Framingham, Massachusetts

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Framingham (Template:IPAc-en) is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers Template:Convert with a population of 72,362 in 2020,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making it the 14th most populous municipality in Massachusetts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Residents voted in favor of adopting a charter to transition from a representative town meeting system to a mayor–council government in April 2017, and the municipality transitioned to city status on January 1, 2018. Before it transitioned, it had been the largest town by population in Massachusetts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Confirms">Template:Cite web</ref>

The city has one of the largest Brazilian American populations in the United States, with a considerable Brazilian presence since the 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="U.S. Census website">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Joel Millman">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Migration and Refugee Services">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Template:See also Prior to European colonization, the region around Framingham was inhabited by the indigenous Nipmuc.<ref name="City of Framingham Website">https://framinghamhistory.org/harmony-grove/></ref> They lived in settlements established alongside the Washakamaug ("eel fishing place") or what is today called Farm Pond. The Nipmuc people used game management techniques through the hunting of deer and beaver, fishing in ponds and streams, as well as established growing areas for the Three Sisters (squash, corn, beans) in the nearby hills. The ancient Native trail later known as the Old Connecticut Path also ran through this area. During the initial period of colonization of the region by Puritan settlers, the Nipmuc suffered a rapid decline in population due to the introduction of foreign infectious diseases to which they had no immunity and violence related to settler colonialism. Many of the Nipmuc people were forced into praying towns including nearby Natick.<ref>Evans-Daly, Laurie; Gordon, David C. Images of America Framingham, Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing.</ref><ref>Parr, James; Swope, Kevin A. (2009). Framingham Legends & Lore, Charleston, SC: The History Press.</ref><ref>Herring, Stephen (2000). Framingham: An American Town, Framingham, MA: Framingham Tercentennial Commission.</ref><ref>Report of the Traditional Government of the Nipmuc Nation. http://nippi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2017-Report-of-the-Traditional-Government-of-the-Nipmuc0D0A-Nation.pdf</ref>

The first European settler in the area was John Stone who established a farm on the west bank of the Sudbury River in 1647. In 1660, Thomas Danforth, an official of the Bay Colony received a grant of land at "Danforth's Farms" and began to accumulate over Template:Convert.

Between 1675 and 1676, King Philip's War created great tensions between English settlers and the Nipmuc people in the area. During this time, Nipmuc leader Tantamous, who lived on Nobscot Hill and who resisted Christianization by the English, was arrested with his family members and other Nipmuc men by the colonial government in 1676 for what the colony deemed treason and they were incarcerated on Deer Island. He would escape, be recaptured, and later hanged on Boston Common.<ref name="ourbelovedkin.com">Lisa Brooks, Our Beloved Kin (Yale University Press, 2018) "Peter Jethro and the Capture of Monoco," https://ourbelovedkin.com/awikhigan/peter-jethro</ref> In January 1676, a group of Nipmuc men went to the Eames family homestead to demand that they return a stolen corn harvest. Although the historical record is unclear as to the exact details, this would result in an outbreak of violence between the Nipmuc men and the Eames family, where Mary Eames and five children were killed.<ref name="Cesareo Contreras, Framingham History Center exhibit aims to re-contextualize 'Eames Massacre', Metrowest Daily News">https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/2022/02/01/framingham-history-center-exhibit-studies-eames-massacre-king-philips-war/9055719002/></ref>

As more settlers moved to the town, it would be named Framlingham after Thomas Danforth's hometown in England. Over time, Thomas Danforth strenuously resisted petitions for incorporation of the town, which was officially incorporated in 1700, following his death the previous year. Why the "L" was dropped from the new town's name is not known. The first church was organized in 1701, the first teacher was hired in 1706, and the first permanent schoolhouse was built in 1716.

On February 22, 1775, the British general Thomas Gage sent two officers and an enlisted man out of Boston to survey the route to Worcester, Massachusetts. In Framingham, those spies stopped at Buckminster's Tavern. They watched the town militia muster outside the building, impressed with the men's numbers but not their discipline. Though "the whole company" came into the tavern after their drill, the officers remained undetected and continued on their mission the next day.<ref>General Gage's Instructions, Boston: John Gill, 1779.</ref> Gage did not order a march along that route, instead ordering troops to Concord, Massachusetts, on April 18–19. Framingham sent two militia companies totaling about 130 men into the Battles of Lexington and Concord that followed; one of those men was wounded.<ref>Samuel Adams Drake, History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts (Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1880), vol. 1, p. 443</ref>

