Downtown Auburn Painters — Central, Church and South Streets to Drury Square

The 2019 master plan is direct about it: there is no classic downtown here, and in recent years the town has been working to develop Drury Square into one. Drury Square is where Auburn Street meets Southbridge Street, an intersection the plan says carries upwards of 15,000 vehicles a day, with the high school, library and fire headquarters within walking distance. In spring 2019, Town Meeting created the Drury Square Village District, a 62-acre zoning district meant to bring mixed uses and better sidewalks.

Right beside it is the older center. The same plan quotes a 1937 description of 'the Centre with its green Common, ancient trees and fine old church and homes', and notes that the common is gone while the Congregational Church and the streets around Town Hall remain. The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) maps this as its 'Auburn Center' inventory area, and its 'Drury Square' area sits next to it.

Inside the Auburn Center boundary, MHC records list 35 buildings, sites and objects, 28 of them with a residential use, none marked demolished. Fifteen are dated between 1800 and 1849. On Central Street, the Dr. Thomas Green House (1783), the Bancroft-Merriam House (1814) and the David Cummings House (1818) are tagged Federal; on Church Street, so are the Silas Wesson House (1802) and Dr. Daniel Green's house and office (1805). Town Hall, at 104 Central Street, is an 1896 Queen Anne building. The Drury Square area is thinner: 12 records, four of them marked demolished, including the 1935 high school. Its survivors include the 1820 John F. Drury House at 27 Auburn Street.

Federal-era houses on Central and Church Streets

Eight records in the center carry the Federal tag, with dates from 1783 to 1820. On a house repainted for two centuries, the lower layers can contain lead, so test before anyone scrapes and follow lead-safe work practices if the result is positive. Where original sash or early clapboards survive, hand scraping is gentler on them than aggressive power tools.

Houses that also served as offices and shops

Several inventory records list mixed uses: a doctor's office on Church Street, a funeral home at 91 Central Street, a store and business office at 123 Central Street, and a 1928 school building whose record includes an apartment use. If your building has tenants or customers, settle entry points, working hours and sign removal in writing before the work starts.

Heavily remodeled buildings

Five records in the center are labeled 'altered beyond recognition', among them the 1765 Drury Tavern at 129 Central Street. An old date on the deed does not mean the surfaces are old, so look at what the siding, trim and windows are made of now before choosing primer and paint.

Facades along a busy crossroads

Buildings close to the Drury Square intersection face steady traffic, so siding can carry road grime that should come off before primer goes on. A thorough wash and rinse, with drying time afterward, belongs in the plan. For storefronts, ask the town's planning office whether any design guidance for the Village District applies before picking colors; the 2019 plan said guidelines and a facade program were still being drafted.