View source for Cambridge, Massachusetts

{{Short description|City in Massachusetts, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Cambridge
| settlement_type    = [[List of municipalities in Massachusetts|City]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 285
| perrow                   = 1/2/2/1
| caption_align            = center
| image1                   = Cambridge-MA-cityhall.jpg
| caption1                 = City Hall of Cambridge
| image2                   = Widener Library.jpg
| caption2                 = [[Widener Library]]
| image3                   = Stata Center (05773p).jpg
| caption3                 = [[Stata Center]]
| image4                   = Sunrise over Central Square.jpg
| caption4                 = [[Central Square (Cambridge)|Central Square]]
| image5                   = Charles River (Pear Biter).jpg
| caption5                 = [[Charles River]] at night
}}
| image_flag         = Flag of Cambridge, Massachusetts.svg
| image_seal         = Seal of Cambridge, Massachusetts.svg
| nickname           =
| motto              = {{nowrap|''Literis Antiquis Novis Institutis Decora'' {{smaller|([[Latin]])}}<br />{{smaller|"Distinguished for Classical Learning and New Institutions"}}}}"<ref name="chcfaq">{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/aboutchc/faqpage |title=Frequently Asked Questions |author=Cambridge Historical Commission |publisher=City of Cambridge |access-date=September 11, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913122932/http://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/aboutchc/faqpage |url-status=live }}</ref>
| image_map          = Middlesex County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Cambridge highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location of Cambridge in [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]
| pushpin_map        = Boston Metro#Massachusetts#USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Massachusetts##Location in the United States
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| coordinates        = {{coord|42|22|25|N|71|06|38|W|region:US-MA|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Massachusetts]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Massachusetts|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex]]
| established_title  = Settled
| established_date   = 1630
| established_title2 = Incorporated
| established_date2  = 1636
| established_title3 = City
| established_date3  = 1846
| government_type    = [[Council–manager]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = [[E. Denise Simmons]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levy |first1=Marc |title=Simmons and McGovern return as mayoral team after Cambridge inaugural is disrupted by protest |url=https://www.cambridgeday.com/2024/01/01/simmons-and-mcgovern-return-as-mayoral-team-after-cambridge-inaugural-is-disrupted-by-protest/ |website=Cambridge Day |date=1 January 2024}}</ref>
| leader_title1      = Vice mayor
| leader_name1       = Marc C. McGovern
| leader_title2      = City manager
| leader_name2       = Yi-An Huang
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_total_km2     = 18.40
| area_total_sq_mi   = 7.10
| area_land_km2      = 16.57
| area_land_sq_mi    = 6.40
| area_water_km2     = 1.83
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.71
| elevation_m        = 12
| elevation_ft       = 40
| population_total   = 118403
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_density_km2 = 7147.01
| population_density_sq_mi = 18512.04
| population_blank2_title = [[Demonym]]
| population_blank2  = [[Cantabrigian]]
| timezone           = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset         = −5
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset_DST     = −4
| postal_code_type   = ZIP Code
| postal_code        = 02138-02142
| area_code          = [[Area code 617|617]] / [[Area code 857|857]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 25-11000
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 0617365
| website            = {{URL|cambridgema.gov}}
| subdivision_type3  = [[List of regions in the United States|Region]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[New England]]
| named_for          = [[University of Cambridge]]
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_25.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 21, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528021656/https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_25.txt|url-status=live}}</ref>
| pop_est_as_of      =
| pop_est_footnotes  =
| population_est     =
| population_footnotes =
}}
'''Cambridge''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|eɪ|m|b|r|ɪ|dʒ}}<ref>{{cite Collins Dictionary|Cambridge |access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> {{respell|KAYM|brij}}) is a city in [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts]], United States. It is a suburb in the [[Greater Boston]] metropolitan area, located directly across the [[Charles River]] from [[Boston]]. The city's population as of the [[2020 United States census|2020 U.S. census]] was 118,403, making it the most populous city in the county, the [[List of municipalities in Massachusetts|fourth-largest]] in Massachusetts behind [[Boston]], [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]], and [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], and [[List of cities in New England by population|ninth-most populous]] in [[New England]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cambridgecitymassachusetts,US/PST045219 |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States |at=Population, 2020 |publisher=[[USDOC]] |access-date=September 16, 2021}}</ref> The city was named in honor of the [[University of Cambridge]] in [[Cambridge]], England, which was an important center of the [[Puritans|Puritan]] theology that was embraced by the town's founders.<ref name="degler84">{{cite book |last=Degler |first=Carl Neumann |author-link=Carl Neumann Degler |title=Out of Our Pasts: The Forces That Shaped Modern America |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=New York |year=1984 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NebLe1ueuGQC&q=cambridge+university+puritans+newtowne&pg=PA18 |access-date=September 9, 2009 |isbn=978-0-06-131985-3 |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215200851/https://books.google.com/books?id=NebLe1ueuGQC&q=cambridge+university+puritans+newtowne&pg=PA18 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|18}}
[[Harvard University]], an [[Ivy League]] university founded in Cambridge in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT), [[Lesley University]], and [[Hult International Business School]] also are based in Cambridge.<ref name="AcademicRanking2">{{cite web |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2016/reputation-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank_label/sort_order/asc/cols/rank_only |title=World Reputation Rankings |website=Times Higher Education |date=April 21, 2016 |access-date=December 1, 2016 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305000224/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2016/reputation-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank_label/sort_order/asc/cols/rank_only |url-status=live }}{{title missing|date=July 2022}}</ref> [[Radcliffe College]], a women's liberal arts college, was based in Cambridge from its 1879 founding until its assimilation into Harvard in 1999.
[[Kendall Square]], near MIT in the eastern part of Cambridge, has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet" due to the high concentration of [[startup company|startup companies]] that have emerged there since 2010.<ref name=CambridgeMAWorldInnovationCapital1>{{cite web|url=https://kendallsquare.mit.edu/|title=Kendall Square Initiative|publisher=MIT|access-date=January 13, 2020|archive-date=January 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117064252/https://kendallsquare.mit.edu/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Founded in December 1630 during the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial era]], Cambridge was one among the first cities established in the [[Thirteen Colonies]], and it went on to play a historic role during the [[American Revolution]].
In May 1775, approximately 16,000 [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American patriots]] assembled in [[Cambridge Common]] to begin organizing a military retaliation against [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British troops]] following the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]]. On July 2, 1775, two weeks after the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]] formally established the [[Continental Army]] and appointed [[George Washington]] commander of it, Washington arrived at Cambridge Common to take command of the Patriot soldiers camped there. Many of these soldiers played a role in supporting Washington's successful [[Siege of Boston]], which trapped garrisoned British troops from moving by land, forcing the British to ultimately abandon Boston. Cambridge Common is thus celebrated as the birthplace of the Continental Army.<ref>[https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-takes-command-of-continental-army "July 3, 1775: George Washington takes command of Continental Army"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220171517/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-takes-command-of-continental-army |date=February 20, 2023 }}, History.com</ref><ref>[https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/cambridge/ "Cambridge"], George Washington's Mount Vernon website</ref>
== History ==
{{For timeline}}
[[File:Washington taking command of the American Army at Cambridge, 1775 - NARA - 532874.tif|thumb|[[George Washington]] takes command of the [[Continental Army]] in Cambridge Square on July 3, 1775; Cambridge is considered the birthplace of the Continental Army, which went on to secure American independence by defeating the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]].]]
[[File:Harvard Square Hopkins Map 1873.jpg|thumb|An 1873 map of [[Harvard Square]]]]
[[File:Cambridge 1873 WardMap.jpg|thumb|An 1873 map of Cambridge]]
[[File:1852 Middlesex Canal (Massachusetts) map.jpg|thumb|An 1852 map of [[Greater Boston]] highlighting the regional rail lines and course of [[Middlesex Canal]]; Cambridge is near the bottom of the map highlighted in yellow, and West Cambridge, which is present-day [[Arlington, Massachusetts]], highlighted in pink]]
===Pre-colonization===
The [[Massachusett]] inhabited the area that is now called Cambridge for thousands of years prior to [[European colonization of the Americas]], most recently under the name ''Anmoughcawgen'', which means 'fishing weir' or 'beaver dam' in [[Massachusett language|Natick]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=You live in Anmoughcawgen |url=https://historycambridge.org/articles/you-live-in-anmoughcawgen/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=History Cambridge |language=en-US}}</ref> At the time of European contact, the area was inhabited by [[Naumkeag people|Naumkeag]] or [[Pawtucket tribe|Pawtucket]] to the north and [[Massachusett]] to the south, and may have been inhabited by other groups such as the Totant, not well described in later European narratives.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=John|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100693021|title=A description of New England; or, The observations, and discoveries of Captain Iohn Smith (admirall of that country) in the north of America, in the year of our Lord 1614; with the successe of sixe ships, that went the next yeare 1615; and the accidents befell him among the French men of warre: with the proofe of the present benefit this countrey affoords; whither this present yeare, 1616, eight voluntary ships are gone to make further tryall.|date=1837|publisher=P. Force|location=Washington|access-date=December 7, 2021|archive-date=February 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215200851/https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100693021|url-status=live}}</ref> The contact period introduced a number of European infectious diseases which would decimate native populations in [[virgin soil epidemic]]s, leaving the area uncontested upon the arrival of large groups of English settlers in 1630.
