Waltham Ma
Waltham, well known as the birthplace of industrial revolution, is a mid-size city located in Middlesex County in Massachusetts. The city is 10 miles west of Boston and is bordered by Weston and Lincoln on the west, Newton on the south, Belmont on the east and Lexington on the north. Waltham is also partly surrounded by Interstate 95. The city is stretched out along the Charles River and contains a number of waterfalls, which were the predominant reason for the power textile mills to establish their base in Waltham and start the industrial revolution.
Waltham was founded in eastern Massachusetts in 1636 and officially incorporated into a town in 1738. In 1884 it was officially recognized as a city. In the years to follow, Waltham became home to a number of well established industrial names, among which, Boston Manufacturing Company holds a special place. It was set up by Cabot Lowell in 1813 and was the first public company of its kind in the history of United States to have all the processes related to manufacturing of cloth under one roof. This system of manufacturing soon spread to the entire country. This development has often been credited by historians to be the beginning of the American industrial revolution.
Waltham also became known as the Watch City because of the presence of Waltham Watch Company. It was one of the pioneers of industrial revolution and was the first company to manufacture watches with inter-changeable parts on an assembly line. It even went on to win a gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The company manufactured more than 40 million watches, clocks and other instruments before it shut down in 1957.
Waltham soon became home to a number of powerful inventions such as chalk crayon, lally column, precision machines, kerosene, power steering and grinding wheels. A new method for mass production of magnetron tube was invented by
Dr. Percy Spencer in 1942. Waltham Bleachery and Dye Works, built in 1820 was the first of its kind. Dr. Alfred Worcester conducted the first appendectomies in 1884 in Waltham and a number of medical advances in nurses training and aseptic techniques were made.
Today it is home to a number of thriving businesses, swanky restaurants and two major institutions of higher learning, Bentley College and Brandeis University. Waltham has the second largest office space in the greater Boston area. Waltham in the recent years has seen an upswing in its real estate market both in terms of offices as well as residential complexes. The lower cost of real estate as compared to its neighboring city of Boston, has attracted a number of hi-tech companies for setting up their base along the many office parks that mark the highway exits in Waltham. A number of restaurants, including the famous Italian restaurant Chateau, and business hotels have established themselves in Waltham. It has a diverse housing market with multi-family houses near the downtown area and single family homes along its borders. Its proximity to Boston has further been an upside for the city, attracting a number of young professionals because of its booming night life, convenience of the commuter rail and lower rents.
As per the census of 2000, Waltham had a total population of 59,226 people, 23,207 households and 12,462 families staying in the city. The population density of the city was 1800.6 per sq. km. Waltham had 23,880 housing units having an average density of 726 per sq. km. The population of the city had increased by 0.6% by 2005 and the estimated figures at the end of July, 2005 were 59,556.
The population of the city can be divided racially as 78.4% White Non-Hispanic, 2.5% Chinese, 8.5% Hispanic, 4.4% Black, 0.5% Vietnamese, 2.7% Asian Indian, 0.6% Korean,0.6% were other Asians, 3.2% were other races while 1.9% belonged to two or more races.. The ancestral distribution was Irish 21.2%, Italian 18.5%, English 8.3%, German 4.9%, French 4.6% and French Canadian 5.7%.
Out of the 23,207 households, 20.3% had children below 18 years of age living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% were female occupants having no husbands at present and 46.3% were non-families. 34.2% of all households comprised of individuals, while 10% occupants were aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.01.
The population spread was, 15.5% under age 18, 16.8% ranging from 18 to 24, 34.4% were from 25 to 44, 20.2% were from 45 to 64 and the remaining 13.1% of the population was 65 years or older. The calculated median age was 34 years. Male to female ratio was 97.2 males for every 100 females. For every 100 females aged 18 or above, there were 95.6 males.
The per capita income of the city was $26,364 while the median income for households was $54,010 and for a family was $64,595. Males had a median income of $42,324 and females carried a median income of $33,931. About 3.6% of the families and 7 % of the population were below the poverty line. The median resident age was estimated at 34.2 years and the median house value was $250,800. 38.4% of Waltham residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.
Waltham enjoyed a higher median house value, renting percentage, number of college students, percentage of population having a bachelors or advanced degree and a much higher Foreign-born and Hispanic population percentage as compared to the state average of Massachusetts. The Black race population percentage was significantly lower than the state average.
Waltham offers a number of prominent locations, namely, Lowell Playground, Prospect Hill Ski Area, Waltham Federal Center, Waltham Industrial Center, Waltham Plaza, Waltham Research and Development Park, Camp Cabot, Camp Ted, Ceder Hill Camp, American Jewish Historical Society Building, Lyman Estate, Gore Place, Brandeis University Main Library, Lee M Fredman Memorial Library, Waltham Public Library, Waltham Museum Library, Waltham Museum, Waltham City Hall, Charles River Museum of Industry, Charles River Museum of Industry Library.
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