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Things to Do in the Andover Area

If you are looking for something specific, please do not hesitate to e-mail us or to ask our front desk staff during the program.

Parks and Playgrounds:

All within 5 minutes of Pike School

Pike School

There are several playgrounds on the Pike campus. Please enjoy your time there. We appreciate your use of trash receptacles to keep our grounds clean and healthy.

Penguin Park - Burnham Road

Playground designed specifically for young children and toddlers

Central Park - Bartlet Street, parallel to Main Street

Lovely park with open grassy areas and bandstand (no play equipment)

Nearby: Orange Leaf (frozen yogurt) on Park Street (opens at 11 AM).

Ballardvale Playground

Andover Street (Center Street), Ballardvale (section of Andover not far from Pike) Playground with sandbox, many riding toys, climbing structure, etc. Lots of room to run around.

Library:

Memorial Hall Library

Elm Square (corner of Main Street and Essex Street)

Great children’s room.

http://www.mhl.org

Shopping:

Learning Express

32 Park Street
(978) 474-0555

Great toys and gifts for children.

http://www.andover.learningexpress-toys.com/

Sweet Mimi’s Chocolates

94 Main Street
(978) 749-9969

Candy and chocolate treats and gifts.

http://www.sweetmimis.com

Bella Beads

89 Main Street (Old Andover Village)
(978) 474-4424

Bella Beads sells beads and provides an area and tools so that you can create your own jewelry.

www.bellabeadsandover.com

Shawsheen Plaza

Past Sunoco Station on North Main Street

Includes:
Stop and Shop, Papa Gino’s, Grassfield’s Restaurant, Sweet Basil (Thai food), Radio Shack, and more.

Also, here are some historic sites in the area:

The Addison Gallery of American Art

Main Street, Phillips Academy , Andover (corner of Main Street and Chapel Avenue)

Founded in 1931, the Addison has one of the most important collections of American Art in the country. It includes Winslow Homer’s famous “Eight Bells”, as well as work by John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, Frank Stella, Edward Hopper, and others.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10-5; Sunday 1-5. Admission is free.

For more information:http://www.andover.edu/museums/Addison or (978) 749-4015

The Amos Blanchard House and Barn Museum

97 Main Street, Andover

Recreates the life and times of a typical middle-class family of the early 19th century. Educational programs and changing exhibits explore many aspects of Andover's fascinating 350-year history. The Andover Historical Society, founded in 1911, maintains the museum and operates a library, archives and research center where objects and documents of local historical significance are collected, preserved, exhibited and interpreted.

For more information: http://www.andoverhistorical.org/

Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology – Andover

Located on the campus of Phillips Academy at 175 Main Street, the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology is one of the nation's major repositories of Native American archaeological collections. Major collections include materials from the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Mexico and the Arctic, and range from Paleo Indian (12,500 years ago) to the present day.

For more information: (978) 749-4490

Stevens-Coolidge Place – North Andover

Owned by The Trustees of Reservations, the Stevens-Coolidge Place was the summer home of John Gardner Coolidge and Helen Stevens Coolidge from 1914 to 1962. Mr. Coolidge, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and nephew of Isabella Stewart Gardner, was a diplomat. The gardens and grounds are spectacular.

For more information: http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/366_stevens_coolidge_place.cfm

Lawrence History Center

Immigrant City Archives and Museum

Lawrence History Center has collected and preserved documents and artifacts pertaining to the history of Lawrence, Massachusetts and its people. The collection contains the bulk of the records of the Essex Company that created Lawrence, as well as municipal records, historic photographs, records from local businesses and agencies, 700 oral histories with eyewitness accounts as far back as 1910, and an array of family and individual records that document the diverse and intellectually challenging nature of Lawrence.

For more information: http://www.lawrencehistorycenter.org/