Natick, MA
Natick Center – A Designated Cultural District
Natick is a town in Middlesex County. The town has an area of 16.0 square miles and is located 10 miles west of Boston.
In 2012, the Massachusetts Cultural Council voted to make Natick Center one of the newest state-designated cultural districts, the tenth district to win this designation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Cultural Districts Initiative is designed to help communities attract artists and cultural enterprises, encourage business and job growth, expand tourism, preserve and reuse historic buildings, enhance property values, and foster local cultural development.
There are various sections of tract development homes in Natick that are considered neighborhoods. A few of these sections include Sherwood neighborhood which is one of the earliest post World War II developments in West Natick. The homes in this area are colonial in style and were built in 1948. Most of the houses in Sherwood have been enlarged with additions.
Walnut Hill is a neighborhood north of downtown. It is known for the private boarding school Walnut Hill School for the Arts, as well as many Victorian era houses.
The Wethersfield area of Natick is a residential neighborhood north of Route 9. It is a typical 1950s development of Campanelli ranch houses.
Oak Street neighborhood is south of Route 9. This section began as a summer vacation area, with tiny cottages surrounding Jennings Pond. Over the years, some houses were enlarged, but the area remains quaint and quiet.
Lastly, Little South neighborhood, just south of Natick Common has homes along Cottage Street that were primarily built in the early 1950s and are mostly modest and well-maintained.
