Posts Tagged ‘immigration’
The Pit That Wants to be a Pond: An Industrial and Environmental Tour of North Cambridge
Thanks to everyone who came out to learn more about North Cambridge through an industrial and environmental lens. We were pleased to be joined by Eric Grunebaum to learn more about the history of Jerry’s Pit. We appreciated everyone’s insights and great questions! This tour will explore the development of North Cambridge through the lens…
Read MoreWatershed: An Excursion in Four Parts
by Emily HiestandFirst published by The Georgia Review and Beacon Press in 1998. Updated slightly in 2021 for publication in This Impermanent Earth, and in 2024 for History Cambridge. Part One | Street Like travelers who want to keep some favorite place from being overly discovered, the residents of our neighborhood sometimes confide to one another in a near-whisper, “There’s no…
Read MoreMay 8: Only a Common Piece of Clay: Exploring the Legacy of the Brickmaking Industry in North Cambridge
Just how big of a role did brick play in the history of North Cambridge? Join Cambridge resident Josie Kuchta for an exploration of the topic. As a recent Wellesley College graduate, Josie has explored architecture through an interdisciplinary lens, critically examining the cultural and environmental context of the built world. In her senior honors…
Read MoreCelebrations of Washington’s Birthday reflect tangled legacies of immigration, integration
Honoring Washington as a beloved president came to include minstrel shows in the early 1900s. That these performances were by prisoners in prisons playing the role of Washington’s enslaved people adds yet another layer of complexity.
Read MoreNorth Cambridge History Hub
North Cambridge History Hub
Read MoreGrowing up in Cambridgeport was unforgettable for Louis Fenerlis, the child of Greek immigrants
Louis Fenerlis, of Louie’s Haircuts in Boston, considers himself to be a proud product of Cambridgeport. When his family moved during during his first year in high school, he says he never adjusted to the new town.
Read MoreIndia Pavilion
Compiled by Deb Mandel, 2022 Years 1979 – present Location 17 Central Square, Western Ave. Website: https://indiapavilion.com/ History Indian food in New England was born here. In 1979, Mohan Singh bought a Central Square pizza house and turned it into an Indian restaurant – something not found anywhere else in Boston at the time. Not…
Read MoreCulinary History Hub
Culinary History of Cambridge By Rain Robertson, and revised by Deb Mandel, 2022 Cambridge holds a rich and distinctive culinary history. It gave America ice, the Porterhouse steak, Peking ravioli, its first star chef in Julia Child, and a hankering for Indian food. This is a survey of 20th century markets, delis, cafeterias, and local…
Read MoreChanging Tides in Cambridge Industry
By the early 20th century, Cambridge was an industrial center with a broad array of factories. People from all over the country and the world came to work here. Why?
Read MoreA century ago, the Fourth of July was a chance to meld old and new traditions
In the early 20th century, the Fourth of July offered concerts, lectures, parades and sporting events to residents of Cambridge and many cities around the country. Whether celebrating in their own neighborhoods with luncheons hosted by local civic or religious groups, playing in or watching a pickup baseball game or track race, or watching the fireworks from the banks of the Charles, Cantabrigians had plenty of options for marking the nation’s birthday. But during the decade between 1910 and 1920, events around the world and across the nation made their way into the city’s Independence Day celebrations, demonstrating how the meaning of the holiday had grown and changed. The holiday is still evolving a century later.
Read More