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East Cambridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts

January 01, 1970

East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Broadway and Main Street on the south, and the railroad tracks on the west.[1] Most of the streets form a grid aligned with Cambridge Street, which was laid out to directly connect what is now the Charles River Dam Bridge with what in 1809 was the heart of Cambridge, Harvard Square. The northern part of the grid is a roughly six by eight block residential area. Cambridge Street itself is retail commercial, along with Monsignor O'Brien Highway, the Twin Cities Plaza strip mall, and the enclosed Cambridgeside Galleria. Lechmere Square is the transportation hub for the northern side. The southern half of the grid is largely office and laboratory space for hundreds of dot-com companies, research labs and startups associated with MIT, biotechnology firms including Genzyme, Biogen and Moderna, the Athenaeum Press Building, light industry, an NRG Energy power station (formerly Mirant Kendall), and various small businesses. This half of the neighborhood is generally identified with Kendall Square. Along the waterfront are several hotels and taller apartment buildings.

Detail of 1854 map of Cambridge, showing East Cambridge and vicinity. All of the swampy land shown in the ward between the Craigie Bridge and West Boston Bridge (now Longfellow Bridge) has since been landfilled and developed. Miller's River (here labeled Miller's Creek) was also filled and is now mainly a railroad yard. The Broad Canal follows Broadway and Portland Street.

History and development edit

East Cambridge was originally an island at high tide, surrounded by marshland.[2] The Millers River, called Willis Creek in colonial times, passed just to the north. The shoreline is shown as Lechmere's Point on Revolutionary War maps, and was the landing point for British troops en route to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.[3]

The investors who constructed Craigie's Bridge encouraged the creation of the grid (which originally only extended to Charles and Sixth). By 1844, the island was connected to destinations on the mainland via a small number of roads: Harvard via Cambridge Street, what is now Kendall Square via Third Street (then Court Street), and two roads to Charlestown/Medford (Gore and Monsignor O'Brien Highway – formerly Bridge Street; this was before Somerville split from Charlestown).[4]

The area became host to the Middlesex County courthouse designed by Charles Bulfinch; industries like soap, furniture, and the Boston Porcelain and Glass Company; merchants; lawyers; and residences from factory worker cottages to the upscale "Quality Row" and "Millionaire's Row".[2]

Freight service between neighboring Charlestown and Lowell opened on the Middlesex Canal around 1802, while the Middlesex Turnpike connected Broadway with points north around 1810. The Boston and Lowell Railroad began parallel freight service in 1835.

The Fitchburg Railroad opened on the north side of the neighborhood in 1843, while the Grand Junction Railroad (later Boston and Albany Railroad) was constructed on the west side in 1847. A B&A rail yard north of Binney and Portland fed freight tracks which ran down neighborhood streets (some of which can still be seen) to industrial customers from Rogers and Potter Streets. (The curve of the yard can still be seen on an industrial building on Fulkerson Street, formerly Ninth.)[5] The quirky Meigs Elevated Railway, a steam-powered monorail, ran as a demonstration project in the late 1800s. "East Cambridge Begins at The Tracks", a controversial slogan in the early 20th century, challenged neighborhood honor between the residents of East Cambridge and Wellington-Harrington.[citation needed]

Considerable landfill expanded the street grid to nearly its modern configuration by the 1920s, connecting with the surrounding neighborhoods but leaving the Lechmere Canal and part of the Broad Canal.[5] The Miller's River has since been completely filled, except for a small remnant under the I-93 Charlestown interchange.

From 1895 to 1940, there was a wide public park between Commercial Street and the Charles River. Designed by Charles Eliot, it was called The Front; part of it was sold for private development in 1950. Another riverside park was eliminated by the Museum of Science, which opened on the Charles River Dam Bridge in 1951. Around 1956–57,[6] additional ramps, referred to as the Cambridge Viaduct,[7][8] were installed to double the capacity of Memorial Drive under the Longfellow Bridge. The ramps split the road into two carriageways, westbound using the original First Street underpass, and eastbound using the new viaduct. The new configuration prevents safe pedestrian access to a stairway to the Longfellow Bridge, requiring a longer path of travel than by following the original seawall.

The high-rise Middlesex Jail was constructed in 1971 on top of the former Cambridge Superior Courthouse.[9]

The 1978 East Cambridge Riverfront Plan[2] resulted in the redirection of traffic to Commercial Street, improving a narrower strip of parkland along Cambridge Parkway for recreational use. A widened Binney Street, the riverside apartment buildings, the CambridgeSide Galleria, and the re-landscaping of the remaining Lechmere Canal with access to The Front were also enabled by this plan. The plan envisioned relocating Lechmere Station to the north side of Monsignor O'Brien Highway with a pedestrian overpass.

