Five Senses: One Worcester

The door slammed of my sky blue Acura MDX as I quickly shuffle to the back seat to fetch my coat and notebook. My classmate Liam and I had arrived at Salisbury Mansion, a historic figure of the wealth that once resided in the rich banks of the Blackstone River.

A Front Few of the Salisbury Mansion

The house stands tall, but not nearly the expected height of a place that used to be both a residency and a market for imports. A white gate circumnavigates the property but stays open allowing customers to come and go as they please. The front of the house stretches very wide, with six windows on each floor grouped into three pairs. Above the middle windows sits a triangular roof that held a compass-shaped window placed right in the middle to keep the symmetry of the house intact. The door lives slightly off center to the right with pillars and a balcony that stretch to the second floor giving the house an added element of class. A neutral blue similar to that of the balloons typically found in nursing rooms after a boy is delivered color the walls. The path to the house is direct in its route and three stone steps lead up to the bright white welcoming door.

If you closed your eyes for a split second, you could hear the hooves of the horses approaching the mansion to pick up an order and smell the smoke ooze out of the five chimneys as Mr. Salisbury jumpstarted his business right from this home. You can smell the freshly cut timber being traded for gold or the metals and other raw materials being swapped in the simplest form of an open market economy.

What Salisbury Mansion Used To Look Like

http://www.cardcow.com/378748/old-salisbury-mansion-worcester-massachusetts/

From far away, this house seems to be well kept but as we got closer, we noticed the Salisbury Mansion had not completely passed the test of time. Centuries have passed since Stephen Salisbury Sr. first kept the house pristine for his customers in 1767. Under each window, the paint peeled and broke away from what otherwise seemed to be a timeless structure. The pillars, once perfectly crafted now felt more of tree bark with cracks and crevices from aging than the ancient symbol of wealth that they represented. The windows had been boarded up and unfortunately; the mansion itself was closed on this day.

So after a few minutes of deciding whether or not to pick a new spot of research, I decided the fact that this building was closed completely exemplified what Salisbury Mansion stood for in today’s society. The Salisbury Mansion, the one time epitome of wealth in Worcester was now only open as a museum on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 1-4 PM.

How Time Has Changed The Mansion

This building lost its status as a symbol of wealth as the production along the Blackstone River seized to a stop. However, its beauty in simplicity gives it a comforting feel as one studies its classy physique. The house sits large yet functional, not trying to accomplish too much and staying true to the simple design of traditional New England housing. This estate once reeked of wealth and fortune, just as Worcester once did as well. But the prosperity that it once saw is now very much in the rear view mirror. The city, like this house, needs something to give it purpose again, an industry that can help change the town just as the Salisbury’s did during Worcester’s prime. Maybe one day, the Salisbury Mansion will be a hotbed for industry as it once was, but for now the beauty of the house itself and its rich history are all we can gain from its presence.