The Worcester Oval -- Skating behind City Hall
The Common, established in 1669, originally encompassed about 20 acres (8.1 ha), compared to its present size of 4.4 acres (1.8 ha).[2] A meeting house used for both town meetings and religious functions was constructed on the Common in 1719, on the same site as the current City Hall. In 1763, the first meeting house was demolished and what became known as The Old South Meeting House was constructed on the site. It was here, on July 14, 1776, that Isaiah Thomas publicly read the Declaration of Independence for the first time in New England.
