Natick, MA, 1974 by CBT Architects
Post World War II, the United States embraced a now controversial strategy known as Urban Renewal to forcibly redevelop large swathes of cities and towns that the government deemed unsavory or underutilized. The result is that many of our county’s largest and most unified modernist buildings sit on a history of displacement and destruction of once vibrant neighborhoods. As the 1970s rolled in and citizens began to reckon with that history, many large scale development plans were halted and redevelopment authorities dismantled.
One such shelved plan was the redevelopment of Natick Center between West Central Street and Spring Street. The plan called for the preservation of the town’s iconic Clark Block and nearby Natick Savings Bank (now MutualOne) but the demolition of everything else behind. In its place would have been a nine story housing and office complex with ground level retail centered around a pedestrian mall and in front of a series of commercial buildings and parking lots. The only existing rendering shows this structure as a singular modern tower with two bays surrounding the open mall. For context, the former fire station (now the Center for the Arts in Natick or TCAN) is visible on the left of the image.
While it would be difficult to argue this plan would have been anything but bad for the historic downtown, vestiges of its vision remain. Most notably is the large scale development of the Middlesex Savings Bank which occupies frontage along Summer Street for almost the same length as the original development plan area and introduced large scale office space downtown.
Sources:
“Development will ‘activate the town’” Natick Suburban Press, 23 October 1974.
“RE-NEWS Volume 1” Natick Redevelopment Authority
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