Site Through Time: Piecing Together the Past

The city of Cambridge, MA has a long and rich history, and the selected site running along Massachusetts Avenue has an equally compelling past. Old maps of Cambridge provide a wealth of information about the site's development, and in tracing the history of the area, it is important to understand the site's progression in terms of larger issues and events. "The particular type of man-made setting that results is a function of the interrelationship of technology, cultural norms, population pressure, land values, and social relationships." (Jackson, 3) The effect of these factors is evident in the history and development of the site. The transformation of the area through time is directly related to circumstances in the immediate surroundings as well as around the world, and the site is indicative of the changes that occurred in the city of Cambridge as a whole.

Cambridge was established as a result of religious circumstances in Europe and England in the 17th century. It was founded in 1630 by John Winthrop and his associates and was settled by a group of Puritans, who hoped to build a purer church and community. It began mainly as an agricultural village, with each family owning plotting fields and sharing a common area. "Newtowne, as Cambridge was known until 1638, was laid out in an orderly grid of streets…By the time of the American Revolution, Cambridge was a quiet New England farming village clustered near the Common and [Harvard] College." (http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/info/history.html)

By 1834, the grid of streets had extended into some parts of the site, and homes and/or shops were built along Front Street. The West Boston (now Longfellow) Bridge, which was constructed in 1793, was the first direct route from Cambridge to Boston, cutting "the distance between the two from 8 to 3 miles. Cambridgeport grew up along the roads leading to the bridge." (http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/info/history/html) However, at this point in time, the site consisted mainly of undeveloped marshland.

In 1873, developments in transportation and industry led to increased growth of the site, particularly the Northern corner of the site bounded by Sidney and Front Streets. The transportation revolution that occurred throughout the country from 1815-1875 introduced the "steam ferry, the omnibus, the commuter railroad, and the cable car." (Jackson, 20) Sidney Street, then spelled Sydney, was extended to Front Street, and Auburn, Franklin, and Green Streets were extended perpendicular to Sidney Street. By 1873, the Boston and Albany Railroad was in place, most likely serving the industries of East Cambridge, which were attracted to the area because of the access to water transportation, cheap land, and proximity to Boston.

The new transportation and industry in the area as well as global events led to a growth in housing and population. Areas in Cambridge grew up along the main streets and railroads. Notice the increased density of houses on and around the site in 1873. Most of the lots were owned by one person, which indicates that the buildings were probably single-family homes. This increased housing density is partly attributed to global events, such as the 1845 potato famine in Ireland, which caused much of the country's rural population to flee. At this time, thousands of immigrants came to Boston and Cambridge and found work in local factories. (http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/info/history/html)

In 1873, the East and South ends of the site consisted of open land that was owned by one family, the Dana Heirs, and that was most likely farmland or marshes. The fact that a single family owned this large amount of land plays a significant role in the development of the site later in the 1900s. The example of Irvine, CA comes to mind. This example was discussed in lecture, and in this case, the American banker, Irvine, purchased a large, personal estate from its bankrupt Spanish owner. Large-scale developments of the area were possible because one person owned all of the land and therefore, negotiations and land transactions were easier and faster.

The effects of landowners are particularly interesting in the area once owned by the Dana Heirs. By 1900, the open farmland/marshes was transformed into the Charles River Park. The Cambridge Field Company purchased the large estate, filled in some areas, laid out streets, and constructed the park as a bicycle track in 1896. The park included an oval track, bleachers for ten thousand people, a covered grandstand, and a dressing room. Although the park was popular, it closed in 1905-1918, leaving the land open for industrial development in the mid-1900s.

During the early 20th century, the effects of transportation continued to affect the development of the area and reflected the growing popularity of automobiles. New streets, such as Albany, Landsdowne, and Blanche Streets, were created. Existing streets, such as Green, Franklin, and Auburn Streets, were extended. In addition, Front Street was widened and lengthened to create Massachusetts Avenue in 1890, which led to the further development of housing, shops, and industry in the area.

In 1900, the nature of housing on the site was affected by population pressures due to immigration and racial relations. Northern corner of the site looked similar to what it had been in 1873 and was composed mainly of single-family homes. The size of the lots remained almost the same, but the main difference came with the creation of flats, which probably housed much of the immigrants who worked in the surrounding Cambridge industries. The turn of the century was marked by an influx of immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Portugal as well as French Canadians and Russian Jews. In addition to immigrants, the city's population grew in the early 19th century because integrated schools drew African American families from Boston to Cambridge. (http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/info/history/html)

The impact of transportation technology, particularly the invention of Ford's Model T in 1908 (Jackson, 159,) can be seen in the map from 1934-1950. While the site contained open lots and a large park area in 1900, but this was not the case a few decades later. There was a significant amount of new development in the area and a predominance of land devoted to automobile services during the 1930s and 40s. The "shed" area from 1900 became an auto body shop in the 1930s, and the open lots on the corner of Landsdowne Street became a gas station, a forge company, and an auto service station. Notice that the bike rack on the Charles River Park in 1900 became a parking lot by 1934. The land remained devoted to transportation, but the type of vehicle changed as cities evolved from walking cities to automobile-based societies.

