The construction project added 6,000 sq ft of new space to the library in the form of a two story addition and incorporates an extensive remodeling of the existing library annex built in the 1980s.  The work also included the installation of new electrical and mechanical systems in the library, among other updates.

The Franklin Public Library moved to a temporary location in April 2016 so all the work could get underway.  The construction work began later that spring and continued on through the end of the year and for most of 2017.  The library reopened at the Main St location in Franklin, Massachusetts in November 2017.

Beautiful interior in the new addition

The new space is simply beautiful! The feel is upbeat, modern and bright.  Below is a video showing how nice the new addition is:

Children’s Room has wonderful southern and western exposure

The Children’s Room enjoys twice the space of its predecessor. 

The Children’s Room has plenty of space for play and exploration and is cheerfully filled with abundant natural light, thanks to the extensive south and west exposure afforded by two roughly 30 ft long walls of windows. 

These windows look out on the beautiful grounds of the Dean College campus.

New Computer Lab

The addition’s second floor houses the new Computer Lab, which sports 14 computer terminals for public use. 

A Business Center is close by to the Computer Lab, allowing patrons to print online materials as well as scan, fax  and make copies of print items. 

On the same floor as the Business Center is a Study Room and a Conference Room that can be reserved for use by patrons of the library.

Pleasant sitting areas

The addition offers very nice areas in which to sit, read and enjoy the views of the Dean College campus.

Community Room a much needed amenity in Franklin

The Friends of the Franklin Public Library Community Room is an especially valuable addition to the library. 

The room was designed to serve up to 60 people and can be rented by town residents for meetings and presentations.

Come to the Franklin Public Library to see the renovations and new addition – there are additional areas to explore there beyond what is shown in this post.  Don’t neglect to check out the gorgeous murals and fine woodwork and scagliola in the original portion of the Franklin library building – they’re very worth viewing!

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The Center was originally constructed with an unfinished second floor, which was reserved as a future expansion area. 

Work on the $1.5M expansion project started in March 2016 and took nearly a year to complete.  The work included the second floor addition plus some notable alterations to the main level’s cafe, gift shop and bathrooms. The installation of an elevator to the upper level took an unexpectedly long time due to permitting and inspection delays.

Video tour of the Franklin Senior Center

Below is a short video tour of the Franklin Senior Center:

Many programs and services for seniors

Growing older presents challenges for the aging and their families as well.  The Franklin Senior Center offers many highly valuable programs and services to seniors and those who care for them.  You can learn more about programs and services offered at the Franklin Senior Center in Franklin, Massachusetts here.

Franklin, MA a wonderful place to call home

The Town of Franklin, MA has a lot to offer for seniors.  There are several fine condo and townhome communities in this pleasant Massachusetts town of about 32,000 that offer one level living floor plans.  Franklin has many shopping venues and medical service providers.  The town has two exchanges on I-495 and commuter rail service to Boston. Dean College offers adult education courses and a YMCA and many other recreational resources in Franklin that set the town apart from most suburban communities along the I-495 corridor.  Contact Warren Reynolds to learn more about the Town of Franklin, MA!

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Spend some quiet time with art

Franklin’s newest outdoor cultural asset is the Sculpture Park located on Panther Way near the Franklin Police Headquarters.

The Park was built on the site of the former town swimming pool.

Old retaining walls and dams remain, creating water habitats for wildlife and a peaceful environment for human visitors. There are picnic tables and an attractive bridge that leads to the art exhibits.  Franklin is fortunate to have a readily accessible spot to take in art and to see wildlife enjoying the resource as well!

Video of Franklin Sculpture Park

The video above shows what you’ll find to enjoy at the Franklin Sculpture Park.

Dance exhibition at the Park

A dance exhibition was recently performed at the Franklin Sculpture Park as part of the Franklin Cultural Festival.

In the above video you’ll see the talents of students at the Palladino School of Dance at Dean College in Franklin, MA. As described on Dean College’s website, the Palladino School of Dance is recognized as one of the top dance programs in New England, offering conservatory-level instruction in ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop and tap dancing.

The Palladino School and Dean College are just a part of the vibrant arts and culture scene in Franklin, Massachusetts.  Building on Franklin cultural resources, the town is in the process of establishing a Franklin Cultural District.  The District will further cement Franklin as a “destination community” for home buyers seeking a great place to live in the suburbs of Greater Boston!

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12^th annual Beautification Day

This past weekend saw the 12^th annual spring Beautification Day. Volunteers installed fresh greenery, mulch and 100s of flowers at the War Memorial gardens at the Town Common and at the Downtown’s center island and bridge covering the commuter rail right of way as it approaches the Dean College train station.

Community service obligation at Franklin High School

Beautification Days are powered by the strong backs and young muscles of students at Franklin High. Both the freshman and sophomore classes have to fulfill community service requirements every year. And the Beautification Days are a pleasant way for the kids to learn they can make a difference. They get to put on garden gloves, get dirty planting flowers and help care for our community.

 Learn more about the Franklin Common and Downtown area

Franklin, MA is fortunate to have a beautiful Town Common.

Aided by spending by the students at Dean College, Franklin’s Downtown sports a number of good restaurants and eateries as well as shops and service providers.  There’s a lot to like about Franklin!

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An impressive new Museum

It’s fantastic that a town with about 31,000 residents out in the suburban I-495 loop like Franklin, MA can have such a nice facility devoted to showcasing the community’s past.

