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The Framingham F

Driving around town, fou may have seen this 'F' painted on some driveways around Framingham, such as this one on Crest Road:

Fun Facts About this Design

• In 2018, the Framingham Youth Basketball sponsored the citywide campaign as a Community Pride Fundraiser.
• A donation of $25 would get the painted F on the driveway or any location that you choose.
• The 2-color "F" is 3-feet tall.
• The logo was supposed to last about 6-months, however, they are still visible 2-years later.

CoronaVirus in Framingham

Today in Massachusetts there are 218 Confirmed cases of the CoronaVirus. There are 1,083 people that are subject to quarantine.

Of the 19 counties in Massachusetts, Middlesex County has the most reported: 89.

In Framingham there are now four reported cases. According to Sam Song, the Framingham Director of Public Health, all reported cases are under self-quarantine

The city of Framingham Board of Health now limits the in-person meetings. This means that City Council members will be conducting remote meetings. As of today, March 17, 2020, the City Hall Building and related Public Buildings are now closed to the public.

You can find the latest information on the status of the CoronaVirus on the Framingham.gov website.

The city will continue to monitor the situation and reevaluate the need to close the public buildings - Trash Pickup and access to the parks are not impacted

Framingham Historical Building

On the west side of the Framingham Centre Commons is a large brick building. It is the home of the Framingham Historical Society. It is only open by reservation only.

Eight Fun Facts about this Building

This was the former site of one of the first private schools in Framingham which started in the spring of 1792.

The school was founded by twenty-two associate and by Rev. David Kellogg - who was the third minister of the Church of Christ in Framingham. They formed the "The Proprietors of The Brick School House in Framingham."

It officially became the Framingham Academy in 1798 when the founding Proprietors asked the Massachusetts Legislature to be incorporated as an Academy school.

One of the Academy by-laws stated that "Children od both sexes shall be admitted upon equal terms."

The Brick building was torn down and a new Stone Schoolhouse was built in 1837 and cost $3,000. (In 2019 it would cost $68,633.41)

The Stone Schoolhouse was only used by the Academy for 15-years before the property was sold to the Town of Framingham.

The town of Framingham used the site for the Town High School until 1915 when it was moved to the building next door.

The Framingham Historical Society has leased the building from the town since 1916.

Sign on The Building

On the Building is a green metal sign with the following inscription:

Framingham Tercentenary Marker

On Waverly Street, Route 135, in Framingham there is a historical marker near the Framingham/Natick town line. This marker was installed in the 1930s to remind people of the history of Framingham.

Eight Interesting Things About the Marker

• In 1930, 275 markers were installed around the state to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• Offically these markers are called "Tercentenary Markers"
• The Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission was formed in 1928 with Former Attorney General Herbert Parker as the Chairman. Samuel E. Morison, a professor of history at Harvard University, was the commission history advisor.
• Framingham has designated three signs by the Tercentenary Commission: Thomas Eames, Pike-Haven Homestead and the Framingham Sign.
• There is supposed to be similar Framingham Sign on Route 126 near the Framingham/Ashland line but that sign is now missing.
• These markers are carefully made of cast iron, with raised letters on both sides and a black border. The seal of the Commonwealth, in blue and gold, is on top.
• The markers were put up by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. The department was allocated $15,000 in the 1930 budget for the signs. There has been no amount allocated for maintaining the signs or replacing them.
• The markers are located as far north as Amesbury, far west as Deerfield and as far South as Quincy.

Sign Text

This is the text on the sign

Melting Pot (Framingham)

The Melting Pot is a Fondue restaurant chain that offered heated pots of cheese, chocolate for dipping and cooking. Gues could pick out their own broth or chocolate treats.

Once really nice thing about the Melting Pot is that they offer good gluten-free options - even for dessert! They had delicious gluten-free brownies that could be dipped into various chocolate sauces.

On February 18, 2020, the Melting Pot in Framingham closed its door. This was a surprise move as most people found out about it via social media and local news reporting.

Five Things I Have Learned

• - The popular restaurant first opened in early December, 2006. It was the first Melting Pot location in Massachusetts.
• - The Melting Pot had a lot of great choices and was a popular place to eat on a weekend night. For most consumers it would be a two-hour experience.
• - They not only offered fine food, but they had a fine wine and mix drink selection. Everytime that we went we would be impressed with the wine selection that the waiter offered.
• - Today the is only Massachusetts location and it's located in Bedford, Massachusetts. (At the corner of Route 62 and the Massachusetts Turnpike.)
• - A restaurant called the Melting Pot opened on January, 14, 2020 in Cambridge. However, a month later the owners put in a request to change the name of the restaurant to Base Crave. This is probably because it was not affiliated with the national chain. Base Craze serves Nepalese food, not Fondue.

Massachusetts State Troopers Monument

The Massachusetts State Police General Headquarters campus (GHQ) is located just off of Route 9 in Framingham. At the Police Headquarters is a small memorial to the Massachusetts State Troopers who have fallen in the line of duty.

Four Things I Learned

• Memorial was placed in 1960. They have been 21 Massachusetts State Troopers who have died since 1960.
• I wasn't able to find any information about the memorial or why it was placed at the location. There don't appear to be any special ceremony around the memorial.
• There are no names around the memorial, the memorial in Boston has the Trooper's names.
• Sergeant James H. Marshal was the only trooper to die in 1960. Prior to that, it was Patrolman Wallace E. Mathews who died on April 23, 1953.

Text of Memorial

Here's the text on the memorial:

In memory of those state troopers who have completed their last patrol and have gone before us. May they Rest in Peace in the Company of God.
Donated By
Former Mass. State Troopers
1960

Golden Triangle

Framingham/Natick Golden Triangle is the largest shopping district in New England. The 3-mile+ area is located between the Natick Mall and Shopper's World.

