Posts Tagged ‘recreation’
For a summer staycation, Cantabrigians flocked to Mount Auburn Cemetery
By Beth Folsom, 2026 Peruse the summer issues of a Cambridge newspaper in the late 19th century and you would learn that the Peabodys were off to their cottage in Bar Harbor and the Longfellows were summering in Nahant. The local papers printed dozens of notices each summer detailing where Cantabrigians vacationed and when they would…
Read MoreThe Magazine Beach Bathhouse Debate and the Politics of Public Hygiene
By Beth Folsom, 2026 In 1818 the state of Massachusetts built a powder magazine on what was then known as Captain’s Island in Cambridgeport. Over the next half-century, the magazine was used to store gunpowder and ammunition, lending its name to the area and the street leading to it (Magazine Street). But in 1863, at…
Read More“Great Marsh” to Little League: A Century at Glacken Field
By Jen Craft, 2026 Little League players cheered on by parents and coaches. Toddlers splashing in the fountains. Elementary schoolers climbing playground structures. Dogs leading their owners to favorite sniff spots. All are modern-day images of neighborhood life at Strawberry Hill’s beloved Glacken Field and Playground. A little over a century ago, this recreational area…
Read MoreOutdoor Skating in Cambridge
By Annette LaMond, 2026 Bring Back Outdoor Skating in Cambridge:Let’s Revive the Tradition of Skating in the Parks1 The winter of the 2024–25 was a classic for outdoor skating – cold temperatures with little snow. One-hundred years ago, even sixty years ago, such weather would have been enjoyed by skaters in parks across Cambridge. The…
Read More