The 1934-1950 map shows that the Northern corner of the site remained mainly residential and composed of single-family homes. However, the area to the southeast of Blanche Street (to the right of Blanche Street on the map) experienced a shift from residential to commercial uses. The flats stayed the same, but several of the homes became small shops or restaurants. The land previously occupied by the Charles River Park was purchased by NECCO (the New England Confectionary Company,) and the NECCO factory was built there in 1926-27.

The density of industries on the site is indicative of the city of Cambridge as a whole. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Cambridge was the second most industrial city in Massachusetts, second only to Worchester. At the end of the 1920s, the city contained about three hundred and seventy five industrial companies. Candy and confection manufacture played an important role in the city's economy, and there were about thirty candy companies in Cambridge and Boston combined, including Fanny Farmer, Haviland Candy, and the Squirrel Nut Brand Company. (Feeney) At the time of its construction, the NECCO factory was the largest factory in the world with its entire space devoted to candy manufacturing. (http://www.necco.com/chronolo.html) Much of the surrounding land was owned by NECCO, and the company constructed a power plant and garage near the factory. NECCO, like other industries in Cambridge, was probably attracted to the area because of its proximity to Boston, abundance of cheap immigrant labor, and easy access to water and railroad transportation of supplies and goods.

The end of the 20th century was a period of de-industrialization of Cambridge, which began after the Great Depression and World War II. Throughout the country, there was a move of industry from the cities to more rural areas. (Feeney) Cities had higher land costs, and new developments in transportation made industries less dependent on water or railroad transportation. In addition, there was a decreased concentration of labor in the cities as post-war population boomed and more and more people moved away from the cities and into the suburbs. (Feeney)

Today, Cambridge is less dominated by industry, and universities and technology are playing a larger role. The NECCO factory, power plant, and garage still exist on the site, and the factory remains a symbol of the industrial days of the city's past. However, the NECCO factory is currently in the process of moving to a new location in Revere, MA, and construction for Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research is underway on the site. (http://www.necco.com/chronolo.html)

Some parts of the site remain as they were in the mid-1900s, but other parts have changed to reflect present-day circumstances. There are fewer homes on the site today, mainly because of the shift of people from the cities to the suburbs after World War II. The houses on the Northern corner of the site have become offices, and many of the shops between Blanche and Landsdowne Streets have become restaurants. This area is still occupied largely by auto services, and the gas station is still there. Some of the flats remain on the site. The flats near the gas station became MIT dormitories in 1967, showing the growing influence of MIT and universities on the site. (http://www.cambridgema.gov/fiscalaffairs) The corner of Albany Street and Massachusetts Avenue continued to be occupied by a restaurant and a Steel Post and Skylight Company until very recently. The Whol Candy store of the 1900s later became the Lane Body Company and is now the Sadye and Company Antiques and Collectibles store, showing a continuity of commercial land uses on the site.

The development of the site through time is evident in the old maps, and these changes can be explained by putting them in the context of the immediate surrounding area as well as global events. Factors that have played a huge role in the site's development include transportation, industry, technology, and immigration and population pressures. The interplay of these factors result in the site's evolution through time, and these factors can be thought of as pieces of a map. Just as physical maps were pieced together in order to trace the site's development, each of the factors must be taken together to create an image and impression of the site through time. The site's progression in land use from agriculture to industry to technology is reflective of what happened to the city of Cambridge as a whole. The changes that occurred on the site also occurred in the city at a larger scale: farmland was given over to industry; homes became flats for immigrants and workers; streets were widened and extended to accommodate new modes of transportation. There is no doubt that as the city of Cambridge moves towards more technology and university-based functions, the site will continue to change with it and evolve to reflect the events of present while still maintaining some remnants of the past.

References

Charles River Park and NECCO Archives. The Cambridge Historical Commision, The City of Cambridge, MA.

Feeney, Mark. "The Boston Globe Magazine," Dec. 5 1993.

Jackson, Kenneth. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the U.S. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 1985.

Paige, Lucius R. History of Cambridge. Cambridge: The Riverside Press. 1877.

http://www.cambridgema.gov/fiscalaffairs

http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/info/history/html

http://www.necco.com/chronolo.html