Shrewsbury Street
Neighborhood in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester County 01604, 01605
Colorful residences near Restaurant Row
The Shrewsbury Street area is home to some of Worcester’s signature Colonial-style triple-decker properties. The units in these buildings accommodate the area's many renters. Several line Shrewsbury Street, with apartments above bottom-floor businesses, while others sit just off the main drag, up side streets’ steep hills. Faded pastels color some, which sit along narrow, cracked roads and sidewalks. Many feature shaded front porches, balconies or turrets. Investors looking to purchase one of these multifamily homes can find one for between $440,000 to $1 million, with proximity to Shrewsbury Street being the biggest factor contributing to price variation. Single-family homes are tucked between these large properties, typically costing $310,000 to $475,000. The neighborhood’s largest concentration of single-family homes is in the northwest corner, off Plantation Street and near Lake Quinsigamond. These homes feature larger yards, trade cracked sidewalks for a dense tree canopy and fall within the same price range.Strolling through Cristoforo Colombo Park, boating Lake Quinsigamond
Two stone griffon statues guard Cristoforo Colombo Park, a green space that offers a small outdoor escape near busy Shrewsbury Street. Visitors can play pick-up games on the basketball or tennis courts, bring their kids to the playground and splash pad or wander wooded trails on undeveloped hillsides. The park’s East Side Trail leads all the way to Lake Quinsigamond. On the way, the trail stops at the nearly 500-acre Green Hill Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On one of Worcester’s seven hills, the park offers views of woodlands, rolling hills and grassy open space. An amphitheater hosts concerts in the summer, and on the Fourth of July, locals watch fireworks blaze in the sky from their picnic blankets and lawn chairs. Visitors can view alpacas and chickens at the Green Hill Park Farm, play in a rec league sports game on one of the many fields, stroll through the arboretum’s tall trees or relax on the rocky shorelines of one of the two ponds. The 18-hole municipal Green Hill Golf Course is also in the park, offering sloped, fast fairways.The Regatta Point section of Quinsigamond State Park is also in the neighborhood and borders a lake with the same name. The nationally recognized rowing site hosts events like the USRowing National Championship and served as a training ground for Aisyah Rafaee, Singapore’s first Olympic rower. Locals can also take motorboats onto the 3.5-mile stretch of water, passing by the historic boathouse or under the Kenneth Burns Bridge on their way to one of the seven small islands dotting the lake.
Basketball state champs at North High School
Students are zoned for Worcester Public Schools. They can attend Belmont Street Community School and Worcester East Middle School, both of which receive C grades from Niche. They can graduate from North High School, which receives a C-plus, ranks among the most diverse schools in the state and features a lower-than-average student-teacher ratio. North’s basketball team also won the state championship back-to-back in 2023 and 2024. On a wooded hill sits Worcester Technical High School, a vocational-technical high school just off Shrewsbury Street. The school offers 22 trade specialties clustered into four academies: Alden Design and Engineering, Allied Health and Human Services, Coghlin Construction Technology, and Information Technology & Business Services. Students must apply for admission by lottery.
Jobs in the health sciences and hospitals
UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus is in the neighborhood. Beside it is UMass Chan Medical School, the main campus for UMass’s medical program. The hospital and the university are major employers for the city, drawing doctors, professors and students to the area.
Getting around Shrewsbury Street
“There’s a lot you can easily walk to," Zamarro says. "There’s easy access to public transit. Because it’s in the middle of the city, you can get to all parts of the city.” There's a WRTA bus stop at the top of Shrewsbury Street, and the bus leads locals throughout the city. It's also one of the only areas in Worcester with free street parking, and there are a few parking lots beside some restaurants. The neighborhood is a short drive from other city hotspots, with the Canal District, downtown Worcester, the Main South area and Worcester Polytechnic Institute all less than 3 miles away. Shrewsbury Street is steps away from Worcester’s Union Station, where a train travels daily from Worcester to Boston, about 45 miles east, with stops in small towns along the way. U.S. Interstate 90 also leads to the state capital, and an entrance to it is about 5 miles south. The Worcester Regional Airport, a small airport with limited flights, is about 7 miles west, while the Boston Logan International Airport is about 50 miles east.Because the street is incredibly straight and an exit ramp for U.S. Interstate 290 leads directly onto the road, traffic accidents have been a problem, reflecting a larger city struggle. In mid-2024, Worcester declared a “traffic violence crisis” in response to the increased number of crashes. In response to roadway fatalities, the city is implementing Vision Zero, a street safety movement that focuses on pedestrians and their relationship to the roadway.
Eat and drink morning 'til night on Shrewsbury Street
When the sun goes down, streetlamps and restaurant signs light up Shrewsbury Street. “If people are going out to eat, more likely than not, they’re going to Shrewsbury Street,” Collins says. At the top of the road, people wander from eateries like Volturno Pizza, which serves various pies with locally sourced ingredients, into bars and breweries like Redemption Rock Brewing Company, one of the entertainment venues along the street that make weekends in Worcester exciting. “If somebody said to me, ‘Hey, I’m new to Worcester, where can I go for events?’ I would tell them Redemption Rock,” Collins says. “They have a café culture, but they’re a brewery too.” This low-key spot with a vibrant mural serves coffee in the morning and drinks at happy hour, hosting everything from Saturday night karaoke and Thursday game nights to local restaurant pop-ups and book clubs. Another option for morning coffee is Collins’s business, Root & Press, where visitors can browse an extensive selection of books while sipping a latte.“A lot of these restaurants have been here a while,” says Erin Zamarro, real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Realty and lifelong central Massachusetts resident. Some Worcester mainstays along Restaurant Row include Boulevard Diner, which was built in 1936, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is open 24/7; One Eleven Chop House, serving steaks in sleek lowlight; The Woo Bar and Grill, which has pub fare and beer; and Via, an upscale Italian eatery.
There’s an industrial presence and train tracks near Shrewsbury Street, but tucked off of this main road and behind small hills, they don't affect life here much. The closest grocery store, Price Chopper, is about 2 miles northwest. Just across the lake in Shrewsbury (the area, not the street), there’s a Trader Joe’s and a Shaw’s.