===17th century and colonialism===
In December 1630, the site of present-day Cambridge was chosen for settlement because it was safely upriver from [[Boston Harbor]], making it easily defensible from attacks by enemy ships. The city was founded by [[Thomas Dudley]], his daughter [[Anne Bradstreet]], and his son-in-law [[Simon Bradstreet]]. The first houses were built in the spring of 1631. The settlement was initially referred to as "the newe towne".{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}}<ref name="abbott1880">{{cite book |last=Abbott |first=Rev. Edward |editor-last=Drake |editor-first=Samuel Adams |editor-link=Samuel Adams Drake |title=History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts |chapter=Cambridge |publisher=Estes and Lauriat |location=Boston |year=1880 |volume=1 |pages=305–16 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGolOAyd9RMC&q=newetowne&pg=PA316 |access-date=December 26, 2008}}</ref> Official Massachusetts records show the name rendered as '''Newe Towne''' by 1632, and as '''Newtowne''' by 1638.<ref name="abbott1880" /><ref name="public">{{cite book |title=Report on the Custody and Condition of the Public Records of Parishes |publisher=Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IyYWAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Ordered+That+Newtowne+shall+henceforward+be+called%22&pg=RA1-PA298 |location=Boston |year=1889 |page=298 |access-date=December 24, 2008 |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215200852/https://books.google.com/books?id=IyYWAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Ordered+That+Newtowne+shall+henceforward+be+called%22&pg=RA1-PA298 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Located at the first convenient [[Charles River]] crossing west of [[Boston]], Newtowne was one of several towns, including Boston, [[Dorchester, Massachusetts|Dorchester]], [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]], and [[Weymouth, Massachusetts|Weymouth]], founded by the 700 original [[Puritans|Puritan]] colonists of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] under Governor [[John Winthrop]]. Its first preacher was [[Thomas Hooker]], who led many of its original inhabitants west in 1636 to found [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] and the [[Connecticut Colony]]; before leaving, they sold their plots to more recent immigrants from England.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} The original village site is now within [[Harvard Square]]. The [[Farmers' market|marketplace]] where farmers sold crops from surrounding towns at the edge of a salt marsh (since filled) remains within a small park at the corner of John F. Kennedy and Winthrop Streets.
In 1636, Newe College, later renamed [[Harvard College]] after benefactor [[John Harvard (clergyman)|John Harvard]], was founded as [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|North America's first institution of higher learning]]. Its initial purpose was training [[minister (religion)|ministers]]. According to [[Cotton Mather]], Newtowne was chosen for the site of the college by the [[Massachusetts General Court|Great and General Court]], then the legislature of [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], primarily for its proximity to the popular and highly respected Puritan preacher [[Thomas Shepard (minister)|Thomas Shepard]]. In May 1638,<ref>(1) {{cite book |title=The Cambridge of Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-six |editor=Arthur Gilman |publisher=Committee on the Memorial Volume |location=Cambridge |year=1896 |page=8}}<br />(2) {{cite web |author=Harvard News Office |url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/05.02/02-history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118015220/http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/05.02/02-history.html |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |title=This month in Harvard history |work=[[Harvard Gazette]] |date=May 2, 2002 |access-date=April 28, 2012}}. (This source gives May 12, 1638, as the date of the name change; others say May 2, 1638, or late 1637.)</ref> the settlement's name was changed to Cambridge in honor of the [[University of Cambridge]] in [[Cambridge]], England.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Historic Guide to Cambridge |edition=Second |year=1907 |publisher=Hannah Winthrop Chapter, D.A.R. |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=20–21 |quote=On October 15, 1637, the Great and General Court passed a vote that: "The college is ordered to bee at Newetowne." In this same year the name of Newetowne was changed to Cambridge, ("It is ordered that Newetowne shall henceforward be called Cambridge") in honor of the university in Cambridge, England, where many of the early settlers were educated.}}</ref>
In 1639, the [[Massachusetts General Court]] purchased the land that became present-day Cambridge from the Naumkeag [[Squaw Sachem of Mistick]].<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Town of Cambridge|date=2021|title=Brief History of Cambridge, Massachusetts|url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/cambridgehistory|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721201841/http://www.cambridgema.gov:80/historic/cambridgehistory |archive-date=July 21, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 24., The Indians of the Mystic valley and the litigation over their land.|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2005.05.0024:chapter=26|access-date=2021-12-10|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|archive-date=December 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210143509/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2005.05.0024:chapter=26|url-status=live}}</ref>
The town comprised a much larger area than the present city,{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} with various outlying parts becoming independent towns over the years: Cambridge Village (later Newtown and now [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]]) in 1688,<ref>{{cite book |last=Ritter |first=Priscilla R. |author2=Thelma Fleishman |title=Newton, Massachusetts 1679–1779: A Biographical Directory |year=1982 |publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society}}</ref> Cambridge Farms (now [[Lexington, Massachusetts|Lexington]]) in 1712{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} or 1713,<ref>{{citation |contribution-url=http://www.lexingtonchamber.org/history.html |contribution=History |title=Lexington Chamber of Commerce |year=2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310152201/http://www.lexingtonchamber.org/history.html |archive-date=March 10, 2007 }}</ref> and Little or South Cambridge (now [[Brighton, Boston|Brighton]]){{refn|group=lower-alpha|Brighton was annexed by Boston in 1874.}} and Menotomy or West Cambridge (now [[Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]]) in 1807.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brightonbot.com/history.php |title=A Short History of Allston-Brighton |first=Marchione |last=William P. |year=2011 |work=Brighton-Allston Historical Society |publisher=Brighton Board of Trade |access-date=December 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220031829/http://www.brightonbot.com/history.php |archive-date=February 20, 2012}}</ref>{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Part of West Cambridge joined the new town of [[Belmont, Massachusetts|Belmont]] in 1859; the rest of West Cambridge was renamed Arlington in 1867.}} In the late 19th century, various schemes for annexing Cambridge to Boston were pursued and rejected.<ref>(1) {{cite news |title=Annexation And Its Fruits |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1874/01/15/archives/annexation-and-its-fruits.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 15, 1874 |page=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614021408/https://www.nytimes.com/1874/01/15/archives/annexation-and-its-fruits.html |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |access-date=July 27, 2018 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}<br />(2) {{cite news |title=Boston's Annexation Schemes.; Proposal To Absorb Cambridge And Other Near-By Towns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/03/27/archives/bostons-annexation-schemes-proposal-to-absorb-cambridge-and-other.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 26, 1892 |page=11 |access-date=August 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614045216/https://www.nytimes.com/1892/03/27/archives/bostons-annexation-schemes-proposal-to-absorb-cambridge-and-other.html |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Newtowne's ministers, Hooker and Shepard, the college's [[Henry Dunster|first president]], the college's major benefactor, and the first schoolmaster [[Nathaniel Eaton]] were all Cambridge alumni, as was the colony's governor John Winthrop. In 1629, Winthrop had led the signing of the founding document of the city of Boston, which was known as the [[Cambridge Agreement]], after the university.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.winthropsociety.org/doc_cambr.php |publisher=[[The Winthrop Society]] |title=Descendants of the Great Migration |access-date=September 8, 2008 |archive-date=June 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622071704/http://www.winthropsociety.org/doc_cambr.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1650, Governor Thomas Dudley signed the charter creating the corporation that still governs Harvard College.<ref>(1) {{cite web |url=http://library.harvard.edu/university-archives/using-the-collections/online-resources/charter-of-1650 |title=Harvard Charter of 1650 |publisher=[[Harvard University Archives]] |access-date=September 7, 2013 |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702234704/http://library.harvard.edu/university-archives/using-the-collections/online-resources/charter-of-1650 |url-status=live }}<br />(2) {{cite book |title=Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts |chapter-url=http://www.mass.gov/legis/const.htm |access-date=December 13, 2009 |date=September 1, 1779 |publisher=The General Court of Massachusetts |chapter=Chapter V: The University at Cambridge, and encouragement of literature, etc. |archive-date=July 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707034449/http://www.mass.gov/legis/const.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
Cambridge grew slowly as an agricultural village {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} by road from Boston, the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|colony]]'s capital. By the [[American Revolution]], most residents lived near the [[Cambridge Common|Common]] and Harvard College, with most of the town comprising farms and estates. Most inhabitants were descendants of the original Puritan colonists, but there was also a small elite of [[Anglicans|Anglican]] "worthies" who were not involved in village life, made their livings from estates, investments, and trade, and lived in mansions along "the Road to Watertown", present-day [[Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Brattle Street]], which is still known as [[Tory Row]].