In the years before the American Civil War, Framingham was an annual gathering-spot for members of the abolitionist movement. Each Independence Day from 1854 to 1865, the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society held a rally in a picnic area called Harmony Grove on Farm Pond near what is now downtown Framingham. At the 1854 rally, William Lloyd Garrison burned copies of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, judicial decisions enforcing it, and the United States Constitution. Other prominent abolitionists present that day included William Cooper Nell, Sojourner Truth, Wendell Phillips, Lucy Stone, and Henry David Thoreau.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In July 1906, the Amsden Building collapse, which occurred on Concord Street, claimed 12 lives (a 13th person died two years later, after being severely injured in the collapse).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following World War II, Framingham, like many other suburban areas, experienced a large increase in population and housing during the mid-20th-century baby boom. Much of the housing constructed during that time consisted of split-level houses and ranch-style houses.

Framingham is known for the Framingham Heart Study, as well as for the Dennison Manufacturing Company, which was founded in 1844 as a jewelry and watch box manufacturing company by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, who became the pioneer of the American System of Watch Manufacturing at the nearby Waltham Watch Company. His brother Eliphalet Whorf Dennison developed the company into a sizable industrial complex which merged in 1990 into Avery Dennison, with headquarters in Pasadena, California, and active corporate offices in the town.

In 2000, Framingham celebrated its tercentennial. Framingham soon rose to become the largest town in Massachusetts, commonly referred to by the people of Framingham as "The largest town in the country." Framingham had attempted to become a city on three prior occasions 1993, 1997, and 2013, all of which were rejected by the people of Framingham.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, on January 1, 2018, Framingham became a city and Yvonne M. Spicer was inaugurated as its first mayor, thus becoming the first popularly elected African-American female mayor in Massachusetts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 26.4 square miles (68.5 kmTemplate:Sup), of which 25.1 square miles (65.1 kmTemplate:Sup) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 kmTemplate:Sup) (4.99%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Neighborhoods

Golden Triangle

Template:Main The Golden Triangle was originally a three square mile district on the eastern side of Framingham, bordered by Worcester Rd. (Route 9), Cochituate Rd. (Route 30), and Speen Street in Natick. In 1993, the area began to expand beyond the borders of the triangle with construction of a BJ's Wholesale Club and a Super Stop & Shop just north of Route 30.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It now includes the original area plus parts of Old Connecticut Path., Concord St. (Route 126), and Speen St. north of Route 30. Because of the size and complexity of this area, Framingham and Natick cooperatively operate it as a single distinct district with similar zoning. The area is one of the largest shopping districts in New England.Template:Citation needed

The area was formed with the construction of Shoppers World in 1951. Shoppers' World was a large open air shopping mall, the second in the US and the first east of the Mississippi River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The mall drew many other retail construction projects to the area, including Marshalls (1961, rebuilt as Bed Bath & Beyond 1997),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Caldor (1966, Rebuilt as Wal-Mart in 2002),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bradlees (1960s, rebuilt as Kohl's in 2002),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Route 30 Mall (1970),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> an AMC Framingham 15, the Framingham Mall (1978, rebuilt 2000),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Lowe's (formerly the Verizon Building, 2006).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Complementary developments in Natick include the Natick Mall (1966, rebuilt in 1991, expanded 2007 & renamed Natick Collection),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sherwood Plaza (1960),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cloverleaf Marketplace (1978),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Home Depot. In 1994, Shoppers' World was demolished and replaced with a strip mall named Shoppers World.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are also seven hotels and two car dealerships located within the Triangle.

In addition to retail properties, there are large office developments in the area including several companies headquartered in the triangle; the world headquarters of TJX is at the junction of Route 30 and Speen St,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as is the main office of IDG and IDC.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The American Cancer Society has an office in Framingham.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A Carling Brewery began operations in 1956, ending in 1975. Their buildings later housed Prime Computer and Boston Scientific before demolition in 2018 for a new MathWorks facility.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sealtest had a manufacturing facility in Framingham<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was used by Breyers from 1964 to 2011<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Downtown and South Framingham

The Memorial Building, Framingham's town hall
File:Framingham Public Library Entrance.jpg
Framingham Public Library, Lexington St.

