The Framingham TAB
  • A Common View.... from the Framingham Historical Society
  • By: Elsa Hornfischer, January 26, 1999
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    Let’s Celebrate Community Collaboration!

    Today Framingham’s Downtown Common sits gently amid the winds of change. Nearby, Hollis Community Center after years of community effort shines with the faces of Framingham’s youth; Dennison buildings awake with renewal as businesses move in; Memorial Building’s Planning Department nurtures multiple revitalization projects; Framingham Community Church stirs with spirit; and if all goes as planned, Framingham’s Public Art Project will present our community with public art on Downtown Common for our town’s 300th birthday in the year 2000. The Public Art steering committee includes representatives from town and state government, business, and the arts, as well as from Downtown Solutions, Framingham Garden Club, Framingham Clergy, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham Cultural Council, and Framingham Historical Commission - all major players in this community collaboration.

    Downtown Common has always sat amid the winds of change. Town Historian Stephen Herring, author of South Middlesex - A New England Heritage and historical advisor to the Public Art Committee, writes extensively about the history of Framingham South Common or Downtown Common. On February 1, 1676, Thomas Eames’ wife and several children were killed on Mount Wayte by warrior Indians during King Phillip’s War. As compensation, Thomas was given the land of South Common as well as hundreds of acres of downtown Framingham where, many years before, Native Americans lived along Farm Pond and Waushakum Lake. Two monuments on the Common commemorate the Native American presence. One is the Old Field boulder from 1910, and the other the Connecticut Path monument of 1946. Herring explains that the original Old Field, later cultivated by Jonathan Eames, was much larger than Downtown Common as we know it today. By 1835, the railroad came to Framingham, bringing business and industry, and by 1854, Park Street Baptist Church, built by Framingham’s Alexander Rice Esty, took its place on the west end of Downtown Common. Additional buildings rose along its north and south sides, making the Common somewhat smaller.

    Several years ago, the idea for a Public Art Project came out of the Framingham Cultural Council which had funds left over at the end of their granting process. Great care was taken to assemble a Public Art Committee which represented the Framingham community - its’ businesses, civic, and community organizations, town and state government, and the arts. The Public Art Committee, chaired by Laurie Evans Daly, subsequently chose several themes for the artists to consider. Historically, Framingham has always been a diverse community, a sanctuary for immigrants, a transportation hub, and home of the Framingham Heart Study, while taking great pride in the men and women who shaped the community. Of the over fifty artists who applied, seven were chosen by a panel of five art professionals chaired by Linda Poras, Director of Lowell’s Brush Gallery and member of Framingham’s Cultural Council. These seven artists are competing for a $50,000 commission with an emphasis on the chosen themes. Each has completed a maquette or model of their public art.

    The artists’ models can be seen at the Danforth Museum of Art Wednesday through Sunday from 12-5 pm. Admission is free through February 6th and visitors may comment on their favorites in a notebook at the museum. On Saturday, February 6th, at the Danforth Museum of Art beginning at 9:30 am, the artists will talk about their models and the themes they have chosen. The public is invited.

    In addition to Framingham Cultural Council’s continued support, funds are urgently needed from Framingham individuals, businesses, and organizations to complete the Public Art Project. Those willing to donate funds or willing to assist in some way, call Public Art Committee Chairperson Laurie Evans Daly at 877-0059.

    To reach me, call 620-6440 or E-Mail at elsadave@ultranet.com.

     

    Anyone who would like to be interviewed about their memories of Framingham in the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s should call the Framingham Historical Society at 872-3780. Through the We Are History Project , we hope to fill the society archives with stories from Framingham’s neighborhoods - A Common View of the past.

    Framingham Historical Society Museum is in the Old Academy at the corner of Vernon and Grove Streets. Hours are Wednesday, Thursday 10am to 4pm, and Saturday 10am to 1pm. Admission $5, under 12 FREE. (508-872-3780)