Jane Week 2026
May 4th-May 8th
Free to attend
Registrations required
What is Jane Week?
Jane Week gives Worcester residents and visitors a chance to connect to each other, explore Worcester by foot and participate in interesting discussions on how we can enhance the design and function of our city. The event is named for Jane Jacobs, an urban theorist and activist who championed a community-based approach to city building.
Worcester’s Jane Week joins an international movement that occurs in May in over 250 cities across the world.
All tours are free and open to the public.
Sorry, no dogs (except service dogs) are allowed on walking tours.
Tours will fill up, so make sure to register for a spot
Who was Jane Jacobs?
Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was an American-born writer and activist best known for her writings about cities. Her first book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), upended the ideas of modernist city planning and building, and offered a new vision of diverse, fine-grained cities made for and by ordinary people. She published six more major books about cities, economics, ethics, governance and culture.
Schedule of Events
MON
May 4
From Factory to Store to Neighborhood: Worcester's Whittall Mill Complex
Led by PW docent Alan Petrillo
Held at Acoustic Java, 3 Brussels St at 6:30pm​
​Since 1870, the buildings of Worcester's Whittall Mill complex have been solid, handsome, economically viable, and useful to a broad cross-section of the community. In this 40-minute presentation, Preservation Worcester docent Alan Petrillo explores the fascinating history and evolution of this Worcester and New England landmark. Along the way, he highlights the qualities of design and construction that have helped the property thrive for 150+ years – and now that the complex has been sold to Holy Cross affords it the potential to become an even more vibrant and essential part of Worcester’s ongoing resurgence. The program will be held in Acoustic Java which is in the heart of the historic Whittall Mill complex.
TUE
May 5
Beacon Street Area Architectural Historic Walking Tour - Part 1: Then & Now
Led by Michelle Johnstone, Senior Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Worcester
Meet at the Corner of Main St and Hermon St at 2:00pm
Rain date: Thursday, May 7 at 2:00pm ​
Join Michelle Johnstone, Senior Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Worcester, for a walking tour that will explore the industrial architectural past of the Beacon Street neighborhood. Traversing an approximately 0.75-mile generally flat route, the tour will highlight extant and vanished places on Beacon, Lagrange, Hermon, Jackson, and Main Streets. Participants will learn about the history of manufacturing in this largely architecturally intact enclave of the City and will gain insight into those who worked and lived in the neighborhood.
Beacon Street Area Affordable Housing Walking Tour - Part 2: Now & Tomorrow
Led by Jeanette Kazmi, Affordable Housing Trust Fund Manager for the City of Worcester
Meet at the Corner of Main St and Hermon St at 3:00pm
Rain date: Thursday, May 7 at 3:00pm
Explore the transformation of the Lagrange/Jackson/Hermon Streets neighborhood on this guided walking tour of affordable housing development projects. Led by Jeanette Kazmi, Affordable Housing Trust Fund Manager for the City of Worcester, this tour highlights how historic mill buildings and new construction are expanding housing opportunities in the city. Stops will include 24 Jackson Street, 17 Hermon Street, and Lagrange Lofts, featuring mixed-income and accessible units. Learn about the city’s efforts to create affordable housing options while experiencing firsthand the revitalization of this evolving neighborhood.
WED
May 6
Woodland, May and
Claremont Walking Tour
Led by Clark University public history students
Meet at the front porch of the Cohen-Lasry House,
11 Hawthorne Street at 4:00pm
No rain date
From debutantes to domestic workers, musicians to manufacturers, this neighborhood’s history comes alive through the people who called it home. Beyond its distinctive architecture lies a rich tapestry of personal stories that reveal how a community was built, transformed, and continually re-imagined. Join Clark University faculty and student docents for a guided walking tour through time, spanning the Gilded Age to the present day. Hear about the historic homes, their past inhabitants, and the forces that reshaped the neighborhood over time. The tour concludes with a stop into one of the neighborhood’s homes, where light refreshments will be served.
THU
May 7
“Worcester’s first Jewish neighborhood-the east side experience”
Led by Moe Bergman, Preservation Worcester
Docent, City Councilor, and attorney
Meet at 72 Providence St at 5:30pm
Enjoy a walking tour led by Moe Bergman, Preservation Worcester Docent, City Councilor, and attorney. Until the 1950s, East Side’s Union Hill was the locus of Worcester’s large Jewish immigrant community. Re-experience the history of this ethnic neighborhood with stops at former synagogues, a neighborhood ritual bathhouse and even the site of famous anarchist Emma Goldman’s ice cream shop.
FRI
May 8
"The Land of Lincoln - Worcester Style"
Led by PW docent Ana Santos Restivo
Meet at 10 Cedar St at 3:00pm
Rain date: Saturday, May 9 at 10:00am
Join Preservation Worcester docent Ana Santos Restivo for a walking tour through the historic Elm Park neighborhood, Worcester’s fourth and largest local historic district. The tour will trace the development of the land once belonging to the Lincoln family, focusing on Levi Lincoln, Jr., Worcester’s first mayor, Massachusetts’ 13th governor, U.S. Congressman, and all-around exemplary Son of Worcester. We will step back in time to envision what the Lincoln Tract of land looked like as the family sold off land parcels for development, including Elm Park. The tour will showcase excellent examples of popular architectural styles paired with brief historical narratives of those who inhabited them. The tour will take at least one hour.