Worcester's Canal District

Worcester's Canal District is a thriving entertainment district, now populated with 20-30 new bars, restaurants and clubs. Enclaves of retail activity are being established as well, and some of the larger buildings are being converted to residential use. Now referred to as the Canal District, the area is a popular night-time and weekend destination and is widely acknowledged to be the city's most actively developing neighborhood.

The scheduled introduction of streetscape improvements throughout the district is expected to reinforce recent progress, and the proposed Blackstone Canal Replication Project continues to spark imaginations throughout the city. The district is now served both by an active business association (www.cdba.org) and by a broader affiliation group called the Canal District Alliance (www.canaldistrictalliance.org). In recent years the district has been host to the annual Blackstone Canalfest, the Canal Diggers 5K road race, the Worcester Irish Music Festival, the Snails Pace Antique Auto Race, the Turtle Boy Music Series, and narrated summertime horse-and-wagon tours, among other events.