Harvard Square

Since Cambridge’s original settlement in the early seventeenth century, Harvard Square has been the town center. It has served as the commercial, cultural, and political hub. Throughout the centuries, its businesses have provided Cantabridgians with an array of goods. Restaurants have shared exotic and local cuisines, and cafes and taverns have offered a place to discuss politics.

During pre-Revolutionary period, the Cambridge Meetinghouse openly protested British Parliamentary legislation. On its courthouse steps, Judges Joseph Lee and Samuel Danforth, Cambridge members of the infamous Mandamus Council –a royal governing body that usurped power from local government –both dramatically resigned in 1774. During the Revolution, the Meetinghouse was where citizens unanimously voted in support of the Declaration of Independence before it was officially signed on July 4, 1776.

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