===18th century and Revolutionary War===
The [[Colony of Virginia|Virginian]]  [[George Washington]], coming from [[Second Continental Congress|Philadelphia]], took command of the force of [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] soldiers camped on [[Cambridge Common]] on July 3, 1775, which is now considered the birthplace of the [[Continental Army]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}}{{efn|The name of today's nearby Sheraton Commander Hotel refers to that event.}}
On January 24, 1776, [[Henry Knox]] arrived with an [[Noble train of artillery|artillery train]] captured from [[Fort Ticonderoga]], which allowed Washington to force the [[British Army]] to [[Siege of Boston|evacuate Boston]]. Most of the [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] estates in Cambridge were confiscated after the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]].
===19th century and industrialization===
Between 1790 and 1840, Cambridge grew rapidly with the construction of [[West Boston Bridge]] in 1792 connecting Cambridge directly to [[Boston]], making it no longer necessary to travel {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} through the [[Boston Neck]], [[Roxbury, Massachusetts|Roxbury]], and [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]] to cross the [[Charles River]]. A second bridge, the Canal Bridge, opened in 1809 alongside the new [[Middlesex Canal]]. The new bridges and roads made what were formerly estates and marshland into prime industrial and residential districts.
In the mid-19th century, Cambridge was the center of a literary revolution. It was home to some of the famous [[Fireside poets]], named because their poems would often be read aloud by families in front of their evening fires. The Fireside poets, including [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], [[James Russell Lowell]], and [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]], were highly popular and influential in this era.
Soon after, [[Toll road|turnpikes]] were built: the [[Cambridge and Concord Turnpike]] (today's Broadway and Concord Ave.), the [[Middlesex Turnpike (Massachusetts)|Middlesex Turnpike]] (Hampshire St. and [[Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston)|Massachusetts Ave.]] northwest of [[Porter Square]]), and what are today's Cambridge, Main, and Harvard Streets connected various areas of Cambridge to the bridges. In addition, the town was connected to the [[Boston & Maine Railroad]],{{sfnp|''EB''|1911|p=96}} leading to the development of Porter Square as well as the creation of neighboring [[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]] from the formerly rural parts of [[Charlestown, Boston|Charlestown]].
Cambridge was incorporated as a city in 1846.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} The city's commercial center began to shift from Harvard Square to Central Square, which became the city's downtown around that time.
Between 1850 and 1900, Cambridge took on much of its present character, featuring [[streetcar suburb]]an development along the turnpikes and [[working class]] and industrial neighborhoods focused on East Cambridge, comfortable middle-class housing on the old Cambridgeport, and Mid-Cambridge estates and upper-class enclaves near Harvard University and on the minor hills. The arrival of the railroad in North Cambridge and Northwest Cambridge led to three changes: the development of massive brickyards and brickworks between [[Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston)|Massachusetts Avenue]], [[Concord Avenue (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Concord Avenue]], and [[Alewife Brook]]; the ice-cutting industry launched by [[Frederic Tudor]] on [[Fresh Pond, Cambridge, Massachusetts|Fresh Pond]]; and the carving up of the last estates into residential subdivisions to house the thousands of immigrants who arrived to work in the new industries.
For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the city's largest employer was the [[New England Glass Company]], founded in 1818. By the middle of the 19th century, it was the world's largest and most modern glassworks. In 1888, [[Edward Libbey|Edward Drummond Libbey]] moved all production to [[Toledo, Ohio]], where it continues today under the name [[Owens-Illinois]]. The company's flint glassware with heavy lead content is prized by antique glass collectors, and the [[Toledo Museum of Art]] has a large collection. The [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]] in Boston and the Sandwich Glass Museum on [[Cape Cod]] also house several pieces.
In 1895, [[Edwin Ginn]], founder of [[Ginn and Company]], built the [[Athenaeum Press]] Building for his publishing textbook empire.
===20th century===
By 1920, Cambridge was one of [[New England]]'s main industrial cities, with nearly 120,000 residents. Among the largest businesses in Cambridge during the period of industrialization was [[Carter's Ink Company]], whose neon sign long adorned the Charles River and which was for many years the world's largest ink manufacturer. Next door was the Athenaeum Press.  Confectionery and snack manufacturers in the Cambridgeport-Area 4-Kendall corridor included Kennedy Biscuit Factory, later part of [[Nabisco]] and originator of the [[Fig Newton]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM55Y9_Kennedy_F_A_Steam_Bakery_Cambridge_MA |title=Kennedy, F. A., Steam Bakery – Cambridge, Massachusetts – U.S. National Register of Historic Places |work=waymarking.com |access-date=July 10, 2014 |archive-date=July 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730020754/http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM55Y9_Kennedy_F_A_Steam_Bakery_Cambridge_MA |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Necco]], [[Squirrel Brands]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/squirrel.html |title=Candy Land: The History of Candy Making in Cambridge, Massachusetts – Squirrel Brand Nuts |work=cambridgehistory.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430114806/http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/squirrel.html |archive-date=April 30, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> George Close Company (1861–1930s),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/gclose.html |title=Candy Land: The History of Candy Making in Cambridge, Massachusetts – George Close Company |work=cambridgehistory.org |access-date=July 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221161421/http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/gclose.html |archive-date=February 21, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Page & Shaw]], Daggett Chocolate (1892–1960s, recipes bought by Necco),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/daggett.html |title=Candy Land: The History of Candy Making in Cambridge, Massachusetts – Daggett Chocolate |work=cambridgehistory.org |access-date=July 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221161259/http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/daggett.html |archive-date=February 21, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Fox Cross Company (1920–1980, originator of the [[Charleston Chew]], and now part of [[Tootsie Roll Industries]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/foxcross.html |title=Candy Land: The History of Candy Making in Cambridge, Massachusetts – Fox Cross Co. |work=cambridgehistory.org |access-date=July 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027095434/http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/foxcross.html |archive-date=October 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Kendall Confectionery Company, and James O. Welch (1927–1963, originator of [[Junior Mints]], [[Sugar Daddy (candy)|Sugar Daddies]], [[Sugar Mamas]], and [[Sugar Babies (candy)|Sugar Babies]], now part of Tootsie Roll Industries).<ref name="Welch">{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/jwelch.html |title=Candy Land: The History of Candy Making in Cambridge, Massachusetts – James O. Welch |work=cambridgehistory.org |access-date=July 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007093651/http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/jwelch.html |archive-date=October 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Main Street was nicknamed "Confectioner's Row".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wbur.org/lastseen/2022/11/22/lost-history-confectioners-row |title=Unwrapping the lost history of Confectioner's Row |date=November 22, 2022 |access-date=December 3, 2022 |archive-date=December 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203174109/https://www.wbur.org/lastseen/2022/11/22/lost-history-confectioners-row |url-status=live }}</ref>
Only the [[Cambridge Brands]] subsidiary of Tootsie Roll Industries remains in town, still manufacturing Junior Mints in the old Welch factory on Main Street.<ref name="Welch" /> The [[Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company National Register District|Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company]] (1886), the [[Kendall Boiler and Tank Company]] (1880, now in [[Chelmsford, Massachusetts]]), and the New England Glass Company (1818–1878) were among the industrial manufacturers in what are now Kendall Square and East Cambridge.
In 1935, the Cambridge Housing Authority and the [[Public Works Administration]] demolished an [[Housing segregation in the United States|integrated]] low-income [[tenement]] neighborhood with African Americans and European immigrants. In its place, it built the whites-only "'''Newtowne Court'''" [[Subsidized housing in the United States|public housing development]] and the adjoining, blacks-only "'''Washington Elms'''" project in 1940; the city required segregation in its other public housing projects as well.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rothstein|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Rothstein|title=The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America|title-link=The Color of Law|year=2017|place=New York|publisher=[[Boni & Liveright|Liveright Publishing Corporation]]|page=26|isbn=978-1631494536}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cambridge Housing Authority - Newtowne Court|publisher=Cambridge Housing Authority|url=http://www.cambridge-housing.org/housing/directory/family/newtowne.asp|access-date=July 23, 2020|archive-date=July 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723074112/http://www.cambridge-housing.org/housing/directory/family/newtowne.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cambridge Housing Authority – Washington Elms|publisher=Cambridge Housing Authority|url=http://www.cambridge-housing.org/housing/directory/family/washingtonelms.asp|access-date=July 23, 2020|archive-date=July 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723072631/http://www.cambridge-housing.org/housing/directory/family/washingtonelms.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>
As industry in [[New England]] began to decline during the [[Great Depression]] and after [[World War II]], Cambridge lost much of its industrial base. It also began to become an intellectual, rather than an industrial, center. [[Harvard University]], which had always been important as both a landowner and an institution, began to play a more dominant role in the city's life and culture. When Radcliffe College was established in 1879, the town became a mecca for some of the nation's most academically talented female students. [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]'s move from [[Boston]] to Cambridge in 1916 reinforced Cambridge's status as an intellectual center of the United States.
