Talk:Cambridge, Massachusetts

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[edit] Neighborhoods/Schools

Maybe add to the neighborhoods? something about north, west, and east camb? a side note: should CPSD have its own page? or maybe one about the high school if i ever get around to editing the full history? or would that not be worth making a page? --mysekurity 03:49, 25 May 2005 (UTC) Maybe. Between the neighborhoods of east cambridge and port aka area 4 there is a neighborhood known as mid block whitch is a very diverse nighborhood.

[edit] Bicycles

Corrected a number of inaccurate and misleading statements in the cycling section. "bicycles are considered vehicles in Cambridge" is misleading as the vehicle classification is under MA law and the Uniform Vehicle Code, plus fifty years of common law before that, in no way unique to Cambridge. Sidewalk riding is permitted outside of business districts (again, this is MA law, but the cities and towns define the districts). All vehicles are required to share the road with all other vehicles everywhere. See MassBike. jnik

[edit] Origin of "Cambridge"

Removed "The English town, Cambridge, is named after the bridge that crosses the river Cam." Surprisingly, this is incorrect - the town was called Cambridge before the river became known as the Cam. Enchanter

I had heard that Cambridge was actually derived from Old English, and meant "Tree-Ville" am I mistaken? However, I know for a fact that the symbol for Cambridge in sign language is the same as that for "tree" [1]. Just thought I'd perhaps add that... mysekurity 6 July 2005 17:46 (UTC)

Wikipedia's own article on Cambridge has a correct account. Gdr 20:42:41, 2005-09-06 (UTC)

[edit] Davis Square

It'd be good to include Davis Square in the mix. If anything, this seems a more vibrant area than, say, Porter. But I'm a new resident of the area, and don't know much, yet, so I'm not feeling qualified to actually edit the article. Still, Davis has: a movie theatre (Somerville), lots of funky restaurants, Jimmy Tingle's comedy club, a pretty good used bookstore, what appears to be a great music club (but I don't recall the name, and haven't visited, yet), a thrift shop, bars, and an actual outside square with benches, musicians, etc. It's also a T stop on the red line.

Technically, Davis square may be in Somerville, but it all seems like Cambridge, to me, and I think the distinction is rather artificial.

What do you mean, the distinction is artificial? A place is either in Cambridge or it isn't. Locations that are on the boundary between Cambridge and Somerville, like Porter Square and Inman Square, can be discussed in both city articles, if necessary; but no part of Davis Square is in Cambridge. AJD 20:36, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Agree w/ AJD- Davis is the jewel of SOMERVILLE, not Cambridge. This would never, nor should it, be considered a Cambridge Square. I mean, if your going to say "it all seems like Cambridge to me" you may as well say "it's all Boston". The thing about living in this area is the neighborhood radii may be small, but they are definite.

[edit] Kendall Square

Disagreement for what actually constitutes "Kendall Square." While the MBTA's Kendall Square is indeed near the intersection of Main, Broadway, and Third, it seems as though Kendall Square proper is at the intersection of Broadway and Hampshire, as this is where the address 1 Kendall Square is and, geographically, is consistent with the hub-and-spoke layout of Cambridge's streets. Main-Broadway-Third leads to no other squares directly, while Hampshire-Broadway leads to Harvard Sq. and Inman Sq. -- 24.61.14.239 04:21, 6 July 2005

Kendall Square truly is along Main St. where the Kendall/MIT T station is. "One Kendall Square" is several blocks away and is truly a misnomer. The cynical assumption is that the developers of the One Kendall Square disreputably obtained a "vanity address" making it sound like they were right in Kendall Square proper. The real explanation is a bit more complicated: at the time that One Kendall Square was being developed, some other developers of a bunch of big buildings in Kendall Square ("Cambridge Center") were trying to get the old name "Kendall Square" erased, to be replaced with "Cambridge Center". The One Kendall Square developers (so the story goes) were nobly trying to preserve the Kendall Square name. But then the renaming of Kendall Square to Cambridge Center didn't stick (and a good thing it didn't), meaning that One Kendall Square remains confusingly out of place. Steve Summit (talk) 05:29, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Is this article a stub?

