1,000 "great places" in state, but are any in Attleboro area?

[Mike Kirby]

Are there any great places in your town? Quick, tell your state rep or you may get shut out of government’s greatest gift to your local chamber of commerce.

One of the final acts of the 2008 Massachusetts Legislature was to create a 13-member special commission to “identify, catalogue, evaluate and designate the 1,000 great places in the commonwealth.”

I know what you’re thinking: “That’s a lot of great places.” After all, there are only 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, giving each community nearly three great places. Heck, that’s one great place for every 10 square miles in the Bay State.

I'll bet there's going to be a lot of competition for this. Civic boosters everywhere are going to be lined up seeking to put the state’s seal and the words “One of the 1,000 great places in Massachusetts” on their brochures.

First of all, Boston is going to eat up a bunch of them. Just off the top of my head I’m putting no-brainers like Fenway Park, Faneuil Hall and the Boston Common as well as several museums (fine arts, science, children’s, JFK Library) on the list. To be honest, there are probably dozens more in the Hub.

Then, you know other big cities like Springfield (the Basketball Hall of Fame), New Bedford (Whaling Museum) and Fall River (Battleship Cove), will come through. How about Plymouth? Walden Pond? Lowell (Remember, “There’s a lot to like about Lowell”)? Gee, Cape Cod alone has to have a couple dozen.

Here’s hoping the new United Regional Chamber of Commerce, based in Attleboro, as well as the chambers in North Attleboro and Mansfield, get in on the act. There’s plenty around here to brag about.

Right off the bat, you would think Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, the Comcast Center in Mansfield and the TPC of Boston in Norton are going to be on the list. They’re stages for national performers, the biggest venues of their type in all of New England.

But what else makes the list? In Attleboro, there should be support for both Capron Park (and its fine zoo) and LaSalette Shrine (which draws thousands of visitors each Christmas season). But how about the Attleboro Area Industrial Museum? Or the Attleboro Arts Museum?

I’d make a case for the World War I Memorial Park in North Attleboro, thanks to a zoo and the beautiful new Julia’s Garden. What about Wheaton College and its prototypical small New England campus? The Big Apple in Wrentham?

Sure, Foxboro and the New England Patriots are synonymous, and many people may call the new Patriot Place a great place. But what about Foxboro Common, as perfect a literal and figurative community hub as there is in New England? Or, while we’re in Foxboro, F. Gilbert Hills State Forest? Wrentham State Forest? Wrentham Village Premium Outlets? Rehoboth’s Carpenter Museum? Telford Park in Plainville?

The list will be compiled by representatives from tourist groups from across the state, legislators (both Democrats and Republicans) and some appointees of the governor. One of those people will be Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

“It’s more of a promotion to really brag about the places we have,” she told a reporter recently. “We’re looking to showcase what is the heart and soul and fabric of Massachusetts.”

“As long as we don’t have to put them in priority order, that will help take the competitive sting out of it,” Walker added.

Maybe, but I think backers of the places that end up 1,001 or lower on the list might feel stung.

MIKE KIRBY, editor of The Sun Chronicle, has more about this in his Sunday column. He can be reached at 508-236-0344 or at [e-mail].