Aerial Photo of the Golden Triangle area - Natick DPW

Five Things to Know

The Golden Triangle was created in 1951 with the opening of Shopper's World. The Natick Mall opened in 1966.

The Golden Triangle was originally was 3-miles. In 1993, it expanded to include Bjs just north of Shopper's World. In the 2000s it expanded further west to Concord Street, and more north on Speen Street and Old Connecticut Path.

There are eight hotels and two major car dealerships located in the Golden Triangle. TJX and Mathworks headquarters are within the Golden Triangle area.

The Golden Triangle has the fewest number of people within the 1/2 mile radius - yet it has the second-highest median household income. The area has the most employees by area (According to Framingham Study Data)

In 2018 A joint study by Natick and Framingham was done to stop the decline of retail property in the Golden Triangle. The study recommends making the area more open space with a new Greenway to be similar to areas like Assembly Row in Somerville, MA, and Storrs, CT. - Read the Joint Study.

AMC Framingham 16 Theater

The only major theater in the Framingham/Natick area is the AMC Framingham-16 theater. It's located at 22 Flutie Pass, Framingham Massachusetts.

Interesting Timeline

• December 16, 1994 - Open as "General Cinemas 14". The movie theater was previously located at Shopper's World as Shoppers World Cinema. It featured 14 theaters. Immortal Beloved, Legends of the Fall and Dumb and Dumber were all released that weekend.
• March 21, 2000 - General Cinemas Theater upgraded the theater to a Premium Cinema. It also expanded to 16 theaters. The Premium Cinema served food before the show. The dine-in theaters offered alcohol and no one under 21 were allowed
• April 18, 2015 - Grand reopening with new fully reclining leather seats, dine-in auditoriums and a separate bar and lounge. The over-21 restrictions were removed during this remodeling. This is the first time that Fork and Screen has been introduced.

Things I have Learned

During the first year of the 2000 opening, it was the top-grossing theater for AMC on the East Coast.

The theater was designed by Robert Luchetti Associates. Other designs they worked on include The Basketball Hall of Fame, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, St. Michaels School and many more.

The premium theater cost more than a regular theater - even if you don't order any food from your seat. In 2003, the premium seats cost $17.50 per person. Today it cost $12.99. (If you order online or via the AMC app there is a $3.79 convenience Fee.)

You can save money by purchasing discounted gift cards at BJs or AAA.

The Dine-In theaters are on the left side of the building, as your driving in. If you are seeing a show in a Dine-In theater you should park on the left side of the building - so that you're not walking that far after the movie gets out.

Most theaters allow people in at least a 1/2 hour before the scheduled showtime.

People that order popcorn in the Dine-In gets a large popcorn tub. Regular concession users will only get popcorn bags.

Saxonville Mills Coffee

At the corner of Concord Street and Central Street is a small family-owned coffee shop - Saxonville Mills Coffee. This shop is very popular with locals. It first opened in June of 2018.

You can order ahead via postmates.com

I was in the area recently and decided to pay a visit.

Six Things I Learned

There is limited parking near the entrance as the parking area is also shared by other businesses in the Mill. There is additional parking directly across Concord Street. Note: It is a bit tricky to pull into the driveway when your heading North on Concord Street - watch for the turning traffic!

There's plenty of breakfast sandwiches and pastries. Lots of good selections. I opted for a croissant and a large coffee. They did have fresh hot oatmeal available - which would be great to enjoy on a snowy morning. The Cheese bread (P-o de Queijo) is not Gluten Free, they did have an egg dish that was gluten-free.

The coffee and croissant were very good. The croissant was nice and fresh!

The coffee cream station was next to the door, which is a bit weird if your eating in - you have to walk far away from the counter to get cream and sugar.

They have plenty of seating - I counted chairs for 25 people - with 2 high tables. Free WiFi is available - login information is available at the Coffee Cream station. I had no issues using Verizon's Data while I was enjoying my coffee.

They were very busy on a Saturday morning, which was surprising as a Dunkin Donut chain was right down the street. Most people ordered their drinks and treat to eat in. Service was a bit slow at times - I think it was they were busy with various coffee orders.

Fluff and Fold

Fluff and Fold is a laundry service in Framingham. It's unique because, for a while, they had an active social media account. They currently have a Facebook and Instragram account.

Fun Facts

Opened in 2004

Open everyday from 6am to 10:30pm.

They offer self-service and full-service laundry - including dry cleaning.

You can drop off your dry cleaning and they will deliver your clean clothes to your home.

According to Yelp, Fluff and Fold is rated #1 Best wash and fold in Framingham, MA

Things I Learned

• $4.50 Regular White Washers
• $6.75 Large Washers - perfect for doing comforters.
• It cost $.50 for 10 mins to use the dryer. $2 for the standard 40-minutes dryer.
• There are 22 Dryers and 16 Washers.
• There are wheel baskets that you can take out to your car to easily bring in laundry.
• All the machines have credit card swipes. Make sure to follow the instructions on the dryers: 'Press Enter on the Reader to set Dry Time / Price before Making Payment. '
• Fluff and Fold also accepts Apple Pay.
• The self laundry can get pretty busy, there are only 3 chairs to sit down. They don't have any TVs (The use to.) However, they do offer free wifi - so you can watch YouTube or learn something on Udemy.
• There are plenty of tables available to fold laundry. For $.50, you can buy large fabric bags to take your laundry home.

Finding Fluff and Fold

Fluff and Fold is located on 740 Waverly Street, directly across from Monnick Supply Company.