The Wellesley Hills Clock Tower Block Is Staying Up Later This Fall

Under the new carpet in the Hills Branch Library's reading room, the original 16-by-16 cork floor tiles from 1928 are still in place. The carpet's tile pattern uses Arts and Crafts colors. The plaster friezes overhead had been painted pink at some point and are now back to their original white. The library reopened on October 6 after four months closed, and The Swellesley Report's walk-through of the renovation records those details.

Three days later and up the street at 300 Washington, Maugus Cafe held its grand reopening. That week the Select Board also approved license amendments letting the restaurant stay open until 10pm.

For most of the summer, the two anchor buildings of the Wellesley Hills village around Sprague Clock Tower Park either closed by late afternoon or didn't open at all. This fall the 200 and 300 blocks of Washington Street are getting evening hours back, and the evening schedule is still being set.

A block that closed at five

Start with the hours, because the change is easy to miss if you only pass through on the way to the commuter rail.

Before October, Maugus ran Monday through Friday from 7am to 5pm and weekends from 7:30am to 5pm. The new approval allows 7am to 10pm, seven days a week. Down the block at 210 Washington, the Hills Branch Library was closed for the whole renovation. Its posted hours now include two late nights a week.

The library's late nights are set. Maugus's are still a permission. When it announced the reopening, the cafe said dinner service "on select days" is planned for the coming months, along with special events after 5pm. The menu page on the Maugus website still shows breakfast and lunch. If you're planning a Tuesday dinner there, check before you walk over.

How the diner changed without being replaced

Maugus has been on this corner for more than 90 years. The Papakonstantinou family ran it for nearly 45 of those years, and The Swellesley Report covered the ownership change in January. The new owner, Kostas Saranteas, opened quietly over the summer. The paper's July visit found the booths and counter still there, plus a new counter facing Washington Street, outdoor tables, a Mediterranean-influenced menu and Atomic coffee.

The Swellesley Report summed up the October version this way.

New interior is different, but familiar.

The cafe held off on a big celebration until school was back in session, then marked October 9 with free coffee and half off a special menu. Alcohol is part of the expanded menu. The same Select Board vote that extended the hours approved common victualler and all-alcohol license amendments, and that vote is why a breakfast-and-lunch diner can now be considered for evenings at all.

The library the Hills has already saved twice

The diner is following a pattern the library down the block has already been through twice.

The Hills Branch has been a library continuously since March 20, 1928, and its Georgian Revival building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a community project from the beginning. According to a 1928 Wellesley Townsman report cited by The Swellesley Report, Isaac Sprague donated the land, the same Sprague the Clock Tower park is named for. The Wellesley Hills Women's Club furnished the Children's Room, and taxpayers appropriated $50,000.

Budget cuts closed it in 2005. Private donations reopened it in 2008. The 2026 refresh followed a similar model. Nancy Lee provided the seed money and major backing, and a permanent plaque now recognizes her alongside the grandfather clock she gave the branch. Keith Higgins, the Wellesley Free Library Foundation and many other private donors also contributed.

Interior designer Richard Eustice of Atlantic House, Ltd. talked to The Swellesley Report about working on a building that's nearly a century old.

"You just don't see architectural details like this in your normal daily life anymore. Libraries are one of the few places this kind of detail still exists."

The main room's original reading tables remain. The Children's Room has a new mural by Jason Sawtelle of BlackBeak Studios. The branch turns 100 in March 2028, so this refresh puts the building in shape for its centennial.

What matters for a regular weeknight is those Tuesday and Thursday hours until 8pm. With the branch open late again and Maugus licensed to serve until 10, the Clock Tower block has the pieces for an after-work stop for the first time since spring.

Four weeks on one stretch of Washington Street

The fall calendar fills in the daytime. Most of it falls within a short walk of the Clock Tower, and two dates are only days away when this post goes up.

1. Through Saturday, October 31. The Wellesley Hills Congregational Church pumpkin patch, now in its 23rd year, is open daily from 10am to 6pm at 207 Washington St. That's a few doors from the library, and Saturday is the last day.
2. Saturday, October 31, 11am to 1pm. The Halloween Stroll starts at Clock Tower Park, 291 Washington St. The Wellesley Recreation Department and the Wellesley Hills Merchants put it on for children ages 0 to 8. Families walk at their own pace in costume and trick-or-treat at stops along the way. Questions go to Recreation at 781-235-2370.
3. Tuesdays in November, 10:30 to 11am. Snuggle Up Storytime at Hills runs November 3, 10, 17 and 24.
4. Saturday, November 21, 11am. The Hills Branch hosts a Book Chat.

On Halloween morning, the pumpkin patch, the start of the Stroll and the reopened library sit within a few doors of each other on Washington Street. Families with a toddler in costume can pick a pumpkin at 207 Washington and then start the Stroll at the Clock Tower at 11. The library keeps Saturday hours from 10 to 5, which leaves an indoor option if the weather turns.

For families who want more of a run-around, the renovated Warren Park playground is farther east at 90 Washington St. It has been open since Labor Day weekend, with a three-story climbing tower and ADA-compliant equipment.

One more move on the block

The street is still changing. Middlesex Savings Bank plans to move west on Washington Street, from 278 to the former Citizens Bank building at 390. The Swellesley Report noted in July that the bank filed for building permits in June but hasn't announced a move date. When the bank moves, 278 Washington will be an open storefront on the same stretch where the diner's evening plans are still taking shape.

That makes the Maugus dinner schedule the next real milestone for the Hills. The license allows service until 10pm every night. The first posted dinner night will show whether the Clock Tower block keeps evening hours through the winter or only on the library's Tuesdays and Thursdays.

If you live near the Clock Tower, things like an 8pm library night, a diner licensed to stay open until 10 and a church pumpkin patch in its 23rd year are what buyers mean when they ask about a walkable village. When you're thinking about what your home on these streets is worth, The Barry-Beaver Team can show you how Wellesley Hills homes are priced right now. Request a complimentary home valuation.