated (although much of it is based on the last Census in 2000), the report clearly defines the West Side:

“This submarket is located in the western corner of the City adjacent to the towns of Holden, Paxton and Leicester. The West Side represents the consolidation of six census tracts (7306, 7307, 7308.01, 7308.02, 7309.01, 7309.02), as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and contains 5,571 acres, representing the largest submarket, which encompasses 22.6% of the City’s land area. The submarket is roughly bounded by Holden Street, Route 122A (Grove Street), Route 9/12 (Park Avenue), June Street, Mill Street, and the City line. Other transportation corridors providing access through this area include Route 122 (Chandler Street), Pleasant Street, and Salisbury Street. Some of the more prominent landmarks located in this submarket include the Worcester Airport, Worcester State College, Assumption College, and Notre Dame Academy.”

In 2000, the West Side submarket contained 26,897 people, representing an increase in population of 2.8% over the past decade. From a population perspective, the West Side is the largest of all submarket areas. As of 2000, the population of this submarket accounted for 15.6% of Worcester’s total population. Households in the West Side accounted for 14.7% of all City households."

You can view the entire 109 page report at http://www.telegram.com/static/housing/index.html

Just so you know, I find this report fascinating and plan on referring to it in future posts...

With those ideas and definitions as a start to the discussion, I’ll be blogging about what goes on in the West Side or what I think should, a mix of fun stuff and the more serious. I hope the blog will go beyond my own observations to include research, news and others’ insights. I don’t consider myself infallible or an expert and I obviously only encounter a small portion of what goes on in the city in my day-to-day, so I welcome your input – especially from current residents of the West Side. I’m starting the blog as a project to help me re-engage with my community and I hope it will do just that.

Thanks for reading!

Taking community journalism into my own hands,
Moreland Mom