Explore Mass Street

Massachusetts Street (referred to by locals as “Mass Street”), is the main street that runs through Downtown Lawrence. The 600 – 1200 blocks of Mass Street are listed on the National Register of Historical Places under Lawrence’s Historical District. Most of the buildings were built between 1856 – 1953. There’s something amazing on every block!

What's in a name?

You may have noticed that Lawrence’s north-south streets are named after states—but they are laid out in a history lesson.  With many of the city’s founders from Boston, Lawrence’s “main” street was named “Massachusetts.”  It is also the widest of the downtown streets.  East of Mass, the streets are named after the thirteen original colonies, starting with New England, then the Middle Colonies, then the South (which were planned but never built).  West of Mass the streets are named for the states in the order in which they were admitted to the Union.

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Content provided by Watkins Museum of History