After the 1950s, the city's population began to decline slowly as families tended to be replaced by single people and young couples. In Cambridge Highlands, the technology company [[BBN Technologies|Bolt, Beranek, & Newman]] produced [[Interface Message Processor|the first network router]] in 1969 and hosted the invention of computer-to-computer email in 1971. The 1980s brought a wave of high technology startups. Those selling advanced [[minicomputer]]s were overtaken by the [[microcomputer]].{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Featherly |first=Kevin |date=15 July 2024 |title=ARPANET: United States defense program |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/ARPANET#ref1232401 |access-date=10 August 2024 |website=Britannica}}</ref>  Cambridge-based [[VisiCorp]] made the first [[spreadsheet]] software for personal computers, [[VisiCalc]], and helped propel the [[Apple II]] to consumer success. It was overtaken and purchased by Cambridge-based [[Lotus Development]], maker of [[Lotus 1-2-3]] (which was, in turn, replaced in by [[Microsoft Excel]]).
The city continues to be home to many startups. Kendall Square was a software hub through the [[dot-com boom]] and today hosts offices of such technology companies as Google, [[Microsoft]], and [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]]. The Square also now houses the headquarters of [[Akamai]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.akamai.com/us/en/locations.jsp |title=Locations – Akamai |website=Akamai.com |access-date=May 25, 2018 |archive-date=May 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520010648/https://www.akamai.com/us/en/locations.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1976, Harvard's plans to start experiments with [[recombinant DNA]] led to a three-month moratorium and a citizen review panel. In the end, Cambridge decided to allow such experiments but passed safety regulations in 1977. This led to regulatory certainty and acceptance when [[Biogen]] opened a lab in 1982, in contrast to the hostility that caused the Genetic Institute, a Harvard spinoff, to abandon [[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]] and Boston for Cambridge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.betaboston.com/news/2016/03/17/how-cambridge-became-the-life-sciences-capital/|title=How Cambridge became the life sciences capital|website=www.betaboston.com|access-date=August 18, 2016|archive-date=September 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925065657/http://www.betaboston.com/news/2016/03/17/how-cambridge-became-the-life-sciences-capital/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The biotech and pharmaceutical industries have since thrived in Cambridge, which now includes headquarters for Biogen and [[Genzyme]]; laboratories for [[Novartis]], [[Teva Pharmaceutical Industries|Teva]], [[Takeda Pharmaceutical Company|Takeda]], [[Alnylam Pharmaceuticals|Alnylam]], [[Ironwood Pharmaceuticals|Ironwood]], Catabasis, [[Moderna Therapeutics]], [[Editas Medicine]]; support companies such as [[Cytel]]; and many smaller companies.
====Rent control====
{{see also|Rent control in Massachusetts#Cambridge decisions}}
During the era of [[rent control in Massachusetts]], at least 20 percent of all rent controlled apartments in Cambridge housed the rich.<ref name=move>{{cite web | url = https://rentcontrolhistory.com/chapters/renters-who-needed-to-move-couldnt-qualify/ | title = Renters who needed to move couldn't qualify. | publisher = Mass Landlords, Inc | accessdate = January 3, 2024 }}</ref> The vast majority housed middle- and high-income earners.{{r|move}} In an independent study conducted of 2/3 of the rent controlled apartments in Cambridge in 1988, 246 were households headed by doctors, 298 by lawyers, 265 by architects, 259 by professors, and 220 by engineers. There were 2,650 with students, including 1,503 with graduate students.{{r|move}}
Those who lived in rent controlled apartments included
*[[Ruth Abrams]], a Justice of the [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]].{{r|move}}
*[[Kenneth Reeves]], the mayor of Cambridge at the time rent control was repealed in Massachusetts, was living in the same rent controlled apartment he lived in as a Harvard student in 1973.{{r|move}}
*[[Frederik X|Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark]]{{r|lease|move}}
The end of rent control in 1994 had [[Rent control in Massachusetts#Impact on Cambridge|numerous effects on the city]]. Within four years of repealing the law, Cambridge, where "the city's form of rent control was unusually strict," saw new housing and construction increase by 50%, and the tax revenue from construction permits tripled.<ref name=lease>{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/09/19/mass-city-gets-a-new-lease-on-life/9b8249b7-a1d1-4b6c-a4e7-a305c9dcb833/ | title = Mass. City Gets New Lease on Life | newspaper = The Washington Post | first = Judith | last = Havemann | date = September 19, 1998 | accessdate = October 23, 2023 }}</ref> Property values in Cambridge increased by about $7.8 billion in the decade following the repeal.<ref name=lost>{{Cite web | url = https://rentcontrolhistory.com/chapters/towns-lost-tax-revenue/ | title = Towns lost tax revenue. | publisher = Mass Landlords, Inc | accessdate = January 3, 2024 }}</ref> Roughly a quarter of this increase, $1.8 billion ($3 billion in 2024 dollars), was due to the repeal of rent control.{{r|lost}}
Close to 40% of all Cambridge properties were under rent control when it was repealed.{{r|lost}} Their property values appreciated faster than non-rent controlled properties, as did the properties around them.<ref name=palmer>{{cite journal | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675536 | title = Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from the End of Rent Control in Cambridge, Massachusetts | first1 =David H. |last1 =Autor |first2= Christopher J. |last2= Palmer |first3= Parag A. |last3= Pathak | journal =Journal of Political Economy |volume = 122 | number = 3 |date = June 2014 | pages = 661–717 | doi = 10.1086/675536 | jstor = 10.1086/675536 | hdl = 1721.1/104081 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> By the end of the 20th century, Cambridge had one of the most costly housing markets in the [[Northeastern United States]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Glaeser |first=E. L. |date=April 1, 2005 |title=Reinventing Boston: 1630–2003 |journal=Journal of Economic Geography |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=119–153 |doi=10.1093/jnlecg/lbh058 |issn=1468-2702}}</ref>
===21st century===
Cambridge's mix of amenities and proximity to [[Boston]] kept housing prices relatively stable despite the bursting of the [[United States housing bubble]] in 2008 and 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20150417/NEWS/150417123 |title=Housing prices soar after years of stability in Cambridge |last=McLean |first=Danielle |work=Cambridge Chronicle & Tab |access-date=March 2, 2017 |archive-date=March 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303053358/http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20150417/NEWS/150417123 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cambridge has been a [[sanctuary city]] since 1985 and reaffirmed its status as such in 2006.<ref>(1) {{cite web |url=http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/PolicyOrder.cfm?item_id=13247 |publisher=City of Cambridge |title=City Council Policy Order Resolution O-16 |date=May 8, 2006 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424034241/http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/PolicyOrder.cfm?item_id=13247 |url-status=live }}<br />(2) {{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-boston-bombings-cambridge-20130421,0,2121257.story |work=Los Angeles Times |title=In immigrant-rich Cambridge, arrest baffles locals |first1=Melanie |last1=Mason |first2=Michael J. |last2=Mishak |first3=Ashley |last3=Powers |date=April 21, 2013 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-date=April 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422072318/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-boston-bombings-cambridge-20130421,0,2121257.story |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Geography ==
[[File:Charles River Cambridge USA.jpg|thumb|A winter view of Cambridge and [[Harvard University]]'s [[Weld Boathouse]] seen from [[Boston]] with the [[Charles River]] in the foreground]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], Cambridge has a total area of {{convert|7.1|sqmi|km2}}, {{convert|6.4|sqmi|km2}} of which is land and {{convert|0.7|sqmi|km2}} (9.82%) of which is water.
=== Adjacent municipalities ===
Cambridge is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by:
* the city of [[Boston]] to the south and east (across the Charles River)
* the city of [[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]] to the north
* the town of [[Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]] to the northwest
* the town of [[Belmont, Massachusetts|Belmont]] and
* the city of [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]] to the west
The border between Cambridge and the neighboring city of Somerville passes through densely populated neighborhoods, which are connected by the [[Red Line (MBTA)|MBTA Red Line]]. Some of the main squares, [[Inman Square|Inman]], Porter, and to a lesser extent, Harvard and [[Lechmere Square|Lechmere]], are very close to the city line, as are Somerville's [[Union Square (Somerville)|Union]] and [[Davis Square]]s.