The downtown area is between Memorial Square, formed by the intersection of Concord St. and Union Ave., to the north, and its mirror intersection at the junction of Irving St. and Hollis St. on the south end. The area is bisected by Waverly St. (Route 135) and the MBTA Commuter Rail tracks. The anchoring structure of Downtown is the city hall, The Memorial Building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From 2015 to 2016, the whole area underwent a multimillion-dollar reconstruction of the intersection of Union Ave. and Concord St. that replaced the traffic circle with a signal-controlled intersection. Additional lights were installed at the Irving St./Hollis St. intersection, while older signals in the area were upgraded. All sidewalks in the area were to be replaced, lighting upgraded, and new amenities such as seating and bicycle racks were also installed. The project was scheduled to begin in 2012 but has been delayed to 2014–2015.<ref name=Reconstruction>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=MWD-Downtown>Template:Cite web</ref> Further delays pushed the project into 2015 due to needed electrical utility upgrades and replacement.<ref name="Patch-Downtown">Template:Cite web</ref>

South Framingham became the commercial center of the town with the advent of the railroad in the 1880s. It eventually came to house Dennison Manufacturing and the former General Motors Framingham Assembly plant, but the area underwent a financial downturn after the closure of these facilities during the late 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An influx of Hispanic and Brazilian immigrants helped to revitalize the district starting in the early 2000s. Along with Brazilian and Spanish oriented retail shops, there are restaurants, legal and financial services, the city offices and library, police headquarters, a performing arts center, and the local branch of the Social Security Administration. Several Asian and Indian stores and restaurants add to the rich ethnic flavor of the area, and many small businesses, restaurants and automotive-oriented shops line Waverly St. from Natick in east to Winter St. in the west.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2006, the Fitts Market & Hemenway buildings façades underwent a restoration project; these newly renovated structures received a 2006 Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award in the Restoration and Rehabilitation Category.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, several retail and housing projects involving the Arcade Building and the former Dennison Building Complex are in the planning stages or under construction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

West Framingham

The business section on the West Side of Framingham runs primarily along Route 9, starting at Temple St., and is dominated by two large office/industrial parks: the Framingham Industrial Park on the north side of Route 9 and another park on the south side, both on the Framingham/Ashland/Southborough border. Bose, Staples and Applause have their world headquarters in these parks,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as does convenience store chain Cumberland Farms; in addition, Netezza, Genzyme, Capital One, CA Technologies, ITT Tech and the local paper, The MetroWest Daily News, all have major facilities there. Two of Framingham's seven major auto dealerships are also in West Framingham.

The large tracts of multi-story apartment and condominium complexes line both sides of Route 9 from Temple St. to the industrial parks. These buildings represent the majority of Framingham's multi-family dwellings, and along with the business complexes, helped create a large network of support services on the West Side: a supermarket,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> dozens of restaurants and pubs, hotels and a large day-care facility all are in the two-mile (3 km) section of Route 9 from Temple St. to Ashland.

Villages and Route 9

The Common in Framingham Center

The Framingham Centre Common Historic District is the city's physical and historic center. Formed at the junctions of Worcester Rd. (Route 9), Pleasant St. (Route 30), High St., Main St. and Edgell Rd.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the dominating presence is Framingham State University. The school has several thousand students, about one third of whom live on campus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the late 1960s, MassHighway replaced the intersection with an overpass, depressing Route 9 below the local roads, and destroying the south half of the old Center retail district. The remaining half houses several small stores, restaurants, realtors and legal offices. The old Boston and Worcester Street Railway depot, on the east side of the center, was converted into a strip mall in the early 1980s and houses the Center Postal Station (01703) and several small stores.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The center is rounded out by One and Two Edgell Rd. (two small retail/office buildings), the historic village hall,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Jonathan Maynard Building (a former school, now a part of the Framingham State University campus which houses the Danforth Art Museum <ref name="danforthart1">Template:Cite web</ref> ), the Framingham History Center (formerly the Framingham Historical Society and Museum),<ref name="framinghamhistory1">Template:Cite web</ref> several banks, a Chinese restaurant, the American Medical Response paramedic station and McCarthy Office Building.

The village of Nobscot, at the intersection of Water St., Edmands Rd. and Edgell Rd. near Nobscot Hill, and the Pinefield/Saxonville villages, located where Concord St., Water St., and Central St. intersect,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are home to several small office buildings, strip malls and gas stations. in 2016, the town moved its satellite branch of the public library named for Christa McAuliffe from Saxonville to a new facility across from the Hemenway School in Nobscot. Saxonville is the home of the former Roxbury Carpet Company mill complex buildings (originally powered by the adjoining Sudbury River), now an industrial park, and is one of the city's historical districts.

