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Return to Scenic New England photo gallery main menu Scenes of New England Photo Gallery: Downtown Walpole Winter Scene, Walpole, MA
Article and photo by Eric H. Walpole, MA, boasts three town commons in its small, two-block downtown. There's a stone gazebo, a Veterans Memorial, beautifully-paved walkways, wooden benches, pleasing "green" landscaping, Colonial-theme lights to create a wonderful nighttime ambiance, and historical buildings, homes and churches surrounding the general area. The people of Walpole put the town commons and its downtown to great use with summer concerts, a heartwarming treelighting ceremony during the holiday season (and Santa's cabin on the premises), kids visiting participating merchants for Halloween candy in October, and myriad parades and military veterans observances. While certainly not a tourist destination, Walpole quietly shares with other New England small towns the old-fashioned community pride, close-knit neighborhoods, pleasing suburban and rural areas and signature town commons that embody the spirit of New England. If you're ever in the area, grab a lunch downtown at the cozy Finnegan's Wake Irish pub, and then shop downtown for quilts, antiques, yarn, musical instruments, plants and flowers, etc. Visit the old-fashioned, locally-owned Betro Pharmacy where hard-working owner Peter Betro, his customers and staff love their small town pharmacy and where everyone seems to know each other. Paint a clay figure at the Clayroom, sample the delicious baked goods at A Fresh Start, or find just about anything "sports" from skates to baseball gloves at Replays consignment shop. Then, walk past Joe's Barber Shop (a place where Floyd from the Andy Griffith Show could probably work) for a walk through the town commons en route to Common Street -- where the stately United Church, the Walpole Public Library and Post Office lead to a row of spectacular big, old homes. It's the classic, perfectly-manicured, tree-shaded New England hometown street in a community that modestly but proudly enjoys its small town way of life.
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