Since the late 1990s, East Cambridge and its neighbor Lechmere Square have undergone a gentrification process, as old factories have been converted into condominiums and office space. The neighborhood is currently the site of most of large scale developments in Cambridge, including North Point, which plans over a dozen residential towers. In 2011, several new restaurants opened in the Kendall Square area. The relocation of Lechmere station was made part of a land swap arrangement to be paid for by the NorthPoint developers, but later became part of the Green Line Extension. The new station opened on March 21, 2022.[10]

Demographics edit

 
Club Lusitania, a Portuguese-American sports bar and club in East Cambridge on Fifth Street.

There are predominantly Irish and Portuguese natives, with a mix of Polish and Italians along with professionals who work in Boston and Kendall Square. It is predominantly a middle-class neighborhood, with over 96% of residents working in white collar industries.[11]

Per American Community Survey, in 2019 East Cambridge had a population of 12,254 residents living in 5,816 households. The average household income was $140,245. 64% of them were United States born citizens, while 12.64% were citizens from abroad. 23.25% of residents were not United States citizens.[11]

Since 2005, the average household income has risen and real estate values have increased significantly. The boom in Kendall Square area has brought a lot of development and modernization to the area.

Notable residents edit

Dorothea Lynde Dix became an advocate for the humane treatment of the insane during the Antebellum era, during which time she volunteered as a Sunday school teacher in East Cambridge.[12]

References edit

  1. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2009-02-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b c City of Cambridge, Massachusetts (1978). . Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  3. ^ American Experience | Patriots Day | Maps | PBS
  4. ^ Dearborn, Nathaniel S. (1822). "A new & complete map of the city of Boston, with part of Charlestown, Cambridge & Roxbury". Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  5. ^ a b Cambridge City Engineer (1922). "Map of the City of Cambridge". Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  6. ^ . 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  7. ^ "Memorial Drive Poster" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-16.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ City of Cambridge Community Development Department (2002). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  9. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  10. ^ Lisinski, Chris (February 24, 2022). "Green Line Extension service to begin March 21". WBUR. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "East Cambridge, MA Household Income, Population & Demographics | Point2". www.point2homes.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  12. ^ Parry, Manon S. (2006-04-01). "Dorothea Dix (1802–1887)". American Journal of Public Health. 96 (4): 624–625. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.079152. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 1470530.