Demographics

Template:See also Template:Historical populations As of the census of 2010,<ref name="Census 2010 DP">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 68,318 people, 26,173 households, and 16,535 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 27,529 housing units, of which 1,356, or 4.9%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the city was 71.9% White, 5.8% Black, 0.3% Native American, 6.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.9% from some other race, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.4% of the population (4.7% Puerto Rican, 1.8% Guatemalan, 1.5% Salvadoran, 1.1% Dominican, 0.9% Mexican, 0.6% Colombian, 0.3% Peruvian). (Source: 2010 Census Quickfacts)

Of the 26,173 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were headed by married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47, and the average family size was 3.03.<ref name="Census 2010 DP"/>

As of 2010, 20.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.8% were from 18 to 24, 30.0% were from 25 to 44, 25.8% were from 45 to 64, and 13.6% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, the estimated median income for a household in the city was $84,050, and the median income for a family was $101,078. Male full-time workers had a median income of $61,659, versus $54,714 for females. The per capita income for the city was $38,917. About 7.5% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Brazilian immigrants have a major presence in Framingham.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="U.S. Census website"/><ref name="Joel Millman"/><ref name="Migration and Refugee Services"/> Since the 1980s, a large segment of the Brazilian population has come from the single city of Governador Valadares.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

Framingham's economy is predominantly derived from retail and office complexes. There are scatterings of small manufacturing facilities and commercial services such as plumbing, mechanical and electrical expected to be found in communities of its size. Framingham has three major business districts within the city, The "Golden Triangle", Downtown/South Framingham, and West Framingham. Additionally, there are several smaller business hubs in the villages of Framingham Center, Saxonville, Nobscot, and along the Route 9 corridor.

Arts and culture

  • Amazing Things Arts Center<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Buckminster Square- site of the Revolutionary War statue depicting a Blacksmith preparing for the march up Battle Road in 1775.
  • Framingham Community Theater<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Framingham History Center (formerly the Framingham Historical Society and Museum)<ref name="framinghamhistory1"/>
  • Danforth Museum<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Metrowest Youth Symphony Orchestra<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Pike Haven Homestead was built in 1693 by Jeremiah Pike. He and his descendants were town and militia officers, yeomen, and makers of spinning wheels in the colonial period. This house had been occupied by the same family for eight generations.<ref>Sign erected at the site (corner of Belknap Rd and Grove St) by Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission</ref>

Points of interest

Framingham features dozens of athletic fields and civic facilities spread throughout the city in schools and public parks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many of the recreational facilities were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the New Deal.

Parks and recreation

  • Bowditch Field is Framingham's main athletic facility. It is on Union Avenue midway between Downtown and Framingham Center and was the main athletic facility for the town. It houses a large multi-purpose football stadium that included permanent bleachers on both sides of the field. There is still a baseball field, tennis courts, a track and field practice area, and the headquarters of the city Parks Department. Bowditch, along with Butterworth and Winch Parks, were all built during the Great Depression of the 1930s as WPA projects. It underwent a complete renovation/reconstruction in 2010. It is also the current site of Framingham High's graduation ceremony.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Butterworth Park is at the corner of Grant St and Arthur St. The park occupies a square block near downtown. The park has a baseball stadium that includes permanent bleachers on one side of the field, a basketball court and a tennis court. There is street parking on three sides. The bleachers have since been taken down.
  • Winch Park is the sister park to Butterworth and is in Saxonville next to the Framingham High School. It includes a baseball stadium that includes permanent bleachers on one side of the field, a basketball court, tennis courts and two large practice fields used for football, soccer and lacrosse. There are two additional multi-use fields on the other side of the high school's gymnasium building.
  • Callahan State Park is a large state park run by the DCR located in North Framingham in the city's northwest corner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Cochituate State Park on Lake Cochituate has a small section in Framingham where Saxonville Beach is on the north western shore of the lake.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Danforth Park on Danforth Street, not far from the Wayland town line. The small park has playground with a half basketball court and a small baseball/kickball field.
  • Framingham Common is in Framingham Center in front of the old Town Hall along Edgell Road and Vernon Street. It features an outdoor stage for concerts and other fair weather events. It is a favorite of the students of Framingham State University, and the site of their annual graduation ceremonies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Cushing Park on the South Side is a passive recreational area. The Framingham Peace and 9/11 Memorials are within the park across the street from Farm Pond, along with the Cushing Chapel. During World War II, the United States War Department constructed the Cushing General Hospital (named for Dr. Harvey Cushing) on this site; the chapel was part of the hospital complex. After the Korean War the hospital was sold to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for use as a geriatric hospital. After the hospital was closed in 1991, the land was converted into a 57-acre public park.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
  • Long Athletic Complex On the south side of Framingham, near downtown the complex is the host of three little league baseball diamonds (Carter, Tusconi, Merloni), two Babe Ruth baseball fields (one being Long field), a softball field, outdoor basketball court, and two concession stands. The complex is surrounded by Keefe Tech High School, Loring Arena, and Barbari Elementary School. All of the fields have lights, and they host almost all of Framingham's Little League games. Long field is the host of JV high school games as well as most Framingham Babe Ruth games. The concession stands are both non-profit and all the money goes to the Framingham baseball league.

Conservation land

  • Framingham has about Template:Convert of land that has been placed into public conservation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
    • The Wittenborg Woods was donated to the town in 1999 by Harriet Wittenborg. The properties were originally purchased from Henry Ford in the 1940s. Henry Ford owned all of the land around the Wayside Inn in nearby Sudbury, and Harriet (and her husband) were required to interview with Mr. Ford to determine if they would be good stewards of the land.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
    • The Morency Woods is a parcel of land that is physically located in Natick, Massachusetts on the Framingham border, but which is owned by the City of Framingham. This forested land was used as a sewer bed up until the mid-1940s and was placed into conservation in 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • The Sudbury Valley Trustees has approximately Template:Convert of land in North Framingham and along the Sudbury River in a private conservation trust.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Recreation

Garden in the Woods

Government

Framingham's Home Rule Charter was approved by voters on April 4, 2017, and took effect on January 1, 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On that date, Yvonne M. Spicer was inaugurated as Framingham's first mayor.

Elections are held in November of odd-numbered years, to elect a full-time mayor serving a four-year term, and an 11-member city council comprising nine district members serving two-year terms, and two at-large members serving four-year terms. The mayor replaced the Board of Selectmen as the chief executive, and the City Council replaced Representative Town Meeting as the legislative body. The mayor and at-large-councilors are limited to a maximum of three consecutive terms in office and district councilors are limited to six consecutive terms in office.<ref name=":0" />

The School Committee has ten members: one elected from each of the nine districts, serving two-year terms, and the mayor, who serves as a tenth member and may only vote to break a tie.<ref name=":0" />

The Board of Library Trustees and the Board of Cemetery Trustees have also elected positions serving for four-year terms, with half the membership elected at alternating municipal elections.<ref name=":0" />

The Charter provides for an automatic review of the Charter five years after its adoption and periodically thereafter.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Template:Main The Framingham School Department can trace its roots back to 1706, when the town hired its first schoolmaster, Deacon Joshua Hemenway. Although Framingham had its first schoolmaster, it did not get its own public school building until 1716. The first high school, the Framingham Academy, opened its doors in 1792; however, this school was eventually closed due to financing issues and the legality of the town providing funds for a private school. The first town-operated high school opened in 1852, and has been in operation continuously in numerous locations throughout the town.<ref name="Historic time line of Framingham">Template:Cite web</ref>

Framingham has 14 public schools which are part of the Framingham Public School District.<ref name="FPS_District">Template:Cite web</ref> These include Framingham High School, three middle schools (Walsh, Fuller, and Cameron), nine elementary schools (Barbieri, Brophy, Dunning, Hemenway, King, McCarthy, Potter Road, Stapleton, Harmony Grove), and the Blocks Pre-School.<ref name="FPS_District" /> The school district's main offices are located in the Fuller Administration Building on Flagg Drive<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with additional offices at the King School on Water Street. The city also has a regional vocational high school<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and one regional charter school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Framingham is also home to several private schools, including Summit Montessori School, the Sudbury Valley School, one parochial school, one Jewish day school, and several specialty schools.

Since 1998, when Framingham began upgrading its schools, it has performed major renovations to Cameron, Wilson, McCarthy, Fuller and Framingham High School. Two public school buildings that were mothballed due to financial issues or population drops have been leased to the Metrowest Jewish Day School (at the former Juniper Hill Elementary) and Mass Bay Community College (at the former Farley Middle school). Several schools that were no longer being used were sold off, including Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Washington.

Framingham has three colleges, including Framingham State University and Massachusetts Bay Community College's Framingham Campus.

