As more and more of the Society’s collections come online, we can begin to show you some pretty amazing things. Take for instance this 3-minute trip down Main Street, put together using just a few of the historic photos in our collections. In this video, I wanted to showcase the losses our Main Street has suffered over the last century. Once a vibrant small-town commercial and residential area, disastrous demolitions and total lack of urban planning has resulted in a broken architectural fabric without cohesion or purpose. It’s not too late though: the planned reconstruction of Main Street, plus thoughtful architectural additions that respect the style and scale of the area, could yet return Main Street to a viable, pedestrian friendly destination—exactly the result an effective historic district could provide. It’s time to get serious about restoring Main Street—not just the roadway—but the useful vibrancy of this important part of our heritage. Who among us wouldn’t benefit from that?
This video, by the way, is meant to be a trial-of-concept for a new book we are contemplating, Lost Southborough, that would show you then-and-now views of many spots around Town. If we can get the project launched this fall and winter, it would be our first new book in 40 years.
In the meantime, enjoy!
That was excellent, but sad to see what has happened to parts of our town; starkly shown on Main St. ( looking west).
Thank you for putting this together.
Wow! Amazing! Well done! Its sad to see history disappear like that!
It looks like Main St roads were in better condition then than they are now! Hehe
Beautifully done. Best of luck with preserving all the beauty that still remains in Southborough.
So well done. Might you consider creating another video of what historic buildings still remain, in our tiny “downtown” … like the 18th C. Knights of Columbus bldg, and the tiny cleaners and barbershop next door. They give our Village center real charm and character.
Remarkable job, Michael, thank you so much for taking the time to put that together. Very well done. I found myself watching and rewinding several times. Looking forward to visiting the booth and museum on Heritage Day.
This is beautifully done, and a stark reminder of what Southborough’s already lost.