42°22′00″N 71°04′48″W / 42.36667°N 71.08000°W / 42.36667; -71.08000

January 01, 1970
east, cambridge, cambridge, massachusetts, east, cambridge, neighborhood, cambridge, massachusetts, east, cambridge, bounded, charles, river, charlestown, neighborhood, boston, east, somerville, border, north, broadway, main, street, south, railroad, tracks, w. East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge Massachusetts East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east the Somerville border on the north Broadway and Main Street on the south and the railroad tracks on the west 1 Most of the streets form a grid aligned with Cambridge Street which was laid out to directly connect what is now the Charles River Dam Bridge with what in 1809 was the heart of Cambridge Harvard Square The northern part of the grid is a roughly six by eight block residential area Cambridge Street itself is retail commercial along with Monsignor O Brien Highway the Twin Cities Plaza strip mall and the enclosed Cambridgeside Galleria Lechmere Square is the transportation hub for the northern side The southern half of the grid is largely office and laboratory space for hundreds of dot com companies research labs and startups associated with MIT biotechnology firms including Genzyme Biogen and Moderna the Athenaeum Press Building light industry an NRG Energy power station formerly Mirant Kendall and various small businesses This half of the neighborhood is generally identified with Kendall Square Along the waterfront are several hotels and taller apartment buildings Detail of 1854 map of Cambridge showing East Cambridge and vicinity All of the swampy land shown in the ward between the Craigie Bridge and West Boston Bridge now Longfellow Bridge has since been landfilled and developed Miller s River here labeled Miller s Creek was also filled and is now mainly a railroad yard The Broad Canal follows Broadway and Portland Street Contents 1 History and development 2 Demographics 3 Notable residents 4 ReferencesHistory and development editEast Cambridge was originally an island at high tide surrounded by marshland 2 The Millers River called Willis Creek in colonial times passed just to the north The shoreline is shown as Lechmere s Point on Revolutionary War maps and was the landing point for British troops en route to the Battles of Lexington and Concord 3 The investors who constructed Craigie s Bridge encouraged the creation of the grid which originally only extended to Charles and Sixth By 1844 the island was connected to destinations on the mainland via a small number of roads Harvard via Cambridge Street what is now Kendall Square via Third Street then Court Street and two roads to Charlestown Medford Gore and Monsignor O Brien Highway formerly Bridge Street this was before Somerville split from Charlestown 4 The area became host to the Middlesex County courthouse designed by Charles Bulfinch industries like soap furniture and the Boston Porcelain and Glass Company merchants lawyers and residences from factory worker cottages to the upscale Quality Row and Millionaire s Row 2 Freight service between neighboring Charlestown and Lowell opened on the Middlesex Canal around 1802 while the Middlesex Turnpike connected Broadway with points north around 1810 The Boston and Lowell Railroad began parallel freight service in 1835 The Fitchburg Railroad opened on the north side of the neighborhood in 1843 while the Grand Junction Railroad later Boston and Albany Railroad was constructed on the west side in 1847 A B amp A rail yard north of Binney and Portland fed freight tracks which ran down neighborhood streets some of which can still be seen to industrial customers from Rogers and Potter Streets The curve of the yard can still be seen on an industrial building on Fulkerson Street formerly Ninth 5 The quirky Meigs Elevated Railway a steam powered monorail ran as a demonstration project in the late 1800s East Cambridge Begins at The Tracks a controversial slogan in the early 20th century challenged neighborhood honor between the residents of East Cambridge and Wellington Harrington citation needed Considerable landfill expanded the street grid to nearly its modern configuration by the 1920s connecting with the surrounding neighborhoods but leaving the Lechmere Canal and part of the Broad Canal 5 The Miller s River has since been completely filled except for a small remnant under the I 93 Charlestown interchange From 1895 to 1940 there was a wide public park between Commercial Street and the Charles River Designed by Charles Eliot it was called The Front part of it was sold for private development in 1950 Another riverside park was eliminated by the Museum of Science which opened on the Charles River Dam Bridge in 1951 Around 1956 57 6 additional ramps referred to as the Cambridge Viaduct 7 8 were installed to double the capacity of Memorial Drive under the Longfellow Bridge The ramps split the road into two carriageways westbound using the original First Street underpass and eastbound using the new viaduct The new configuration prevents safe pedestrian access to a stairway to the Longfellow Bridge requiring a longer path of travel than by following the original seawall The high rise Middlesex Jail was constructed in 1971 on top of the former Cambridge Superior Courthouse 9 The 1978 East Cambridge Riverfront Plan 2 resulted in the redirection of traffic to Commercial Street improving a narrower strip of parkland along Cambridge Parkway for recreational use A widened Binney Street the riverside apartment buildings the CambridgeSide Galleria and the re landscaping of the remaining Lechmere Canal with access to The Front were also enabled by this plan The plan envisioned relocating Lechmere Station to the north side of Monsignor O Brien Highway with a pedestrian overpass Since the late 1990s East Cambridge and its neighbor Lechmere Square have undergone a gentrification process as old factories have been converted into condominiums and office space The neighborhood is currently the site of most of large scale developments in Cambridge including North Point which plans over a dozen residential towers In 2011 several new restaurants opened in the Kendall Square area The relocation of Lechmere station was made part of a land swap arrangement to be paid for by the NorthPoint developers but later became part of the Green Line Extension The new station opened on March 21 2022 10 Demographics edit nbsp Club Lusitania a Portuguese American sports bar and club in East Cambridge on Fifth Street There are predominantly Irish and Portuguese natives with a mix of Polish and Italians along with professionals who work in Boston and Kendall Square It is predominantly a middle class neighborhood with over 96 of residents working in white collar industries 11 Per American Community Survey in 2019 East Cambridge had a population of 12 254 residents living in 5 816 households The average household income was 140 245 64 of them were United States born citizens while 12 64 were citizens from abroad 23 25 of residents were not United States citizens 11 Since 2005 the average household income has risen and real estate values have increased significantly The boom in Kendall Square area has brought a lot of development and modernization to the area Notable residents editDorothea Lynde Dix became an advocate for the humane treatment of the insane during the Antebellum era during which time she volunteered as a Sunday school teacher in East Cambridge 12 References edit Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2010 06 05 Retrieved 2009 02 06 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link a b c City of Cambridge Massachusetts 1978 East Cambridge Riverfront Plan Archived from the original on 2011 05 23 Retrieved 2012 01 05 American Experience Patriots Day Maps PBS Dearborn Nathaniel S 1822 A new amp complete map of the city of Boston with part of Charlestown Cambridge amp Roxbury Retrieved 2012 01 07 a b Cambridge City Engineer 1922 Map of the City of Cambridge Retrieved 2012 01 05 Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive at Night 2004 Archived from the original on 2012 02 05 Retrieved 2012 01 16 Memorial Drive Poster PDF Retrieved 2012 01 16 permanent dead link City of Cambridge Community Development Department 2002 Cambridge Riverfront Plan PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2011 11 25 Retrieved 2012 01 16 Camb Info PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2012 01 28 Retrieved 2012 01 07 Lisinski Chris February 24 2022 Green Line Extension service to begin March 21 WBUR Retrieved February 25 2022 a b East Cambridge MA Household Income Population amp Demographics Point2 www point2homes com Retrieved 2022 05 15 Parry Manon S 2006 04 01 Dorothea Dix 1802 1887 American Journal of Public Health 96 4 624 625 doi 10 2105 AJPH 2005 079152 ISSN 0090 0036 PMC 1470530 42 22 00 N 71 04 48 W 42 36667 N 71 08000 W 42 36667 71 08000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title East Cambridge Cambridge Massachusetts amp oldid 1161057828, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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