Media

Newspapers and websites

The City of Framingham is served by:

Television and cable

Framingham has a public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channel and local origination television station called Access Framingham (formerly FPAC-TV),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> that airs on Channel 9 Comcast, Channel 3 RCN and Channel 43 Verizon. Residents can create and produce their own television programs that reflect the personality of the community, and have them cablecast on the public-access television cable TV channels.

Framingham High School has a student-run television station, FHS-TV, that broadcasts locally; "Flyer News", its morning news program, has won 11 National High School Emmy Awards.

The City of Framingham operates the Government Channel shown on Comcast channel 99, RCN 13/HD613, and Verizon 42. The Government Channel operation provides programming sponsored by or for the City of Framingham. Commission meetings are cablecast live to inform residents and encourage participation in local government. Some of the programming provided, keeps residents abreast of road closings, construction updates, recycling efforts, public safety information, and special events in the community. The Government Channel is committed to making local government more accessible to all residents.

Radio

  • WXKS (AM 1200) is an AM broadcasting station featuring talk radio and religious programming. Owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to Newton, Massachusetts with studios on 99 Revere Beach Parkway in Medford, Massachusetts;<ref name="wkox">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • WSRO (AM 650) is an AM broadcasting station featuring Portuguese-language programming that leases studio and tower space from WXKS. Owned by the Langer Broadcasting Group, LLC and licensed to Natick, Massachusetts with studios on 100 Mount Wayte Ave in Framingham;<ref name="wkox"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • WQOM (AM 1060) is an AM broadcasting station featuring business talk radio programming that leases studio and tower space from WXKS. Owned by the Langer Broadcasting Group, LLC and licensed to Ashland, Massachusetts with studios on 100 Mount Wayte Ave in Framingham;<ref name="wkox"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • WDJM-FM (91.3 FM) is Framingham State University's FM broadcasting station that features an open format with progressive rock, hip-hop, metal and electronic music. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts with studios at 100 State St. in Framingham;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Framingham Amateur Radio Association<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is the local amateur radio enthusiasts group.

Film location

In 2016, Framingham was one of the settings for the film Patriots Day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In spring 2009, Framingham was used for the film The Company Men.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Large parts of the film Don't Look Up were shot in Framingham.Template:Citation needed

Infrastructure

Transportation

Framingham is approximately halfway between Worcester, the commercial center of Central Massachusetts, and Boston, New England's leading port and metropolitan area. Rail and highway facilities connect these major centers and other communities in the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area.<ref>Department of Housing and Community Development</ref>

Air

The closest airport with scheduled international passenger traffic is Boston's Logan International Airport, Template:Convert from Framingham. Worcester Regional Airport, about Template:Convert away, began scheduled flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando in November 2013.

Major highways

Framingham is served by one Interstate and four state highways:

Route number Type Local name Direction
Interstate 90 Interstate, limited access toll road The Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass Pike) east/west
Route 9 State route, divided highway Worcester Rd.
The Boston/Worcester Turnpike, Ted Williams Highway 		east/west
Route 30 State route, partial divided highway Cochituate Rd., Worcester Rd. and Pleasant St. east/west
Route 126 State route, primary road Old Connecticut Path, School St, Concord St., and Hollis St. north/south
Route 135 State route, primary road Waverly St. east/west

Mass transit

Rail
  • Direct rail service to Chicago via Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, as well as to all other points on the Amtrak network via a connection in another city.
  • MBTA commuter rail service is available to South Station and Back Bay Station, Boston, via the MBTA's Framingham/Worcester Line, which connects South Station in Boston and Union Station in Worcester. Travel time to Back Bay Station is 42–45 minutes. It was called the Framingham Commuter Rail Line, as Framingham was the end of the line, until rail traffic was expanded to Worcester in 1996.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The line also serves Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Ashland, Southborough, Westborough, and Grafton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • CSX provides freight rail service in Framingham.
Bus
Commuter services

Park and ride services:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

  • MassDOT operates a free park and ride facility at the parking lot at the intersection of Flutie Pass and East Road on the south side of Shoppers' World Mall.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • MassDOT also operates a free park and ride facility at a parking lot adjacent to exit 12 of the Massachusetts Turnpike, across from California Avenue on the west side of Framingham.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

Police

The Framingham Police Department serves as the primary law enforcement agency for the city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Healthcare

Framingham is served by MetroWest Medical Center (formerly Framingham Union Hospital, which also includes Leonard Morse Hospital campus in Natick)

Notable people

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Politics

Sports

Arts and sciences

Media

Military

Religious

Sister cities

See also

References

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Further reading

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