Through the City of Cambridge's exclusive municipal water system, the city further controls two [[exclave]] areas, one being Payson Park Reservoir and Gatehouse, a [[American and Canadian Water Landmark|2009 listed American Water Landmark]] located roughly one mile west of Fresh Pond and surrounded by the town of Belmont.  The second area is the larger Hobbs Brook and [[Stony Brook (Middlesex County, Massachusetts)|Stony Brook]] watersheds, which share borders with neighboring towns and cities including Lexington, [[Lincoln, Massachusetts|Lincoln]], [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]] and [[Weston, Massachusetts|Weston]].
=== Neighborhoods ===
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2016}}
==== Squares ====
Cambridge has been called the "City of Squares",<ref>(1) {{cite web |author=No Writer Attributed |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/9/18/cambridge-a-city-of-squares-pcambridge/ |title="Cambridge: A City of Squares" Harvard Crimson, September 18, 1969 |publisher=Thecrimson.com |date=September 18, 1969 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-date=March 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310114546/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/9/18/cambridge-a-city-of-squares-pcambridge/ |url-status=live }}<br />(2) {{cite web |url=http://www.travelwritersmagazine.com/RonBernthal/Cambridge.html |title=Cambridge Journal: Massachusetts City No Longer in Boston's Shadow |publisher=Travelwritersmagazine.com |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417231041/http://www.travelwritersmagazine.com/RonBernthal/Cambridge.html |archive-date=April 17, 2012 }}</ref> as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as [[Town square|squares]]. Each square acts as a neighborhood center.
[[Kendall Square]], formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third Street, has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", owing to its high concentration of [[entrepreneurship|entrepreneurial]] [[startup company|start-ups]] and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010.<ref name=CambridgeMAWorldInnovationCapital1/><ref name=CambridgeMAWorldInnovationCapital2>{{cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/business/innovation/blogs/inside-the-hive/2013/05/02/when-neighborhood-crowned-the-most-innovative-square-mile-the-world-how-you-keep-that-way/B1QxCjswQZZuG21WBdyBWK/blog.html|title=When a neighborhood is crowned the most innovative square mile in the world, how do you keep it that way?|author=Lelund Cheung|publisher=Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC|access-date=January 13, 2020|archive-date=December 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202165650/http://archive.boston.com/business/innovation/blogs/inside-the-hive/2013/05/02/when-neighborhood-crowned-the-most-innovative-square-mile-the-world-how-you-keep-that-way/B1QxCjswQZZuG21WBdyBWK/blog.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Technology Square (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Technology Square]] is an office and laboratory building cluster in this neighborhood. Just over the [[Longfellow Bridge]] from Boston, at the eastern end of the MIT campus, it is served by the [[Kendall (MBTA station)|Kendall/MIT]] station on the [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority|MBTA]] Red Line subway. Most of Cambridge's large office towers are located in the Square. [[Kendall Square]] houses some of the biggest technological companies of the world, including [[Google]], [[Microsoft]], [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Meta Platforms|Meta]], and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]. A [[biotech]] industry has developed in this area. The [[Cambridge Innovation Center]], a large co-working space, is in Kendall Square at 1 Broadway. The Cambridge Center office complex is in Kendall Square, and not at the actual center of Cambridge. The "One Kendall Square" complex is nearby, but not actually in Kendall Square.
[[Central Square (Cambridge)|Central Square]] is formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Murthy |first=Rekha |date=October 2004 |title=Central Square, Cambridge: Rising Fortunes at a Regional Crossroads |url=https://rmurthy.com/CentralSquare1_rmurthy.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617085129/https://rmurthy.com/CentralSquare1_rmurthy.pdf |archive-date=17 June 2006 |website=rmurthy.com}}</ref>{{Rp|page=1}} Containing a variety of ethnic restaurants, it was economically depressed as recently as the late 1990s; it underwent [[gentrification]] in recent years (in conjunction with the development of the nearby [[University Park at MIT]]), and continues to grow more costly.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-06 |title=Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: Central Square |url=https://www.bu.edu/2013/getting-to-know-your-neighborhood-central-square/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Boston University |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It is served by the [[Central (MBTA station)|Central Station]] stop on the MBTA Red Line subway.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=1–2}} Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street, and Main Street, is considered part of the Central Square area. [[Cambridgeport]] is south of Central Square, and bordered by MIT, the Charles River, Massachusetts Avenue, and River Street.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridgeport - Neighborhood 5 - CDD - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/neighplan/neighs/5 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.cambridgema.gov}}</ref>
Harvard Square is formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, Dunster Street, and JFK Street.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Harvard Square Things To Do and Information Guide |url=https://www.trolleytours.com/boston/harvard-square |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=Old Town Trolley Tours |language=en-US}}</ref> This is the primary site of Harvard University and a major Cambridge shopping area.<ref name=":1" /> It is served by a [[Harvard (MBTA station)|Red Line station]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Crocket |first1=Douglas S. |last2=Hirshson |first2=Paul |date=1985-03-03 |title=T dedicates new Harvard station |pages=43 |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/42548935/ |access-date=2023-10-10}}</ref> Harvard Square was originally the Red Line's northwestern terminus and a major transfer point to streetcars that also operated in a short [[Harvard bus tunnel|tunnel]]—which is still a major bus terminal, although the area under the Square was reconfigured dramatically in the 1980s when the Red Line was extended.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge Transportation |url=https://www.harvardsquare.com/history/historical-sites/cambridge-transportation/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Harvard Square |language=en-US}}</ref> A short distance away from the square lies the Cambridge Common, while the neighborhood north of Harvard and east of Massachusetts Avenue is known as Baldwin, in honor of the first Black principal of Cambridge public schools, Maria L. Baldwin. It was renamed "Baldwin" in 2021, and so some know the area better by its former name, Agassiz, after the famed scientist [[Louis Agassiz]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The areas, neighborhoods and squares of Cambridge |url=https://www.cambridgeday.com/about-cambridge/the-areas-neighborhoods-and-squares-of-cambridge/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Cambridge Day |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge Neighborhood Planning - CDD - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/neighplan |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.cambridgema.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Baldwin - Neighborhood 8 - CDD - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/neighplan/neighs/8 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.cambridgema.gov}}</ref>
Porter Square is about a mile north on Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard Square, at the junction of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Porter Square/North Massachusetts Avenue - CDD - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/economicopportunityanddevelopment/aboutcambridge/portersq |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.cambridgema.gov}}</ref> It includes part of the city of Somerville<ref name=":2">{{Citation |title=Citation Needed |date=2017-04-03 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.14325/mississippi/9781496811325.003.0047 |work=Retcon Game |access-date=2023-10-10 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi|doi=10.14325/mississippi/9781496811325.003.0047 |isbn=978-1-4968-1132-5 }}</ref> and is served by the [[Porter (MBTA station)|Porter Square Station]], a complex housing a Red Line stop and a [[Fitchburg Line]] [[MBTA commuter rail|commuter rail]] stop.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Porter {{!}} Stations {{!}} MBTA |url=https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-portr |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.mbta.com}}</ref> Lesley University's University Hall and Porter campus are in Porter Square.<ref name=":2" />
Inman Square is at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in mid-Cambridge.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: Inman Square |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/getting-to-know-your-neighborhood-inman-square/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> It is home to restaurants, bars, music venues, and boutiques.<ref name=":3" /> [[Victorian era|Victorian]] streetlights, benches, and bus stops were added to the streets in the 2000s, and a new city park was installed.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
Lechmere Square is at the junction of Cambridge and First streets, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall. It is served by [[Lechmere station]] on the MBTA [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green Line]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lechmere {{!}} Stations {{!}} MBTA |url=https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-lech |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.mbta.com}}</ref>
==== Other neighborhoods ====
The City of Cambridge officially recognizes 13 neighborhoods, which are as follows:
* [[East Cambridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts|East Cambridge]] (Area 1) is bordered on the north by Somerville, on the east by the Charles River, on the south by Broadway and Main Street, and on the west by the [[Grand Junction Railroad]] tracks. It includes the [[NorthPoint (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|NorthPoint]] development.
* [[Campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT Campus]] ([[MIT Campus (Area 2), Cambridge|Area 2]]) is bordered on the north by Broadway, on the south and east by the Charles River, and on the west by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks.
* [[Wellington-Harrington]] (Area 3) is bordered on the north by Somerville, on the south and west by Hampshire Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks.
