Squares
Harvard Square
Cambridge has also been called the "City of Squares" by some, as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares. Each of the squares acts as something of a neighborhood center. These include:
* Kendall Square, formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third Street. Just over the Longfellow Bridge from Boston, at the eastern end of the MIT campus, it is served by an MBTA Red Line station. Most of Cambridge's large office towers are located here, giving the area somewhat of an office park feel. A flourishing biotech industry has grown up around this area. The "One Kendall Square" complex is nearby, but—confusingly—not actually in Kendall Square.
* Central Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. This is perhaps the closest thing Cambridge has to a downtown, and is well-known for its wide variety of ethnic restaurants. Even as recently as the late 1990s it was rather run-down; it underwent a controversial gentrification in recent years (in conjunction with the development of the nearby University Park at MIT), and continues to grow more expensive. It is served by a Red Line station. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street, and Main Street, is considered a part of the Central Square area. Cambridgeport is south of Central Square along Magazine Street and Brookline Street.
* Harvard Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and JFK Street. This is the primary site of Harvard University, the oldest university in the United States, and is a major Cambridge shopping area (although not as exclusively so as in years past). It is served by a Red Line station. Harvard Square was originally the northwestern terminus of the Red Line and a major transfer point to streetcars that also operated in a short tunnel – which is still a major bus terminal, although the area under the Square was reconfigured dramatically in the 1980s when the Red Line was extended. The Harvard Square area includes Brattle Square and Eliot Square. A short distance away from the square lies the Cambridge Common, while the neighborhood north of Harvard and east of Massachusetts Avenue is known as Agassiz in honor of the famed scientist Louis Agassiz.
* Porter Square, about a mile north on Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard Square, is formed by the junction of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues, and includes part of the city of Somerville. It is served by the Porter Square station, a complex housing a Red Line stop and a Fitchburg Line commuter rail stop.
* Inman Square, at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in Mid-Cambridge. Inman Square is home to many diverse restaurants, bars and boutiques. Ryles Jazz Club and the S&S Restaurant are two legends of Inman Square. The funky street scene still holds some urban flair, but was dressed up recently with Victorian streetlights, benches and bus stops. A new community park was installed and is a favorite place to enjoy some takeout food from the nearby restaurants and ice cream parlor.
* Lechmere Square, at the junction of Cambridge and First streets, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall. Perhaps best known as the northern terminus of the MBTA Green Line subway.
Neighborhoods
The residential neighborhoods in Cambridge border, but are not defined by the squares. These include:
* East Cambridge is bordered on the north by the Somerville border, on the east by the Charles River, on the south by Broadway and Main Street, and on the west by railroad tracks.
* MIT Campus is bordered on the north by Broadway, on the south and east by the Charles River, and on the west by railroad tracks.
* Wellington-Harrington is bordered on the north by the Somerville border, on the south and west by Hampshire Street, and on the east by railroad tracks. Also known as "Mid-Block"
* Area 4 is bordered on the north by Hampshire Street, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Prospect Street, and on the east by railroad tracks. Residents of Area 4 often refer to their neighborhood simply as "The Port", and refer to the area of Cambridgeport and Riverside as "The Coast".
* Cambridgeport is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by River Street, and on the east by railroad tracks.
* Mid Cambridge is bordered on the north by Kirkland and Hampshire Streets and the Somerville border, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Peabody Street, and on the east by Prospect Street.
* Riverside , an area sometimes referred to as "The Coast", is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by JFK Street, and on the east by River Street.
* Agassiz (Harvard North) is bordered on the north by the Somerville border, on the south and east by Kirkland Street, and on the west by Massachusetts Avenue.
* Radcliffe/Avon Hill/Neighborhood 9 is bordered on the north by railroad tracks, on the south by Concord Avenue, on the west by railroad tracks, and on the east by Massachusetts Avenue. The Avon Hill sub-neighborhood consists of the higher elevations bounded by Upland Road, Raymond Street, Linnaean Street and Massachusetts Avenue.
* Brattle area/West Cambridge is bordered on the north by Concord Avenue and Garden Street, on the south by the Charles River and the Watertown border, on the west by Fresh Pond and the Collins Branch Library, and on the east by JFK Street. It includes the sub-neighborhoods of Brattle Street and Huron Village.
* North Cambridge is bordered on the north by the Arlington border and partially the Somerville border, on the south by railroad tracks, on the west by the Belmont border, and on the east by the Somerville border.
* Cambridge Highlands is bordered on the north and east by railroad tracks, on the south by Fresh Pond, and on the west by the Belmont border.
* Strawberry Hill, also known as West Cambridge , is bordered on the north by Fresh Pond, on the south by the Watertown border, on the west by the Belmont border, and on the east by railroad tracks.
At the western edge of Cambridge, Mount Auburn Cemetery is well known as the first garden cemetery, for its distinguished inhabitants, for its superb landscaping (the oldest planned landscape in the country), and as a first-rate arboretum. |