Friday evening’s opening ceremonies provided town residents with a special first look at the sparkling new interior and all the historical artifacts and memorabilia from Franklin’s past now displayed there.

Here’s a video of the evening’s events with an overview of just some of what you’ll find at the Museum:

Hours of operation

The Museum is free to the public and open throughout the year on the following schedule:

Thursdays, 5PM to 8PM   (closed on days schools close due to snow)
Saturdays, 10AM to 1PM
Sundays, 1PM to 4PM

Another enhancement to Downtown Franklin, Massachusetts

The new Downtown location for the Historical Museum is just one of many recent upgrades to the Downtown area.

Franklin’s Downtown has recently benefited from the major new construction projects, including a new $9.3 million fire station headquarters and $30 million mixed-use Franklin Center Commons.

The area also received streetscape facelifts funded by separate $5 million Federal and $1 million State grants.

The Franklin Downtown Partnership strives hard to help support downtown business and keep the Downtown area on the upswing.

Interesting exhibits

The Museum’s interior is brand new, with finish work contributed by the students at the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School in Franklin, MA.  All the display cases and bookshelves were built by Vo Tech students.

Displays include Native American arrowheads and stone implements discovered at archeological sites in Franklin, antique tools from Franklin’s rich industrial-age past and an extensive collection of Civil War artifacts.  There are also many photos and documents detailing everyday life in the Town of Franklin from the 1920s through the 1950s.

The Historical Museum in Franklin, Massachusetts is well worth a visit!

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Visit well worth the time

You can easily spend a half an hour or more walking through the grounds, reading ancient grave makers and enjoying the peace and solitude that exists right in the heart of Franklin. A visit will be well worth your time.

Famous Franklin families

Several important and influential Franklin families have plots in this cemetery, including:

Oliver Dean – founder of Dean College.

The Fletcher family– a wealthy family of Franklin whose descendants included Austin Barclay Fletcher, whose testamentary bequests helped found the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The Ray family – a very important family in Franklin’s history.  Various Ray family members gave the funds to build the Franklin Public Library, the old central fire station (since torn down and replaced with a new structure), the Gazebo at the Town Commons and also left their homes to Dean College.  The impressive Ray Mansion serves as the admissions office at Dean.

Poignant reminders of man’s mortality

There are 100s of graves of less wealthy Franklin families at the Union Street Cemetery.  I didn’t spend the time needed to find the oldest markers, but many grave stones date back to the early and mid 1800s.

One poignant group of graves date from 1836 to 1842 and belong to three young children of the Allen family.  These children died at the tragically young ages of 9 months, 11 days and 1 day, respectively.  These graves certainly make one value the benefits of modern childhood medicine.

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Franklin treasure since 1918

The focal point of the summertime Concerts on the Franklin Common and several cherished annual holiday events including the July Fourth Celebration and the Holiday Lighting of the Common, the gazebo has suffered substantial deterioration over the years since it was built in 1918.

Poorly designed roof

Much of the damage stemmed from an inexplicably flawed roof design. 

As outlined in an article the Milford Daily News originally published back in February, the circular roof of the gazebo was built with a too narrow radius.  This left the brick and mortar base exposed to the elements.

Repeated cycles of freezing and thawing of winter ice and snow have eaten away at the gazebo base.  Clay roof tiles have also broken, allowing the underlying wood structure to rot.

More photos of the work to date

Quarter million dollar job

Cost estimates back in February for making the roof larger and doing the other improvements to the gazebo totaled approximately $250,000.  The expense is well worth it as it will help assure many future generations get to enjoy this wonderful Franklin, MA landmark!

Click here learn more about Franklin, Massachusetts.

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Franklin Senior Center
10 Daniel McCahill Street
Franklin, MA 02038
508-520-4945

Beautiful, modern facility

The building cost $6.2 million to construct and originally contained 16,000 square feet (before a second floor expansion in 2017). The Center features a reading room, greenhouse/solarium, computer lab, compact gym, café and crafts/program rooms.

Programs and activities

The Center offers services for seniors and the disabled including recreational activities, health and wellness programs, information and referral services, and access to affordable meals and transportation.  Services are available to all Franklin residents 60 years or older and to the disabled. Below are links to just some of the services and programs available at the Center:

The Senior Center in Franklin, MA seeks to foster the physical independence, social engagement and economic well-being of older and disabled Franklin residents.

Click here to learn about the Franklin Fire Headquarters, another recently-constructed building owned by Franklin, MA.

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Called the Franklin Fire Headquarters, the impressive 22,000-square-foot facility replaced the old, outmoded and crumbling Headquarters which was built in 1922.  The new Fire Headquarters occupies the site of the former Headquarters on West Central Street in Franklin, MA.  The gleaming new station certainly improves the look and feel of the downtown area.

Beyond the improved aesthetics, town officials have stressed that the new building’s larger vehicle bays were needed to accommodate today’s larger fire trucks and that the state-of-the-art dispatch system will improve efficiency.

The new Fire Headquarters includes a modern town emergency command center, decontamination areas for emergencies involving hazardous materials, and a new walk-in medical services room.  Better working conditions for fire department staff are apparent in the new separate male and female showers and individual bedrooms (which replace the single shower and same-sex dormitory of the old facility).

Click here to see the Franklin Historical Museum, another exciting upgrade to the Franklin, MA downtown area!

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