Devens, Massachusetts

The Fort Devens Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by El Caney St., Antietam St., Sherman Ave., MacArthur Ave. and Buena Vista Street in Devens, Massachusetts, encompassing territory in both Ayer and Harvard. The district is in a portion of the former Fort Devens and includes a large number of historically and architecturally significant buildings. The buildings that are deemed of most significant historic importance are those that were built in the period 1929-39. This building phase was begun after the United States Army decided to upgrade temporary facilities dating from World War I, to provide more permanent facilities at the base. This resulted in the construction of a significant number of Georgian Revival buildings in a rough U shape around a central parade ground. These buildings included dormitory facilities for soldiers, administrative office space, and warehouse facilities. This area is also significant as the site from 1933 to 1937 of an encampment of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and for its association with Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, without whose efforts the base might have been closed instead of being upgraded.The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Its main boundaries on the north, west, and south, are Antietam and El Caney Streets. The eastern boundary is mainly Jackson Street, although there is an extension further eastward to Auman Avenue, where there are rows of single-family housing. One of the most visually dominant elements of the district are Rogers Field, the former parade ground, and the grouping of former barracks buildings on its north side.

The Lovell General Hospital East is a former hospital at Fort Devens. It was named after the first Surgeon General of the United States Army, Joseph Lovell. After its closure, it was redeveloped into the United States Army Intelligence School.

The Federal Medical Center, Devens (FMC Devens) is a United States federal prison in Massachusetts for male inmates requiring specialized or long-term medical or mental health care. It is designated as an administrative facility, which means it has inmates from different security classifications, from white-collar criminals to mobsters and sex offenders. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. FMC Devens also has a satellite camp housing minimum-security male inmates. FMC Devens is located in north-central Massachusetts, approximately 39 miles west of Boston, on the grounds of Fort Devens, which occupied the land before it was scaled back in size.

SPARC is a tokamak under development by Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). Funding has come from Eni, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Temasek, Equinor, Devonshire Investors, and others. SPARC plans to verify the technology and physics required to build a power plant based on the ARC fusion power plant concept. SPARC is designed to achieve this with margin in excess of breakeven and may be capable of achieving up to 140 MW of fusion power for 10 second bursts despite its relatively compact size. The project is on schedule for operation in 2025 after completing a magnet test in 2021.

New England Studios is a film production facility located in Devens, Massachusetts. Established in 2012, it has quickly become a prominent hub for the film and television industry in the New England region. The studio is known for its modern facilities, versatile soundstages, central location in New England, and on-site rental department.

The Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School (usually referred to as the Parker Charter School by the public, or simply Parker by students) is a public charter school in Devens, Massachusetts, United States that serves students in grades 7 to 12. It was established in 1995 under the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, and serves about 400 students from 40 surrounding towns in north central Massachusetts, including Ayer, Shirley, Littleton, Leominster, Lunenburg, and Worcester. As a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a leading organization for education reform, Parker is known for its nontraditional educational philosophy. The school takes its name from Francis Wayland Parker, a 19th-century pioneer of the progressive school movement.

The Lovell General Hospital North is a former hospital at Fort Devens. It was named after the first Surgeon General of the United States Army, Joseph Lovell.

The Lovell General Hospital South is a former hospital at Fort Devens. It was named after the first Surgeon General of the United States Army, Joseph Lovell.

Fruitlands was a utopian agrarian commune established in Harvard, Massachusetts, by Amos Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane in the 1840s, based on transcendentalist principles. An account of its less-than-successful activities can be found in Transcendental Wild Oats by Alcott's daughter Louisa May Alcott.Lane purchased what was known as the Wyman farm and its 90 acres (36 ha), which also included a dilapidated house and barn. Residents of Fruitlands ate no animal substances, drank only water, bathed in unheated water and "no artificial light would prolong dark hours or cost them the brightness of morning." Additionally, property was held communally, and no animal labor was used. The community was short-lived and lasted only seven months. It was dependent on farming, which turned out to be too difficult. The original farmhouse, along with other historic buildings from the area, is now a part of Fruitlands Museum.

Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley is a medium-security state prison in Shirley, Massachusetts. The facility also contains a minimum-security section which houses less dangerous prisoners. MCI-Shirley maintains 13 inmate housing units, a 28-bed full-service hospital unit, a 59-bed segregation unit, gym, recreation areas, school, industries, laundry, vocational area, and food services/programs. This facility is under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction. It is located directly to the north of the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum-security facility in the town of Lancaster. On January 6, 2020 there was 992 Medium and 269 minimum inmates in general population beds.

Shirley station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Shirley, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line, and is located in the village center. The station consists of a short low-level platform with an asphalt patch for passengers to cross the tracks, plus a small wooden shelter on the inbound side. Shirley station is not accessible.

Ayer station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located off Main Street (Route 2A/111) in the Ayer Main Street Historic District of Ayer, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line. There are three tracks through the station, two of which are served by a pair of low-level side platforms, which are not accessible. There is a shelter on the inbound platform. Ayer has been a major railroad interchange since the Fitchburg Railroad opened through South Groton in 1845, followed by the Stony Brook Railroad, Worcester and Nashua Railroad, and Peterborough and Shirley Railroad in 1848. The original depot was replaced with a union station with a large trainshed in 1848. Land speculation and industrial development spurred by the railroad access expanded the tiny farm village into the independent town of Ayer. A new station was constructed in 1896. By 1900, the town was served by five lines all controlled by the Boston and Maine Railroad, with service to Boston, Worcester, and Lowell plus New York, New Hampshire, and Maine. Passenger service ended on all of the lines except the Fitchburg mainline between 1931 and 1961. After a brief disruption in early 1965, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began subsidizing commuter rail service to Ayer as part of what would become the Fitchburg Line. The station and part of the line was closed in 1975, but reopened in 1980. CSX Transportation also runs freight trains through the town to various destinations. Planning began in 2003 for a parking structure to serve park-and-ride commuters at the station. After delays caused by disagreements with a property owner, the property to ensure a public access route to the station was acquired by the town in June 2016, allowing the parking expansion to proceed. The garage opened in 2019, with improvements to the station entrance constructed in 2020–21.