* [[The Port, Cambridge|The Port]], formerly known as Area 4, is bordered on the north by Hampshire Street, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Prospect Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. Residents of Area 4 often simply call their neighborhood "The Port" and the area of Cambridgeport and Riverside "The Coast". In October 2015, the Cambridge City Council officially renamed Area 4 "The Port", formalizing the longtime nickname, largely on the initiative of neighborhood native and then-Vice Mayor Dennis Benzan. The port is usually the busier part of the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20151020/NEWS/151029350 |title=Area Four in Cambridge renamed 'The Port' |last=Handy |first=Natalie |newspaper=Wicked Local |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-date=March 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321114051/http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20151020/NEWS/151029350 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Cambridgeport]] (Area 5) is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by River Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks.
* [[Mid-Cambridge]] (Area 6) is bordered on the north by Kirkland and Hampshire Streets and Somerville, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Peabody Street, and on the east by Prospect Street.
* [[Riverside, Cambridge|Riverside]] (Area 7), an area sometimes called "The Coast", is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by JFK Street, and on the east by River Street.
* [[Baldwin, Cambridge, Massachusetts|Baldwin]] (Area 8) is bordered on the north by Somerville, on the south and east by Kirkland Street, and on the west by Massachusetts Avenue.
* [[Neighborhood Nine]] or Radcliffe (formerly called Peabody, until the recent relocation of a neighborhood school by that name) is bordered on the north by railroad tracks, on the south by Concord Avenue, on the west by railroad tracks, and on the east by Massachusetts Avenue.
::The Avon Hill sub-neighborhood consists of the higher elevations within the area bounded by Upland Road, Raymond Street, Linnaean Street and Massachusetts Avenue.
* Brattle area/[[West Cambridge (neighborhood)|West Cambridge]] (Area 10) is bordered on the north by Concord Avenue and Garden Street, on the south by the Charles River and Watertown, on the west by Fresh Pond and the Collins Branch Library, and on the east by JFK Street. It includes the sub-neighborhoods of Brattle Street (formerly known as Tory Row) and Huron Village.
* [[North Cambridge, Massachusetts|North Cambridge]] (Area 11) is bordered on the north by Arlington and Somerville, on the south by railroad tracks, on the west by Belmont, and on the east by Somerville.
* [[Cambridge Highlands]] (Area 12) is bordered on the north and east by railroad tracks, on the south by Fresh Pond, and on the west by Belmont.
* [[Strawberry Hill, Cambridge|Strawberry Hill]] (Area 13) is bordered on the north by Fresh Pond, on the south by Watertown, on the west by Belmont, and on the east by the [[Watertown-Cambridge Greenway]] (formerly railroad tracks).
==== Gallery ====
{{wide image|Cambridge skyline November 2016 panorama.jpg|900px|Cambridge skyline in November 2016|90%|center|alt=Panorama of Cambridge skyline in November 2016}}
<gallery mode="packed" caption="Areas of Cambridge">
File:Centralsquarecambridgemass.jpg|[[Central Square, Cambridge|Central Square]]
File:Harvard square 2009j.JPG|[[Harvard Square]]
File:Cambridge MA Inman Square.jpg|[[Inman Square]]
</gallery>
=== Climate ===
In the [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen-Geiger]] classification, Cambridge has a [[humid continental climate|hot-summer humid continental climate]] (Dfa) with hot summers and cold winters, that can appear in the southern end of New England's interior. Abundant rain falls on the city (and in the winter often as snow); it has no dry season. The average January temperature is 26.6&nbsp;°F (−3&nbsp;°C), making Cambridge part of Group D, independent of the isotherm. There are four well-defined seasons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.climate-data.org/location/1734/ |title=Climate Cambridge: Temperature, Climograph, Climate table for Cambridge – Climate-Data.org |website=en.climate-data.org |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721162519/https://en.climate-data.org/location/1734/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Weather box
|location = Cambridge, 1991–2020 simulated normals (16 ft elevation)
|collapsed =
|single line = y
|precipitation colour  =green
|Jan precipitation inch =3.72
|Feb precipitation inch =3.74
|Mar precipitation inch =4.52
|Apr precipitation inch =4.37
|May precipitation inch =3.66
|Jun precipitation inch =4.38
|Jul precipitation inch =3.46
|Aug precipitation inch =3.72
|Sep precipitation inch =3.92
|Oct precipitation inch =4.78
|Nov precipitation inch =4.05
|Dec precipitation inch =4.97
|Jan high C = 2.8
|Feb high C = 4.0
|Mar high C = 7.7
|Apr high C = 14.2
|May high C = 19.7
|Jun high C = 24.8
|Jul high C = 28.1
|Aug high C = 27.4
|Sep high C = 23.4
|Oct high C = 17.1
|Nov high C = 11.3
|Dec high C = 5.8
|Jan mean C  =-1.8
|Feb mean C  =-0.8
|Mar mean C  =3.0
|Apr mean C  =9.0
|May mean C  =14.5
|Jun mean C  =19.7
|Jul mean C  =23.0
|Aug mean C  =22.3
|Sep mean C  =18.3
|Oct mean C  =12.0
|Nov mean C  =6.5
|Dec mean C  =1.4
|Jan low C = -6.4
|Feb low C = -5.6
|Mar low C = -1.7
|Apr low C = 3.9
|May low C = 9.3
|Jun low C = 14.6
|Jul low C = 17.9
|Aug low C = 17.2
|Sep low C = 13.2
|Oct low C = 6.9
|Nov low C = 1.7
|Dec low C = -2.9
|Jan dew point C =-7.5
|Feb dew point C =-7.1
|Mar dew point C =-4.1
|Apr dew point C =1.2
|May dew point C =7.6
|Jun dew point C =13.5
|Jul dew point C =16.9
|Aug dew point C =16.5
|Sep dew point C =13.2
|Oct dew point C =6.9
|Nov dew point C =0.9
|Dec dew point C =-3.9
|source 1 = PRISM Climate Group<ref>{{cite web
| url=https://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/
| title=PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University
| publisher=Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering (NACSE), based at Oregon State University
| access-date=March 16, 2023
| archive-date=August 25, 2019
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825085652/http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/
| url-status=live
}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[NCEI]](Precipitation)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=US1MAMD0011&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL   | title=Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020: CAMBRIDGE 0.9 NNW, MA   | publisher=[[NOAA|National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration]]   | access-date=13 April 2024
}}</ref>
| date=March 16, 2023}}
== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations
|type= USA
|align= right
|1764|1582
|1790|2115
|1800|2453
|1810|2323
|1820|3295
|1830|6072
|1840|8409
|1850|15215
|1860|26060
|1870|39634
|1880|52669
|1890|70028
|1900|91886
|1910|104839
|1920|109694
|1930|113643
|1940|110879
|1950|120740
|1960|107716
|1970|100361
|1980|95322
|1990|95802
|2000|101355
|2010|105162
|2020|118403
|2023|118214
|source={{center|U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cambridgecitymassachusetts,US/PST045219|title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=September 16, 2021|df=mdy}}</ref>}}
|footnote={{Historical populations/Massachusetts municipalities references}}<ref name="1950_Census_Urban_populations_since_1790">{{cite web|title=1950 Census of Population|volume=1: Number of Inhabitants|at=Section 6, Pages 21–7 through 21–09, Massachusetts Table 4. Population of Urban Places of 10,000 or more from Earliest Census to 1920|publisher=Bureau of the Census|access-date=July 12, 2011|year=1952|url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch06.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch06.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ColonialPop">{{cite book|author=United States Census Bureau|date=1909|title=A Century of Population Growth|url=https://archive.org/details/centuryofpopulat00unit/page/158/mode/2up|page=158}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] | access-date=November 4, 2023 | url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Race and ethnicity 2020 Cambridge, MA.png|thumb|Map of racial distribution in Cambridge, 2020 U.S. census. Each dot is one person: {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=rgb(115, 178, 255)|White}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=rgb(159, 212, 0)|Black}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=rgb(255, 0, 0)|Asian}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=rgb(255, 170, 0)|Hispanic}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=rgb(140, 81, 181)|Multiracial}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=rgb(153, 102, 51)|Native American/Other}}]]
{| class="wikitable  sortable collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Historical racial composition !! 2020<ref name="2020 QF">{{cite web |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cambridge city, Massachusetts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cambridgecitymassachusetts/POP010220 |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=7 July 2023}}</ref>!! 2010<ref name="census" /> !! 1990<ref name="pop" /> !! 1970<ref name="pop" /> !! 1950<ref name="pop" />
|-
| [[White American|White]] || 61.7% || 66.6% || 75.3% || 91.1% || 95.3%
|-
| —Non-Hispanic || 57.5% || 62.1% || 71.6% || 89.7%<ref name="fifteen">From 15% sample</ref> || n/a
|-
| [[African American|Black or African American]] || 10.6% || 11.7% || 13.5% || 6.8% || 4.3%
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (of any race) || 8.8% || 7.6% || 6.8% || 1.9%<ref name="fifteen" /> || n/a
|-
| [[Asian American|Asian]] || 18.3% || 15.1% || 8.4% || 1.5% || 0.3%
|-
| [[Multiracial American|Two or more races]] || 7.1% || 4.3% || n/a || n/a || n/a
|}
===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Cambridge, Massachusetts – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Cambridge city, Massachusetts|url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALSF12000.P004?g=160XX00US2511000|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Cambridge city, Massachusetts|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US2511000&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Cambridge city, Massachusetts|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US2511000&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|65,425
|65,259
|style='background: #ffffe6; |65,553
|64.55%
|62.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |55.36%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|11,627
|11,589
