North High School is to the rear and left

In the late 60's and early '70s the public high schools held raucous track meets in the gym. It was old and dusty then but loaded with character and memories... and, in '68, The Strawberry Alarm Clock played there!

Thats right- I ran track there in 1971/72 for Burncoat Sr. High. It was musty, crowded and filled with oohs and ahhs as we ran - it just seems like the closeness brought the competitors together. I tried to go to the Strawberry Alarm Clock concert but mom said no. Dad's company Heald Machine (across from Nortons) used to hold the xmas party either here or at the Worcester Memorial Bldg.

Location of my dad's National Guard Unit, 104th Infantry, Co. C, 26th (Yankee) Div. This unit ws deployed to the Mexican Border in 1916 and to France 1917. Also place of my first Military Ball to commemorate our new armory in Green Hill Park, home of 101st Aircraft Control and Warning Flight, Mass. Air National Guard

Note the square was called both Wheaton and Armory. http://www.mass.gov/guard/museum/museum.htm 44 Salisbury Street (wheaton square) The Museum is housed in a historic National Guard Armory completed in 1891. The castle-like Gothic revival armory is typical of late 19th century armory architecture. Imposing armories were built in most major cities for militia training and weapons storage. The Worcester Armory is on the National Historic Register. The Massachusetts Military Museum and Archives was established in 1995. The museum holds the material culture and documents of the Massachusetts National Guard which dates back to 1636. The most significant records are documents relating to the men and units of the Massachusetts Volunteer regiments which fought in the Civil War. Archival holdings also include the archives of the Office of the Adjutant General as well as the military records of Massachusetts soldiers, sailors, marines, militiamen, and national guardsmen from 1775 - 1940. Military records of Massachusetts servicemen from 1941 to the present are available from the Military Records Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, at (508) 233-7780. Museum displays depict the history of the Massachusetts National Guard beginning with its organization in 1636 as the colonial militia. The Massachusetts militia began the Revolutionary War on April 19th, 1775 at the battle of Lexington and Concord. Massachusetts soldiers and units played a key role in winning American Independence. During the Civil War, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia regiments were the first Northern regiments to mobilize, deploy, and shed blood in the Civil War. In World War I, the Massachusetts National Guard provided the largest number of units for the famed 26th (Yankee) Division. The 26th was the first complete U.S. Army division to arrive in France in 1917 and fought in six campaigns. The 26th fought in four campaigns during World War II in battles from France all the way to Czechoslovakia. Since World War II, the Massachusetts National Guard has served in four wars. http://www.archive.org/stream/dictionaryofworc00rice/dictionaryofworc00rice_djvu.txt from 1900 text Armory. — The first Armory building in Worcester was erected on Waldo street in 1875, and is now used for the purposes of the Central District Court, and Central Police Station. The land was purchased of Albert Tolman for $14,612, and the building cost $34,780, making a total of $49,392. It proved a bad bargain to the City, for the build- ing was so poorly constructed that it had to be abandoned by the militia as unsafe, and liable to tumble down when subjected to the vibration incident to military drill. The new Armory, at the junction of Grove and Salis- bury streets, is a building of imposing propor- tions. It was erected on land purchased of Stephen Salisbury for $23,000, and was in process of construction from April 15, 1889, to Sept. 30, 1890. Fuller & Delano were the architects, under the special superintendence of Gen. Josiah Pickett. It was dedicated January 30, 1891. The cost (including land) was nearly $125,000, which sum was loaned by the State, to be repaid by the City in a term of years. The new Worcester Armory was constructed' under the superintendence of a State Commis- sion of three members: John W. Leighton of Boston (chairman), Josiah Pickett of Worces- ter, and Joseph N. Peterson of Salem. This Commission built six Armories : two in Bos- ton, at a cost of $600,000 ; one in Worcester, $125,000 ; one in Lowell, $105,000 ; one in Fitchburg, $60,000 ; and one at Lawrence, $90,000. It is a noteworthy fact, that in the expenditure of this large sum of $980,000, in no case was the original appropriation exceeded a record seldom made by public commissions. Armory Square. — The triangular plat of ground in front of the Armory, where Salisbury and Grove streets diverge. Although not yet officially designated, the name has come into use with many. The " Square " is soon to be improved by curbing and other additions, to bring it more into character with the fine buildings in the vicinity.