The Mystery Plaque 

Section of a red brick wall. A rectangular brass plaque reads, "Quentin Compson III June 2, 1910 Drowned in the Fading of Honeysuckle"

By Edward Tabor, 2024 My parents were visiting me at Harvard College on October 16, 1965, a day when I was scheduled to row in a major boat race. It was the first occurrence of Boston’s now-famous “Head of the Charles” race. They stood on Anderson Bridge to watch my boat leave Newell Boathouse and…

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Cambridge Love Letters

Red envelope with words "Cambridge Love Letters" written on white paper coming out of envelope

In June 2021, History Cambridge held and event called “Cambridge Love Letters” at Starlight Square. We asked members of the larger Cambridge community to send us their love letters to the city. These are some of the submissions. Dear Cambridge, When I first arrived in your port twenty-one years ago, I had no idea how…

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Self-Guided Tour: Stories from the Early African American Community of Old Cambridge

Black and white photo of a three story house with tree in front

By Jules Long, Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, 2018 | Edited by Eshe Sherley, History Cambridge, 2021 Slavery in Pre-Revolutionary Cambridge The oldest existing mention of slavery in Massachusetts was recorded in 1638, when African prisoners arrived in the colony on the slave ship Desire, built in Marblehead the previous year. In…

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The Remeasure of Agassiz

By Jasmine Laietmark, 2014 Cambridge was on the cutting edge of science in the 19th century. Unfortunately, several star academics used the banner of science to support bigoted ideologies. Luckily, the scientific method also brought redemption by the second half of the 20th century. The paleontologist and Agassiz resident Stephen Jay Gould took his forebears’…

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From a Bleachery to a Playground

By Michael Kenney, 2014 It does look something like a swimming pool in this undated photograph from the Historical Commission. The location is just off Sacramento Street, and the girl, resting her arm against a tree, looks as if she is contemplating a swim, while the three adults lend a note of artistic composition to…

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Love Story

By Elizabeth Adams Lasser, 2014 On December 25, 1970, Hollywood’s maudlin film, Love Story made its New England debut at the Circle Theater in Brookline. The much anticipated film, starring heartthrob, Ryan O’Neal (Peyton Place), and the stunning Ali MacGraw (Goodbye, Columbus) became an overnight success. The movie was based on Harvard graduate Erich Segal’s…

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