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,016
|11.47%
|11.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.15%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|213
|159
|style='background: #ffffe6; |154
|0.21%
|0.15%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.13%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|11,984
|15,818
|style='background: #ffffe6; |22,628
|11.82%
|15.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |19.11%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|71
|31
|style='background: #ffffe6; |49
|0.07%
|0.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Some Other Race]] alone (NH)
|713
|575
|style='background: #ffffe6; |993
|0.70%
|0.55%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.84%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed Race or Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|3,867
|3,757
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,272
|3.82%
|3.57%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.30%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|7,455
|7,974
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,738
|7.36%
|7.58%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.07%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''101,355'''
|'''105,162'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''118,403'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}
As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/ |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website |df=mdy |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709054630/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> of 2010, there were 105,162 people, 44,032 households, and 17,420 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|16,354.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 47,291 housing units at an average density of {{convert|7,354.7|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 66.60% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 11.70% [[Black (U.S. Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.20% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 15.10% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]] (3.7% [[Chinese American|Chinese]], 1.4% [[Indian American|Asian Indian]], 1.2% [[Korean American|Korean]], 1.0% [[Japanese American|Japanese]]<ref>{{cite web |title=QT-P8: Race Reporting for the Asian Population by Selected Categories: 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/ |website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |publisher=2010 Census |access-date=June 1, 2014 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709054630/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref>), 0.01% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 2.10% from other races, and 4.30% from two or more races. 7.60% of the population were [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race (1.6% [[Puerto Ricans in the United States|Puerto Rican]], 1.4% [[Mexican American|Mexican]], 0.6% [[Dominican American|Dominican]], 0.5% [[Colombian American|Colombian]] & [[Salvadoran American|Salvadoran]], 0.4% [[Spanish people|Spaniard]]). [[Non-Hispanic Whites]] were 62.1% of the population in 2010,<ref name="census">{{cite web |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/25/2511000.html |title=Cambridge (city), Massachusetts |work=State & County QuickFacts |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=April 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327160241/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/25/2511000.html |archive-date=March 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> down from 89.7% in 1970.<ref name="pop">{{cite web |title=Massachusetts – Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |access-date=May 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> An individual resident of Cambridge is known as a [[Cantabrigian]].
In 2010, there were 44,032 households, out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.4% were non-families. 40.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 13.3% of the population under the age of 18, 21.2% from 18 to 24, 38.6% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.
The [[median income]] for a household in the city was $47,979, and the median income for a family was $59,423 (these figures had risen to $58,457 and $79,533 respectively {{as of|2007|alt=as of a 2007 estimate}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US2418750&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US24%7C16000US2418750&_street=&_county=cambridge&_cityTown=cambridge&_state=04000US25&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= |title=U.S. Census, 2000 |publisher=Factfinder.census.gov |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606024842/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US2418750&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US24%7C16000US2418750&_street=&_county=cambridge&_cityTown=cambridge&_state=04000US25&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null:null&_keyword=&_industry= |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>). Males had a median income of $43,825 versus $38,489 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,156. About 8.7% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.
Cambridge has been ranked as one of the most liberal cities in America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.govpro.com/News/Article/31439/ |title=Study Ranks America's Most Liberal and Conservative Cities |publisher=Govpro.com |date=August 16, 2005 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905215646/http://www.govpro.com/News/Article/31439/ |archive-date=September 5, 2008}}</ref> Locals living in and near the city jokingly refer to it as "The People's Republic of Cambridge".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.universalhub.com/glossary/peoples_republic_the.html |publisher=The Hub |title=People's Republic, the |access-date=February 3, 2009 |archive-date=June 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623165501/https://www.universalhub.com/glossary/peoples_republic_the.html |url-status=live }}</ref> For 2016, the residential property tax rate in Cambridge was $6.99 per $1,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/finance/propertytaxinformation/fy16propertytaxinformation.aspx |title=FY16 Property Tax Information – City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=City of Cambridge |access-date=January 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129080825/http://www.cambridgema.gov/finance/propertytaxinformation/fy16propertytaxinformation.aspx |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Cambridge enjoys the highest possible [[bond credit rating]], AAA, with all three Wall Street rating agencies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cambridge Earns Three Triple A Ratings for Fiscal Management for 15th Consecutive Year – City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/citynewsandpublications/news/2013/03/cityofcambridgeearnsthreetriplearatingsforfiscalmanagement.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217051050/http://www.cambridgema.gov/citynewsandpublications/news/2013/03/cityofcambridgeearnsthreetriplearatingsforfiscalmanagement.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 17, 2015 |publisher=City of Cambridge |access-date=February 17, 2015}}</ref>
In 2000, 11.0% of city residents were of [[Irish American|Irish]] ancestry; 7.2% were of [[English American|English]], 6.9% [[Italian American|Italian]], 5.5% [[West Indian]] and 5.3% [[German Americans|German]] ancestry. 69.4% spoke only English at home, while 6.9% spoke Spanish, 3.2% [[Standard Mandarin|Chinese]] or Mandarin, 3.0% [[portuguese language|Portuguese]], 2.9% [[French-based creole languages|French Creole]], 2.3% French, 1.5% [[korean language|Korean]], and 1.0% Italian.
=== Income ===
{{See also|List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income}}
Data is from the 2009–2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.<ref>(1) {{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_5YR_DP03&prodType=table |title=Selected Economic Characteristics 2009–2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=January 12, 2015}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}<br />(2) {{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_5YR_DP05&prodType=table |title=ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates 2009–2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=January 12, 2015}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}<br />(3) {{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_5YR_S1101&prodType=table |title=Households and Families 2009–2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=January 12, 2015}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- valign=bottom
! Rank
! ZIP Code (ZCTA)
! Per capita<br />income
! Median<br />household<br />income
! Median<br />family<br />income
! Population
! Number of<br />households
|-
| 1
| 02142
| $67,525
| $100,114
| $150,774
| 2,838
| 1,385
|-
| 2
| 02138
| $52,592
| $75,446
| $120,564
| 35,554
| 13,868
|-
| 3
| 02140
| $50,856
| $75,446
| $120,564
| 18,164
| 8,460
|-
|
| ''Cambridge''
| $47,448
| $72,529
| $93,460
| 105,737
| 44,345
|-
|
| ''Middlesex County''
| $42,861
| $82,090
| $104,032
| 1,522,533
| 581,120
|-
| 4
| 02139
| $42,235
| $71,745
| $93,220
| 36,015
| 14,474
|-
| 5
| 02141
| $39,241
| $64,326
| $76,276
| 13,126
| 6,182
|-
|
| ''Massachusetts''
| $35,763
| $66,866
| $84,900
| 6,605,058
| 2,530,147
|-
|
| ''United States''
| $28,155
| $53,046
| $64,719
| 311,536,594
| 115,610,216
|}
== Economy ==
[[File:Cambridge Skyline.jpg|thumb|[[Kendall Square]], the center of Cambridge's [[biotechnology|biotech]] economy as seen from the [[Charles River]]]]
Manufacturing was an important part of Cambridge's economy in the late 19th and early 20th century, but educational institutions are its biggest employers today. Harvard and MIT together employ about 20,000.<ref name="2008top25">{{cite web |url=http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cdd/data/labor/top25/top25_2008.html |title=Top 25 Cambridge Employers: 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320003737/http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cdd/data/labor/top25/top25_2008.html |archive-date=March 20, 2012 |publisher=City of Cambridge}}</ref><ref name="2015top25" /> As a cradle of technological innovation, Cambridge was home to technology firms [[Analog Devices]], [[Akamai Technologies|Akamai]], Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN Technologies) (now part of Raytheon), [[General Radio]] (later GenRad), [[Lotus Development Corporation]] (now part of [[IBM]]), [[Polaroid Corporation|Polaroid]], [[Symbolics]], and [[Thinking Machines]].