I saw that the main article has been designated two different types of stub. This makes little sense to me, as their is already quite a bit of information here. This article is substantially larger and more detailed than your typical stubs, so I believe the stub designators should be removed. Before I did this, however, I wanted to raise the issue with other WikiCantabrians. What do you all think? Friejose 21:25, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

I noticed stub designations had been added then removed from the Boston article, so I was bold and removed the stubs here. Friejose 12:34, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Better city hall picture?

City Hall is the right image to open the article with, but the picture here now:

is shot over the rooftops evidently from several blocks away, showing only the top part of the building, where it tends to get lost among the other rooftops and skyline behind. Here's a snapshot I took today which I think shows the building off better:

If people agree, I'll go back and take a more carefully composed shot from the same angle another day. Steve Summit (talk) 05:55, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

  • Indeed, that's a much better picture. Go for it. RSpeer 19:46, September 6, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Folk-etymological explanation of "square" should be removed

The word "square" means an open area or plaza at the intersection of multiple paths or roads. It may seem confusing in the Boston area, but they exist the world over: Times Square, Trafalgar Square, Red Square, Tiananmen Square, and even the zócalos in Mexican cities -- and they aren't different (except in scale and whether traffic is allowed in some cases) from those in Boston -- and certainly don't come from dragging lumber down the road. In Cambridge, many of the squares didn't exist until turnpikes had been put through -- including Porter and Kendall Squares. And, many of the squares have had various traffic islands and signals added to make them less confusing. (Just ask anyone about Davis Sq., Somerville in the 1960's!)

Are there any objections to my changing that section? BCorr|Брайен 02:32, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Harvard Sq intercity bus

I removed "For a few weeks, intercity buses to New York stopped near Harvard Square, but Cambridge forced them to cease service (despite Cambridge's lack of legal authority to regulate intercity transportation)." There is not source for this. It renders a questionable legal opinion and it does not seem appropriate to the article. There are a lot of people in Cambridge with gripes. This is not the venue to air them. --agr 19:52, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Green Line also services Cambridge

In the article, it's stated that only the red line serves cambridge and somerville. Actually the Lechmere stop of the Green line is in Cambridge.[2] Jacobeisenstein 19:06, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Notable Residents

This section just gets longer and longer. For just about any city (and especially one the size of Cambridge that also has two large and well-known universities), the list of "notable" people associated with it is just about endless. I don't really see this being a positive contribution to the article. At the least, I would suggest moving this section to its own article. (This would be consistent with how it is handled with Philadelphia for example.) Ghaff 12:39, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

I do not believe it makes sense as a separate article. I am, however, not sure it belongs at all. Its long and unwieldly and, as you note, for a city of Cambridge's size and acclaim an ever-growing and seemingly endless list. Rlove 01:35, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

The Newton, MA article has a "Notable residents" section; shouldn't Cambridge? F.N. Wombat 18:12, 12 August 2007 (UTC)F.N. Wombat

This was previously discussed, and I have combined the two identically-titled sections. I agree with the previous comments. Such a list would soon swamp the host article. And where to draw the line for inclusion? Considering the extent to which Cambridge is a community of notables, criteria pertaining to other localities would inevitably set the bar too low. Hertz1888 18:32, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Elevation

The article list elevation as 510 feet. That is an order of magnitude too high. Does anyone know what the basis for elevation is supposed to be? City hall? Highest natural point? Average? I'm changing it to 40 feet for now, per http://sipb-server-1.mit.edu/geo?location=cambridge. --agr 11:37, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

510 feet???? That seems kind of high.... I wonder Where???? The only possible spots I could think of are 1) On Broadway (inbetween the High School and the building that is either currently-- or formerlly known as the Longfellow School.)? Or Perhaps 2) in the Brattle Square Neighbourhood(on either Fayerweather or Appleton Streets), or perhaps 3) Concord Avenue near the Harvard Observatory???, Then again--- 4) there's also perhaps near Porter Square inbetween Raymond Steet and the former Peabody School on Upton Road or Linnean Street???? Also don't forget the big hill near the Fresh Pond Golf course right by the the Huron Towers. Those are pretty much all of Cambridge's high spots possibly save- for a few possible hills in the Cambridge Mt. Aubourn Cemetary.... e.g. that tall spire-castle looking thing???

My mother thinks perhaps Danahey Park where they threw the dirt from the Harvard-Alewife Red Line Extension could be the 510 ft. elevation point.

In terms of low-point.... If you remember the huge flooding problems during the 80's along Memorial drive (mainly before those nice new waterlocks that could be closed at high/ tied in back of the Fleet Center) I would have to say Cambridge's low point could be Sea level (e.g. the shores of the charles river.) CaribDigita 02:35, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

According to my U.S. Geological Survey maps, the hill between Fayerweather and Appleton Streets gets up to 70 feet. The one near near the ex-Longfellow school (the peak is at Harvard and Dana) is 50'. Same for the hill near Huron Towers, on top of which hill I happen to live. The artificial hill at Danahey Park is not on my map, but it's nowhere near 510 feet, more in the 50-100 range. 510 feet is about the height of the Prudential Building. As for low points, Fresh Pons is marked 2 feet above MSL. --agr 12:13, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bay Square

The police maps I added show a "Bay Square" business district between Harvard and Central. Can anyone describe this in more detail or locate it more precisely? -- Beland 02:39, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

This reference describes what it is: http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/cpd/reports/2002/second%20quarter%20report/adobefiles/b6.pdf. Basically a couple blocks of buildings on and near Mass Ave. However, I've walked the Central to Harvard Square stretch literally hundreds of times over the course of decades, and I've never seen or heard the term used. So it's really not a Cambridge district in the manner of most of the others listed in the article. This Cambridge Police website (http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/cpd/reports/2002/second%20quarter%20report/) lists all the divisions that they use. They correspond to generally-recognized areas to a certain degree, but they're primarily intended to divide the city into logical divisions from a police/crime perspective. Ghaff 21:01, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Expansion request - Somerville boundary question

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

The city has a rather small and oddly shaped geographic footprint. Why were the outlying areas split into separate municipalities? How was the border with Charlestown/Somerville determined, and why is it where it is? It seems rather odd that the center of the settlement (Harvard Square) would be so close to its frontier. Looking at wardmaps.com, it seems part of the eastern border was determined by the Miller's River (which I'm not sure exists anymore). I wonder if this used to go farther inland. Perhaps a full-size older map would be helpful in illustrating this once it is researched. -- Beland 23:29, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Map requests

Map needed
 It is requested that a map or maps be included in this article to improve its quality.
Wikipedians in Massachusetts may be able to help!

It would be neat to have maps that:

  • Show present-day features, such as major squares, districts, and roads
  • Show the original shoreline and changes over the years
  • Show the original extent of territory, and which pieces were separated or added when.

-- Beland 23:31, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Same-sex marriage history

I have provisonally replaced the statement "The first legal same-sex civil marriage ceremonies in America were held at Cambridge's City Hall" with a narrower one that is easily verified, because so far I can't find a good source to verify the original wording. Now, the original statement may very well be true -- it's certainly likely, since Cambridge opened city hall at midnight May 17 to issue applications for marriage licenses, and the city clerk solemnized a same-sex marriage at 9:15 a.m. [3]. However, I cannot yet find a source verifying that the latter really was the first marriage of the day -- news accounts report couples with a waiver rushing many places to get married that morning. If anyone can, please add the source and restore the old text. --WikkiTikkiTavi 05:41, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] About the City

Regarding the 'Leftbank' 'PRC' 'Kremlin'comments- does anyone else think they should be removed or at least be made clear that no one in Cambridge refers to themselves that way? And certainly Harvard is not the leftist of the lefts in this town. If any body embodies the freemarket-capital-society-ethics of this country, it's Harvard. I think this paragraph is silly at best and should be clarified that this type of nickname is inflicted upon us by outsiders for having an independent spirit.

I think your recent small edit to that effect makes the point nicely. I don't know if the left-wing labels are notable enough for an encyclopedia article; possibly, I suppose. But I think the real problem with this paragraph, and indeed almost the entire article, is that it's unsourced and appears to be largely based on original reseach, i.e., mostly written by those of us who live here and just know all this stuff. From the Wikipedia standards point of view, it's the same as hearsay, even though the article is largely accurate. I know we have a missing references tag lower down the page; perhaps we should place a similar tag at the top of the article in the hopes that Cantabrigian Wikipedians will take up the cause and dig up more references. Any thoughts on that? --WikkiTikkiTavi 04:29, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

I think that is a great idea. I have a lot of books myself, and I will try to dig up some sources. I'm totally new to Wiki editing, so I made need some help (read: feel free to fix anything I messup :)....I know there's also zoning maps and stuff available for free download off the town site.

As a non Canterbrigian (did I get that right?), you might be interested to know that the section on "left bank" "Kremlin" really struck me as out of place. It was clearly conjecture either by a very proud local liberal or a very bitter conservative, either local or otherwise. Either way, it did not present a very objective view of the city. It's also quite hard to believe such an epicenter of power and elitist power production does much more than protect the status quo at all costs - especially being so close to the notoriously reticent Boston. - Douglas, 4/10/07

"Cantabrigian" (I think?) I'm not trying to nit pick. But I'm just thinking about the Teachers Caffeteria inside the Rindge and Latin H.S. a.k.a "The Cantabrigia". Where the teachers buy their favourate---- students lunch... Its kind of close to the loading dock on Cambridge Street (It is hidden in that rounded section of the building.) CaribDigita 00:37, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Maps

Including a map or two, as Image's, would eliminate most of the words in the descriptions of squares and neighborhoods, and convey the geographic information in a much clearer, shorter, interesting, and graphical way. It would also much more clearly convey information not in the descriptions, like where each square is in relation to each neighborhood, and each neigborhood to it's abutting neighborhood and cities. This is easily a case where a picture is worth a thousand words.

Does any one know of an adequete or two GFDLed map, or be capable of making one/two and "giving" it to Wikipedia and the world? Lentower 12:12, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Created Middle East nightclub article

I Created an article about the The Middle East (nightclub) and its notability is being questioned - Add your thoughts to the page. Cheers Markco1 23:32, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Way, way too much about the Fire Department

Is a huge subsection about the fire department really necessary? It also seems to me to be highly technical and better suited to an article about firefighting; a better mention of the fire department might be the unique older firehouses the city features. Cantabwarrior 18:23, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Worthy of mention? Most of Microsoft's Boston area office space will be in Cambridge?

[edit] More governmental information?

Hey everybody,

I live in Cambridgeport and was thinking the article might benefit from additional information about state and national government, namely, that Cambridge is part of the 8th MA Congressional district, represented by Mike Capuano, and is part of the 25th, 26th, and 29th state districts (Senate), represented by Alice Wolf, Timothy Toomey, and Rachel Kapreliean, respectively.

Got this info from http://www.mass.gov/legis/repdis03.htm. Let me know if anything is out of date or needs fixing.

If there are no objections, I'll make the changes tomorrow, Monday the 20th.

- Justin

Jreans 05:45, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cambridge tried to be a self-contained city in the past...

I just thought of some things which could-- be added about Cambridge. Cambridge has always had a weird history of trying to be self-sufficient has anyone else noticed this???? If you find a job in Cambridge, you could literally almost never need to leave the city.

  • It used to have their own dump. Right behind the Fresh Pond mall. (Namely Danehy Park.)
  • It used to have their own power company. The Cambridge Light and Power Company (later Commonwealth Electric, Now NSTAR.) The power plants still remain standing. One is on the corner of Western Avenue & Memorial Drive.... The other one is next to the two draw-bridges at Kendall Square along the Charles River. Some of the substations remain too. There's a huge one near the bridge over the commuter rail tracks near Alewife. Just across from the Fresh Pond Mall. There's another one on Walden Street too, (just off to the side of the bridge being rebuilt it is next to the commuter rail tracks as well, there is another one on Concord Avenue right next to the firewood shop. Just across from Fresh Pond near the Sozio's appliance store.)
  • The city also used to have underground city wide natural gas storage in the Kendal Square area. Anyone remember when all those huge gas mains which used to dominate Third Street (Over near the brand new Genezyme Headquarters????).
  • The city also owns their own municipal water supply. Of course, opting not to use the MWRA. (The watershed area includes Fresh Pond where the water treatment plant is, that HUGE lake off of Route 128/95 in Waltham. That lake is the property of Cambridge and is part of the water supply that feeds into Fresh Pond via pipes through Belmont etc.) [4].
  • The city owns their own fiber optics network which connects to all the city's government buildings. However, I'm not sure though if they've gotten rid of it due to the cheapness of being able to get this type of stuff directly from Verizon.
  • Cambridge & Somerville Hospitals share medical services between one another including their health programme known as "Network Health" [5] (Part of of the "Cambridge Health Alliance") which is a health network for the two cities.
  • Cambridge also has their own affordable housing agency [6], [7]
  • Cambridge has their own 'low-interest' loan home-restoration company.[8]
  • They have their own version of the Better Business Bureau (Known as the "Cambridge Consumers Council " [9]
  • Cambridge is one of the main members of the MBTA's Advisory Board.
  • Any Cambridge family can request--- enrollment for their student in any programme offered at the Minute Man Vocational School in Lexington. (Only for programmes NOT already available at the Rindge School of Technical Arts.)
  • Any Cambridge family can request--- enrollment for their student in any programme offered at Harvard's Extension School (Only for programmes NOT already available at CRLS. And it will be for College credit. Even while that student is in H/s.)
  • The city of Cambridge used to treat their own sewage at a small water treatment plant just beside the B.U. Bridge (along the Charles River.) With the opening of the Deer island plant, the city now feeds their sewage out to Deer island-- via Boston. At this time, only the storm drains along city streets in Cambridge should now still feed into this B.U. Bridge area water treatment facility. Some parts of Cambridge near the city of Arlington may still feed into the Mystic River/Alewife Brook (towards Medford area)
  • Cambridge is seeking to run their own city-wide WiFi network.[10]

CaribDigita 05:41, 6 October 2007 (UTC)


Thanks for compiling this list. Lots of items here that could enrich the article. One that I would not include is the power substations. These have nothing to do with Cambridge self-sufficiency, but are simply part of the power distribution system. They "remain" because, as far as I know, they are very much in active use. Hertz1888 07:15, 6 October 2007 (UTC)
Yes, you're absolutely correct about the substation sentiments. IMHO. I wouldn't include that myself. I merely threw that out there because Wikipedia is supposed to be about verifible facts. I threw those out there because if anyone is near those things you can see the signs/lettering along the top or on the gates of those facilities. Albeit the Walden/Concord Ave. facilities have Ivy growing all over the building so-as to make it blend in with the surroundings.... Some manhole covers in Cambridge also still bear the name Cambridge Light and Power. Same-- for the sewage treatment hidden behind trees next to the B.U. bridge. Some of it I also stated because it may jog the memories of other long time Cambridge residents. I don't know the full structure of the Cambridge Light and Power Company, however I read recently the City of Cambridge bought back their street light poles from NSTAR? (They stated the agreement with NSTAR wasn't working out and they wanted to regain control of the poles in the city. CaribDigita 01:43, 7 October 2007 (UTC)
When I was little, I thought this self-contained we're-NOT-Boston attitude was the origin of the People's Republic of Cambridge. In actuality,it has to do with the supposed left-leaning politics in the city, right? I think I'll just stick with Seven Self-Contained Square Miles Surrounded by Reality.  :-) Great list though, I didn't know most of these, especially the one about the lake on 128. Thanks, CSZero 11:17, 6 October 2007 (UTC)
Here's another tid-bit... Lets just say, since that lake is on the border of Lincoln, Lexington, Weston and Waltham. They have tried to take back their lake before... Cambridge is however semi-protected by the State. Since that is drinking water, those places can't do anything with it. Map here -- Note Rt. 128 is depicted on the far right going from top to bottom.

P.S. Factoid... Cambridge was one of the first cities in the U.S.A. to begin adding Fluoride to the drinking water to reduce dental cavities in children. CaribDigita 01:43, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

About, "that HUGE lake off of Route 128/95 in Waltham." Cambridge actually owns a lake out of the city (in Waltham)?--72.72.29.35 (talk) 23:44, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Info on Cambridge

I thought I would post this link, some good facts about Cambridge, if I have time I will add them to the article within the next week or so..Bronayur (talk) 20:55, 10 December 2007 (UTC)


http://www.brandeis.edu/global/about_boston_cambridge.php

[edit] High schools

The section on public schools has conflicting information: The section on this page lists two public high schools, but the page for Cambridge Rindge and Latin says that it is the only public high school. One page or the other is incorrect. 140.247.241.221 (talk) 18:20, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

It looks as if Rindge is the only high school in the Cambridge Public Schools system. The other one appears to be a charter school that happens to be located in Cambridge but isn't part of the Cambridge school system. AJD (talk) 18:35, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

BBN is also a high school. --72.72.98.149 (talk) 04:11, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

A private school. AJD (talk) 06:33, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
Cambridge Ringe and Latin is the only Public High School in Cambridge. Bluesmanjay (talk) 18:06, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
Notwithstanding what it says on the web site you cite, that doesn't appear to be true. Prospect Hill Academy is a public school, and its 9–12th grade division is located in Cambridge. AJD (talk) 19:54, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
Actually Prospect Hill Academy is a Charter School. So I guess the real question is, are Pulbic Schools (run the the city or town) and Charter Schools (Schools that are run independently) the same thing, as they are both open to the public. Maybe a better way to say it is, Cambridge Ringe and Latin is the only Municiple High School in the city???? I've always thought of public and charter schools as different (why else would they have different names?). Bluesmanjay (talk) 21:47, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
Yes, a charter school is a kind of public school. Rindge is the only municipal high school in Cambridge, or the only high school in the Cambridge Public Schools system, or however you want to put it, but Prospect Hill Academy is taxpayer-funded and subject to the same general regulations as all other public schools in Massachusetts. AJD (talk) 01:53, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
A Charter School is open to the public. But I think when the general population talks about schools, they think of public schools as schools run by the school department (which Charter Schools are not). I think some distinction needs to be made. The way the article reads not
The public high schools in Cambridge are Cambridge Rindge and Latin (also known as CRLS), part of the Cambridge Public School system, and Prospect Hill Academy, a charter school whose middle and high schools are in Central Square.
I believe is appropriate. As both schools are mentioned but there is a distinction between the two. Bluesmanjay (talk) 11:54, 22 February 2008 (UTC)Bluesmanjay (talk) 11:55, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
I don't see what's wrong with that description—it gets the distinction across, though I grant as it currently appears in context in the article it appears a little confusing. I'll fix it up a bit. AJD (talk) 16:39, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
I agree. What I meant to say before was "The way the article reads now is appropirate". It makes the distinction that should be there. Bluesmanjay (talk) 23:41, 22 February 2008 (UTC)