Golden Triangle (Massachusetts)
The Golden Triangle is one of the largest retail districts in New England and is located on the borders of Framingham and Natick, Massachusetts, in the heart of the MetroWest region of the state. The district is anchored by the two malls in the area, Shopper's World and the Natick Mall. The 3 sq mi (7.8 km2) area is the second largest shopping district in Massachusetts outside of Downtown Crossing in Boston.
The Golden Triangle was originally a three square mile district on the eastern side of Framingham, bordered by Worcester Rd. (Route 9), Cochituate Rd. (Route 30), and Speen Street in Natick. In 1993, the area began to expand beyond the borders of the triangle with construction of a BJ's Wholesale Club and a Super Stop & Shop just north of Route 30. It now includes the original area plus parts of Old Connecticut Path, Concord St. (Route 126) and Speen St. north of Route 30. Because of the size and complexity of the area, Framingham and Natick cooperatively operate it as a single distinct district with similar zoning.
The area was formed with the construction of Shoppers World in 1951. Shoppers' World was a large open air shopping mall, the second in the US and the first east of the Mississippi River. The mall drew many other retail construction projects to the area, the first of which was Sherwood Plaza built in 1959. In April 1960, when Sherwood Plaza opened for business, it contained and Elm Farm Food store, a W.T. Grant store and the third Zayre store in the Zayre chain as well as the only Zayre warehouse, and the Zayre main offices. Retail developments thereafter included Marshalls (1961, rebuilt as Bed, Bath and Beyond 1997),Caldor (1966, Rebuilt as Wal-Mart in 2002),Bradlees (1960s, rebuilt as Kohl's in 2002), the Route 30 Mall (1970), an AMC Framingham 15, the Framingham Mall (1978, rebuilt 2000) and Lowe's (formally the Verizon Building, 2006). Complementary developments in Natick include the Natick Mall (1966, rebuilt in 1994, expanded 2007), Cloverleaf Marketplace (1978) and the Home Depot. In 1994, Shoppers' World was demolished and replaced with a strip mall named Shoppers World. There are also seven hotels and two car dealerships located within the Triangle.
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