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Cambridge is a city located in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, U.S.A. It is also sometimes referred to as the city of squares due to that fact that several of its street intersections are named as squares.
History:
In 1630, a town named Newtowne (now known as Cambridge) was founded. It was one of the few towns (such as Boston, Dorchester, Watertown and Weymouth) established by the 700 original Puritan (members of a group of English Protestants that were seeking purity) colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The original town consisted of a significantly larger area than the present city, as several of the towns remote parts were turned into independent towns over time.
Newtowne was the chosen site to set up Harvard College in 1636. It was established by the colony to train ministers. Therefore, in 1638 the towns name was changed to Cambridge (after Cambridge, England) to reflect its position as the center for higher education in the colony.
Cambridge also slowly started to grow in the fields of agriculture. By the American Revolution (which took place in 1776), farms and estates comprised most of the town. But several of these estates were confiscated and sold after the revolution.
Between 1790 and 1840, Cambridge really began to grow. One on the main reasons for this growth was the construction of the West Boston Bridge in 1792 that directly connected Cambridge to Boston. The construction of such new bridges and roads was what made former estates and marshland into major industrial and residential areas.
In 1846, Cambridge was incorporated as the second city in Massachusetts. The citys commercial center started to shift from Harvard Square to Central Square, which went on to become the downtown of the city.
By 1920, Cambridge had established itself as a major industrial city. But as industry started to decline due to the Great Depression and World War II, Cambridge lost much of its industrial foundation. It then began its transition from an industrial to an academic city. Even though the Harvard University had always been considered an important aspect of the city, it began to play a more prominent role in the city's life and culture by then. And the shifting of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Boston to Cambridge in 1912 just helped Cambridge stand out more as an intellectual and academic center.
By the end of the 20th century, Cambridge had one of the most expensive housing markets in the Northeastern United States. It became more and more difficult for people to be able to afford a stay in this city.
Geography:
According to the United States Census Bureau, the citys total area is around 18.5 km. While 16.7 km of it is land, around 1.8 km is water.
Many cities and towns happen to surround Cambridge, such as Boston on its south and east, Somerville and Arlington on its north and Watertown and Belmont on its west.
Economy:
During the late 19th and early 20th century, manufacturing was a vital part of Cambridges economy. But today, established educational institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology prove to be the citys biggest employers. Besides these organizations, health care and biotechnology also seem to have a good hold on the Cambridge economy.
Over the years, companies that had grown and flourished seemed to have either moved away or gone out of business. Due to that, Cambridge's large-scale employment has seen a tremendous change. Nonetheless, several entrepreneurial companies and smaller start-ups are still considered an important aspect of employment in Cambridge.
Government:
Cambridge has a city council consisting of 9 members and a school committee with 6 members. The members of the city council as well as the school committee are elected every two years. The members of the city council elect the mayor from amongst themselves. However, the mayor is not the chief executive of the city. Instead, the city manager (who is also appointed by the city council) has that power.
Education:
Cambridge is home to 12 public elementary schools: Amigos School, Baldwin School, Cambridgeport School, Fletcher-Maynard Academy, Graham & Parks School, Haggerty School, Kennedy School, King Open School, Martin Luther King Jr. School, Morse School, Peabody School and Tobin School. But there is only one public high school in Cambridge, which is the Cambridge Rindge and Latin school.
There are also several private schools in Cambridge such as the Cambridge Montessori School, Cambridge Friends School, Matignon High School, North Cambridge Catholic High School, the Shady Hill School and the International School of Boston.
With respected colleges and universities such as Cambridge College, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge offers the best in higher education as well.
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