Posts Tagged ‘East Cambridge’
Feb 16: We Were Here
Monday, February 16, 20266:30 pmFoundry Theater101 Rogers Street, CambridgeFree; no registration required Back by popular demand! We Were Here: An Enhanced Performance Arranged and written by Betsy Bard and Micaela León Perdomo, We Were Here is a play exploring the history of immigrant workers at the Blake & Knowles Foundry in East Cambridge by Youth…
Read MoreNov 6 + 8: A Lifetime in East Cambridge
Details A Lifetime in East Cambridge: A Guided TourThursday, November 6 and Saturday, November 82:30-4 p.m.Tour begins and ends at East End House, 105 Spring Street, Cambridge About the Tour This tour, created and led by members of the East End House Senior Program, will highlight the neighborhood around the East End House as they…
Read MoreThe Rise of Industry in East Cambridge
From Salt Marshes to Industrial Hub: The Story of East Cambridge The area we now know as East Cambridge was for many centuries largely salt marshes and mud flats that, at low tide, virtually cut the area off from other parts of the city, as well as from Boston. The rich oyster beds contained there…
Read MoreFurniture making in East Cambridge, birthplace of the Davenport sofa in America’s Gilded Age
by Michael Kuchta, 2025 For more than a century, from the 1850s until after World War II, East Cambridge was home to a number of nationally prominent makers of custom furniture. The industry grew with the help of skilled and semiskilled laborers, mostly recent immigrants; the invention of steam-powered saws, planers, lathes and other woodworking…
Read MoreEast Cambridge Ethnic Heritage Center
By Beth Folsom, 2025 The Cambridge Public Library announced in the summer of 1979 that it had received a $36,500 grant under the Library Services and Construction Act to create an Ethnic Heritage Center at the East Cambridge Branch Library. According to the Cambridge Chronicle, the goal of the center was “to provide resource materials…
Read MoreSept. 28: “Smoke This” Rib Fest
Sunday, September 28, 202512– 4 pm Cambridge Street in East Cambridge Between Fulkerson Street and Fifth StreetFree (tickets required for tastings) Join us for this delicious annual community event! You already know that East Cambridge has a fascinating industrial history. Now, you can learn more about it while enjoying some delicious BBQ! We’re excited to…
Read MoreOctober 4: East Cambridge Un-Tour
Guided tour of East CambridgeSaturday, October 4 at 11 am(Rain date Sunday, October 5 at 11 am)Free Taking requests and sharing the mic! On October 4, History Cambridge is trying out a new type of guided tour of East Cambridge—one created by you! We’re calling this a crowd-sourced “un-tour.” We’re inviting you to help us…
Read MoreAug 22: Saudade in the Squares
August 22, 20255:00 PMMulticultural Arts Center41 Second St, East Cambridge, MA 02141Free Join the Multicultural Arts Center (MAC) and History Cambridge for a special History Café celebrating the many immigrant communities that have shaped East Cambridge across generations. Experience a powerful new exhibition, Pressing Against the Thorns by Portuguese-American artist José L. Santos, whose work honors the…
Read MoreIn the organ-making history of East Cambridge, two small-business owners dominated
By Beth Folsom, 2025 As Cambridge enters the season of graduations, weddings and first Communion and other church-related celebrations, it is worth noting the city’s history of building the instrument that provides the soundtrack to many of these events: the church organ. East Cambridge in particular has been home to several organ and piano manufacturers…
Read MoreIn 1941, the ‘Dearos’ fought the ‘Foundry Fielders’ over where the borders of East Cambridge ended
By Beth Folsom, 2025 A headline in a 1941 Cambridge Sentinel asked: “What is East Cambridge?” The article recounts the “fracas” between local funeral home director Daniel F. O’Brien and police Capt. John Canney over who could claim to be a resident of the neighborhood. O’Brien planned a reunion of current and former East Cambridge…
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