Boston’s “Left Bank,” Cambridge, Is Just Right for Artists and Scholars
Just across the river from Boston, Massachusetts, sits Cambridge with its exciting multicultural setting where visitors from around the world mingle in the shadow of two of the world's premier educational institutions: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Teeming with cafes, bookstores, and boutiques, Cambridge is often referred to as "Boston's Left Bank".
The city’s origins began in 1630 when a fleet of 11 ships carrying 700 passengers set sail from England bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This dedicated band of Puritans hoped to build their community around a purer, more Biblical church. The newcomers settled and began to build the grid of streets and squares which still exist today. Cambridge became a city in 1846 and grew slowly while retaining its charming rural character.
Drawn by Harvard, and later Radcliffe College, brilliant men and women imparted an intellectual luster to the village. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz (founder of Radcliffe), William Dean Howells -- all were seen on the streets of the village. Around the turn of the twentieth century, immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Portugal began to arrive in the city, settling primarily in Cambridgeport and East Cambridge. French Canadians and Russian Jews came at this time as well settling in North Cambridge and Cambridgeport, respectively.
A small population of African Americans had lived in Cambridge from the earliest Colonial days, and in the early nineteenth century Cambridge's integrated schools attracted many families from Boston. Twenty markers commemorating prominent Cambridge African Americans have been erected throughout the city.
Today Cambridge is home to a culturally diverse population of over 100,000. Over fifty languages may be heard on the streets of the city, including Spanish, Creole, Portuguese, Chinese, Amharic, and Korean. Children from 82 different countries of origin attend the public schools. College students from around the world study at Harvard, Radcliffe, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Lesley College. The heavy industries of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have been replaced by technology-based enterprises, including electronics, self-developing film and cameras, software and biotechnology research.
Cambridge is bordered by the city of Boston on its south and east (across the Charles River), by the city of Somerville and the town of Arlington to its north, and by the city of Watertown and town of Belmont to its west. Commuters can find easy transportation via the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus, subway and train as well as the EZ Ride Shuttle connecting Cambridge to Boston’s North Station. The city is also easily navigable by bicycle and encourages walking with its specially designed Pedestrian Program. Air travel is accommodated through Boston’s Logan Airport. The average commute time in Cambridge is 24 minutes compared to the national average of 26 minutes.
Fast Facts
- Population: 101,355
- Median Household Income: $47,979
- Median Family Income: $59,423
- Per Capita Income: $31,156
- Latitude: 42°22'25" North
- Longitude: 71°6'38" West
- Cambridge is on Eastern Standard Time and observes Daylight Savings Time
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