Locals enjoy a taste of Shrewsbury, Italian Heritage Parade
The Taste of Shrewsbury Street event shuts down the street for one day each summer, bringing out thousands of Worcester residents. Put on by the Shrewsbury Street Area Merchant Association, a nonprofit organization that supports the area’s diverse businesses, the food festival is a mélange of live music and locals wandering the storefronts, meeting restaurant owners who offer samples of their signature dishes. “It’s probably the biggest event we have down here,” Collins says. “A horse and buggy pulls the kids around, and different bars will have bands play while people walk up and down the street.”The Shrewsbury Street Italian Heritage Parade celebrates the neighborhood’s history, as the area once housed many Italian immigrants. It began in 2021, replacing the annual Columbus Day Parade, which stopped in 2018. Crosswalks are painted the Italian flag's colors, a parade travels the strip and locals taste wine from various vendors.


Agents Specializing in this Area
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Raymund Lopolito
Starterline
(774) 233-8744
35 Total Sales
2 in Shrewsbury Street
$120K - $330K Price Range
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Matheus Goncalves
Mega Realty Services
(508) 761-1925
151 Total Sales
1 in Shrewsbury Street
$222,500 Price
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Melissa Deutsch
Coldwell Banker Realty - Boston
(781) 654-8564
26 Total Sales
1 in Shrewsbury Street
$510,000 Price
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Kelly Nelson
Blue Sky Realty
(774) 772-5572
73 Total Sales
1 in Shrewsbury Street
$595,000 Price
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Eduardo Marines
REALPRO by The Water
(401) 240-4724
71 Total Sales
1 in Shrewsbury Street
$250,000 Price
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Team Tom Truong
Responds QuicklyeXp Realty
(781) 430-4830
50 Total Sales
1 in Shrewsbury Street
$670,000 Price
Schools
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, an experienced agent in this neighborhood.Parks in this Area
Transit
Crime and Safety
1 - Low Crime, 10 - High Crime | Shrewsbury Street | US |
---|---|---|
Homicide | 5 | 4 |
Sexual Assault | 5 | 4 |
Assault with Weapon | 5 | 4 |
Robbery | 6 | 4 |
Burglary | 8 | 4 |
Motor Vehicle Theft | 6 | 4 |
Larceny | 7 | 4 |
Crime Score | 6 | 4 |
Source: WhatIsMyCrimeRisk.com
Shrewsbury Street Demographics and Home Trends
On average, homes in Shrewsbury Street, Worcester sell after 14 days on the market compared to the national average of 49 days. The median sale price for homes in Shrewsbury Street, Worcester over the last 12 months is $385,000, up 9% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
Housing Trends
Neighborhood Facts
Open Houses
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Wednesday, Jun 184 - 5:30pm
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Tuesday, Jun 174 - 5:30pm
Distribution of Home Values
Homes for Sale
Homes for Rent
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Property Mix - Square Feet
This Neighborhood Has More Renters
Demographics
Finances
Education and Workforce
Weather
Area Factors
Somewhat Bikeable
Bike Score®
Very Walkable
Walk Score®
Some Transit
Transit Score®
Sound Score® measures the noise level of any address. Transit Score® measures access to public transit. Bike Score® measures the bikeability of any address.
Nearby Neighborhoods

Historic neighborhood east of downtown Worcester

A growing urban neighborhood alone Worcester's Restaurant Row

Worcester neighborhood close to Lake Quinsigamond

Easy access to major highways and downtown Worcester

Lively urban center with entertainment venues and community activities

Also called the Canal District, it's the heartbeat of Worcester