May 01. 2011 12:00AM
 

In 1935, Nobel Prize-winning American novelist Sinclair Lewis had one of his characters describe Worcester as “…just the same as Boston, London, Hollywood, and a Wild West Ranch put together.”

That was surely a bit much, even if one thinks back to the heady days when downtown pulsated with pedestrians and professionals, budget crises were unknown, and concepts such as urban blight — and urban renewal — lay decades in the future.

But Worcester is a city with a remarkable heritage. Blessed by geography, well served by roads and rails, strengthened by ethnic diversity, and endlessly resilient, Worcester has continually reinvented itself, from farming village to industrial powerhouse, to academic giant and a rising medical and biomedical star.

Last Thursday’s announcement of a partnership between the city and the Worcester Business Development Corporation to focus on properties in the downtown core, and in particular to seek ways to complement the signature efforts of the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, is a huge step toward realizing that brighter future.