Massachusetts Street (often referred to colloquially as either Mass Street or Mass) is the main street that runs through the central business district of downtown

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. It begins just south of the

Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...

at Sixth Street and continues south until reaching

Haskell Indian Nations University Haskell Indian Nations University is a public tribal land-grant university in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1884 as a residential boarding school for American Indian children, the school has developed into a university operated by t ...

. The street was given its name by members of the

New England Emigrant Aid Company The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of ...

, most of whom were from the state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. In 2014, Mass Street was named the most popular tourist attraction in Kansas by TripAdvisor. Downtown Lawrence

The 600 through 1200 block of Massachusetts is also listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

under Lawrence's Historical District. Most of the buildings were built between 1856 and 1953. Listed separately under the National Register are

the Eldridge Hotel The Eldridge House Hotel (often referred to as the Eldridge Hotel or simply the Eldridge) is a historic building located on Massachusetts Street, in downtown Lawrence, Kansas. The building is named after Shalor Eldridge, a prominent anti-slavery ...

, the Douglas County Courthouse and Watkins National Bank (now Watkins Community Museum). Other listings along Mass Street but not located downtown are the Breezedale Historic District, the Goodrich House, the Edward House House, the Mackie House and the Roberts House (now the Castle Tea Room that was designed by

Kansas State Capitol The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the executive and legislative branches of government for the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in the city of Topeka, which has served as the capital of Kansas sin ...

architect

John G. Haskell John Gideon Haskell (February 5, 1832 – November 25, 1907) was an architect who designed portions of the Kansas State Capitol and other public buildings in the state. Haskell was born in Milton, Vermont. His father moved to Lawrence, Kansas i ...

). Other historic businesses and sites of interest along Massachusetts Street are

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...

, the Free State Brewing Company (Kansas' first legal brewery in over 100 years), the Round Corner Pharmacy (which was the longest-running pharmacy in the state until closing in 2009), the House Building (the only downtown building to survive Quantrill's Raid), the Replay Lounge, the Granada (a former theater and popular music venue), South Park (a city park established when Lawrence was founded in 1854), and Liberty Memorial Central Middle School (located in a former high school built in 1923).

References

Lawrence, Kansas Transportation in Kansas Streets in Kansas Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas National Register of Historic Places in Douglas County, Kansas {{Kansas-road-stub