Historic image: At the coffee counter in the front of the J. A. Holmes grocery store looking toward Central Square.
Modern photograph: Inside a coffee shop at 581 Massachusetts Avenue.
Looking north across Massachusetts Avenue, down Prospect Street, from River Street,
Looking north across Massachusetts Avenue, down Prospect Street, from River Street, 2010.

The two men in derby hats are taking advantage of the offer of hot coffee for 2 and 4 cents a cup. Through the window are the frame Central Building, the handsome Cambridgeport Savings Bank, and the stone tower of Cambridge City Hall (1888).

Historic image: Cambridgeport Savings Bank collection, Cambridge Historical Commission, between 1904 and 1910

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.