Polaroid Corporation Conducts Site Studies on 220-Acre Forbes Estate in Norwood and Westwood-August 8, 1967

Plans Underway by Watertown Landscape Architects Sasaki, Dawson and Demay for Revised Manufacturing and Administration Complex

The Polaroid Corp. is currently conducting an extensive site development study of the 220-acre Forbes Estate it owns across Norwood and Westwood near Route 1A, a company spokesman announced yesterday. Launched in July, the survey is being spearheaded by corporate engineers alongside the nationally renowned Watertown landscape architectural firm Sasaki, Dawson and Demay Assoc. Polaroid officials are awaiting the architects’ final recommendations before determining the exact type, size, and function of the future facilities. The prestigious design firm boasts an impressive portfolio, having previously planned Polaroid’s Waltham plant, landscaping proposals for Copley Square in Boston, the Kennedy Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., and the master plan for the University of Colorado.

While Polaroid originally outlined a 10-year project to construct nine film processing buildings in Norwood totaling $9 million and creating 4,000 new jobs, courtroom delays prompted the corporation to build three of those structures in Waltham instead. Consequently, master plans are currently being revised, though corporate spokesmen emphasized that the final number of buildings remains open and construction on the first phase is expected to begin within one to two years. Crucially, the historic mansion belonging to the estate—former home of W. Cameron Forbes, one-time U.S. Ambassador to Japan—will be preserved rather than demolished, with company officials considering it for use as an administrative office or employee recreation center. Furthermore, Polaroid pledged that once finalized, development plans will be shared with local abutters to gather landscaping and hedging suggestions. Legal hurdles had previously delayed the project in 1965 when neighborhood abutters challenged a municipal rezoning decision up to the state Supreme Court, though tensions eased following a recent progress report dinner hosted by Polaroid for town officials at the estate.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger