The Square is a deathtrap, a Harvard-made island of Truman-show proportions where real people and chain stores form a life-like background to an otherwise Harvard-dominated scene. A short walk (or ride on the T or bus) in any direction away from Harvard will lead to one of Cambridge’s many diverse neighborhoods, from the million dollar homes of Brattle St. to the diversity of Central Sq. to the liveliness of Inman Sq. What follows is a listing of some of the major neighborhoods and attractions of Cambridge and Somerville.
Huron Avenue is a beautiful street that runs just behind the Radcliffe Quad. It has more than its share of upscale shops (the delectable Hi-Rise Bakery for starters) but is still dominated by the quiet, tree-filled neighborhood through which it passes. Farther down Huron is the Fresh Pond Reservoir, which is surrounded by a 2¼ mi. course beloved by local joggers and bicyclists. Close by is the Mount Auburn Cemetery, at the intersection of Brattle and Mt. Auburn St. (walk down either of them from Harvard Square). Not only is this lush, 170-acre botanical garden a peaceful place to walk (jogging is not allowed), but the cemetery’s headstones provide a legible record of Boston’s history. Stop by the office for a map of the grounds and celebrity tombstones. The tower in the middle of the cemetery affords one of the best views of Boston and Cambridge and is free (open approx. 9am-dusk; the #71, 72, and 73 buses all make stops at the front gate).
Parallel to Mt. Auburn St., Brattle Street leads out of Harvard Sq. into a wide, tree-lined avenue graced with the most dignified old houses in Cambridge. The street was once known as Tory Row after the wealthy Tory supporters (including Mr. William Brattle), who lived in the mansions along it and fled before the Revolution. Some have been restored and are open to the public, including Longfellow House and the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, also home to the Cambridge Historical Society. A self-guided walking tour pamphlet is available at the Harvard Sq. Information Booth.
This coolly original yet strangely out-of-place neighborhood lies smack dab in the middle of Harvard and MIT at a cultural crossroads of gentrified hipness and working-class commerce. Framed by the Necco factory on one side and Cambridge City Hall on the other, Central Sq. was once large enough to accommodate its own multiple personalities. New apartment buildings, office spaces, and the omnipotence that is GAP and Starbucks, however, have aided in tempering Central’s schizophrenia and quadrupling rent rates in the last five to six years. Off-beat coffee shops, thrift stores, tons of Indian restaurants, and communist education centers are slowly losing their spaces, as are their loyal and outlandish customers.
About one mile north of Harvard Sq. on Mass. Ave., Porter Sq. makes up what it lacks in neighborhood charm with shopping and dining. Porter has changed dramatically since the extension of the Red Line past Harvard Sq. over two decades ago (creating Boston’s deepest subway station; your ears will pop on the way up the endless escalators strewn with creepy bronzed gloves). Formerly a working-class neighborhood with ethnic restaurants and small shops, Porter is now a shiny mall and the haven of many a quadling, complete with car-filled asphalt ocean.
Too many Harvard students slave away at the Science Center, and too few venture out just beyond the concrete hell to the refreshingly simple and vibrant small-town atmosphere of Inman Sq. Just a leisurely 10min stroll down Cambridge St., Inman brims with cozy coffee shops, authentic ethnic restaurants, and friendly watering holes; you’ll be hard-pressed to find a chain restaurant or store for blocks. East Cambridge’s large Portuguese population imparts an Iberian flavor, visible in Portuguese-language signs in shop windows and restaurants. While there isn’t much to see here, there’s definitely lots of tasties.
Kendall Sq. has undergone one of the most astonishing transformations of any neighborhood in past years, mainly due to MIT’s close contact with the booming computer industry and the not-surprising arrival of what seems like dozens of biotech companies. What had been a declining area of gritty industrial parks and low-income housing is now filled with large and uninteresting, warehouse-like buildings not unlike the chunky pieces of computer equipment which are their raison d’être.
This archaic and little-known etymology offers a precious clue as to why so many usually-sharp Harvard students misspell this town as “Summahville”: rents here are much lower than in Cambridge, the walk to Harvard Sq. isn’t too bad, and summer sublets abound. Like Rome, Somerville was established among seven hills, three of which were sites of Revolutionary War forts. Only four of the original seven remain; the other three having been carted away for landfill. Prospect Hill, current site of Union Sq., was home to the first flag of the colonies, flown there in Jan. 1776. Waves of immigrants, beginning with the Irish in the late 19th century, have diversified Somerville’s ever-growing population (it’s the densest city in Massachusetts).
Davis Sq. stands out as the most vibrant of Somerville’s squares. Overflowing with hip cafés, public art installations, and funky music joints, Davis is a welcome change from the franchise-filled, tourist-trodden enclave of Harvard Sq. Once a mixture of working-class families, Tufts students, and random slacker types, Davis is rapidly blossoming into one of Boston’s up-and-coming neighborhoods. In 1997 the Utne Reader named Davis Sq. one of the country’s “15 Hippest Places to Live,” and java junkies have tagged this coffee capital of Boston the “Paris of the 90s.” While all this buzz about the neighborhood may be harming the Square’s indie ethic, Davis still abounds with fresh-faced students, a contagious artistic energy, and a strong sense of history.
