While the street scene may look very different, many of the buildings appear in both photographs. Next to the brick Hyde Block (now gone) is the classical façade of the Cambridgeport Savings Bank Building (1904); beyond that is the Cambridge Gas Light Company Building (1912), designed with Renaissance motifs. Rising behind the bank building in the historic photograph is the steeple of the oldest church building in Cambridgeport, the First Universalist Church, now the Syrian Orthodox Church of Saint Mary, on Inman Street. Originally, the church anchored Lafayette Square (the intersection of Main St. and Mass. Ave.). Built in 1822, it was extensively remodeled in 1858 and this elaborate steeple added. In 1888, the building was sawn in half, raised on blocks, and moved up Mass. Ave. to its current location.

Historic image: Courtesy of Historic New England, ca. 1912

Photograph: Phyllis Bretholtz, 2010

“Central Square: Then and Now” portrays the history and vibrancy of Central Square over the past century. The project is a collaboration of the Clear Conscience Café, the Cambridge Historical Society, the Cambridge Historical Commission, and Phyllis Bretholtz.