In 1996, Polaroid, [[Arthur D. Little]], and Lotus were Cambridge's top employers, with over 1,000 employees, but they faded out a few years later. Health care and biotechnology firms such as [[Genzyme]], [[Biogen Idec]], [[bluebird bio]], [[Millennium Pharmaceuticals]], [[Sanofi]], [[Pfizer]] and Novartis<ref>{{cite news |title=Novartis doubles plan for Cambridge |author1=Casey Ross |author2=Robert Weisman |url=http://articles.boston.com/2010-10-27/business/29323650_1_french-drug-maker-astrazeneca-plc-research-operations |newspaper=[[Boston Globe]] |date=October 27, 2010 |access-date=April 12, 2011 |quote=Already Cambridge's largest corporate employer, the Swiss firm expects to hire an additional 200 to 300 employees over the next five years, bringing its total workforce in the city to around 2,300. Novartis's global research operations are headquartered in Cambridge, across Massachusetts Avenue from the site of the new four-acre campus. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810205245/http://articles.boston.com/2010-10-27/business/29323650_1_french-drug-maker-astrazeneca-plc-research-operations |archive-date=August 10, 2011}}</ref> have significant presences in the city. Though headquartered in Switzerland, Novartis continues to expand its operations in Cambridge.
Other major biotech and pharmaceutical firms expanding their presence in Cambridge include [[GlaxoSmithKline]], [[AstraZeneca]], [[Shire plc|Shire]], and Pfizer.<ref>{{cite news |title=Novartis Doubles Plan for Cambridge |url=http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/10/27/novartis_doubles_plan_for_cambridge/ |access-date=February 23, 2012 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |first1=Casey |last1=Ross |first2=Robert |last2=Weisman |date=October 27, 2010 |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103015727/http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/10/27/novartis_doubles_plan_for_cambridge/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of Cambridge's biotech firms are in Kendall Square and East Cambridge, which decades ago were the city's center of manufacturing. Some others are in University Park at MIT, a new development in another former manufacturing area.<ref name="NPR – Bayesian Ventures">{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Chris |title=What Happens When The Pace of Startups Slows Down |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/10/31/241842739/what-happens-when-the-pace-of-startups-slows-down |access-date=November 6, 2013 |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=October 31, 2013 |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103011624/http://www.npr.org/2013/10/31/241842739/what-happens-when-the-pace-of-startups-slows-down |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Boston Globe – Founding">{{cite news |last=Kirsner |first=Scott |title=LabCentral, a new hatchery for science-oriented startups, is seeking space in Kendall Square |url=http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2012/09/labcentral_a_new_hatchery_for.html |access-date=August 16, 2013 |newspaper=[[Boston Globe]] |date=September 20, 2012 |archive-date=June 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625065851/http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2012/09/labcentral_a_new_hatchery_for.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
None of the high technology firms that once dominated the economy was among the 25 largest employers in 2005, but by 2008 Akamai and [[ITA Software]] were.<ref name="2008top25" /> Google,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/corporate/address.html |title=Google Offices |access-date=July 18, 2012 |archive-date=December 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220212545/https://www.google.com/corporate/address.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[IBM Research]], [[Microsoft Research]], and [[Philips Research]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fortune.com/2015/05/19/philips-rd-mit/ |title=Philips Research North American Headquarter Moves to Cambridge |work=Fortune |access-date=September 29, 2015 |archive-date=September 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930153313/http://fortune.com/2015/05/19/philips-rd-mit/ |url-status=live }}</ref> maintain offices in Cambridge. In late January 2012—less than a year after acquiring [[Billerica, Massachusetts|Billerica]]-based analytic database management company, [[Vertica]]—[[Hewlett-Packard]] announced it would also be opening its first offices in Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web |last=Huang |first=Gregory |title=Hewlett-Packard Expands to Cambridge via Vertica's "Big Data" Center |url=http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2012/01/23/hewlett-packard-expands-to-cambridge-via-verticas-big-data-center/?single_page=true |access-date=February 23, 2012 |archive-date=July 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709211734/http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2012/01/23/hewlett-packard-expands-to-cambridge-via-verticas-big-data-center/?single_page=true |url-status=live }}</ref> Also around that time, e-commerce giants [[Staples Inc.|Staples]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Staples to bring e-commerce office to Cambridge's Kendall Square |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x690035936/Staples-to-bring-E-commerce-office-to-Cambridges-Kendall-Square |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624170218/http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x690035936/Staples-to-bring-E-commerce-office-to-Cambridges-Kendall-Square |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 24, 2012}}</ref> and Amazon.com<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2011/12/22/amazon-boston |title=Amazon Seeks Brick-And-Mortar Presence in Boston Area |website=wbur.org |date=December 22, 2011 |access-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622165753/https://www.wbur.org/news/2011/12/22/amazon-boston |url-status=live }}</ref> said they would be opening research and innovation centers in Kendall Square. And [[LabCentral]] provides a shared laboratory facility for approximately 25 emerging biotech companies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lab Central ⋆ Boston Biomedical Innovation Center|url=https://b-bic.org/organizer/lab-central/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Boston Biomedical Innovation Center|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release|title=LabCentral Launches Laboratory Operations; Signs American Laboratory Trading as a Gold Sponsor|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/labcentral-launches-laboratory-operations-signs-american-laboratory-trading-as-a-gold-sponsor-232524881.html|access-date=2021-05-28|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124214749/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/labcentral-launches-laboratory-operations-signs-american-laboratory-trading-as-a-gold-sponsor-232524881.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2021}}<!-- One source references the company website, while another source references that other source. Could someone find a news article supporting these claims that doesn't just repeat information from the LabCentral website? -->
The proximity of Cambridge's universities has also made the city a center for nonprofit groups and think tanks, including the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]], the [[Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory]], the [[Lincoln Institute of Land Policy]], [[Cultural Survival]], and [[One Laptop per Child]].{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}
In September 2011, Cambridge launched its [[Entrepreneur Walk of Fame]] initiative, recognizing people who have made contributions to innovation in global business.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stars of invention |first=Kathleen |last=Pierce |url=http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2011/09/16/mit_inaugurates_entrepreneurs_walk_of_fame_in_kendall_square/ |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=September 16, 2011 |access-date=October 1, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524035019/http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-16/business/30165912_1_gates-and-jobs-microsoft-granite-stars |archive-date=May 24, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
In 2021, Cambridge was one of approximately 27 US cities to receive a AAA rating from each of the three major US credit rating agencies, [[Moody's Investors Service]], [[S&P Global Ratings|Standard & Poor's]] and [[Fitch Ratings]]. 2021 marked the 22nd consecutive year that Cambridge had retained this distinction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/news/2021/02/cambridgeawardedaaaratingsfor22ndconsecutiveyear|title=Cambridge Awarded AAA Ratings for 22nd Consecutive Year. Nation's three major credit rating agencies affirm City's continued strong fiscal management despite economic challenges from COVID-19 pandemic.|publisher=City of Cambridge|date=March 1, 2021|access-date=September 20, 2021|archive-date=September 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920213146/https://www.cambridgema.gov/news/2021/02/cambridgeawardedaaaratingsfor22ndconsecutiveyear|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Top employers ===
{{as of|2019|}}, the city's ten largest employers are:<ref name="2015top25">(1) {{cite web|date=January 6, 2019|title=2019 Top 25 Employers|url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/factsandmaps/economicdata/top25employers|access-date=December 15, 2020|website=City of Cambridge, MA|publisher=City of Cambridge|df=mdy-all|archive-date=January 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123180817/https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/factsandmaps/economicdata/top25employers|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of employees
|-
| 1
|[[Harvard University]]
|12,565
|-
|2
|[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
|9,311
|-
|3
|City of Cambridge
|3,256
|-
|4
|[[Takeda Pharmaceutical Company|Takeda Pharmaceuticals]]
|3,484
|-
|5
|[[Biogen]]
|2,421
|-
|6
|[https://www.novartis.com/our-science/novartis-institutes-biomedical-research Novartis Inst. For Biomedical Research]
|2,267
|-
|6
|[[Cambridge Innovation Center]]
|2,267
|-
|8
|[[Cambridge Health Alliance]]
|1,806
|-
|9
|[[Mount Auburn Hospital|Mt. Auburn Hospital]]
|1,789
|-
|10
|[[Sanofi]] [[Genzyme]]
|1,782
|}
== Arts and culture ==
[[File:Fogg.jpg|thumb|[[Fogg Museum]] at [[Harvard University]]]]
=== Museums ===
* [[Harvard Art Museum]], including the [[Busch-Reisinger Museum]], a collection of Germanic art, the [[Fogg Art Museum]], a comprehensive collection of Western art, and the [[Arthur M. Sackler Museum]], a collection of Middle East and Asian art
* [[Harvard Museum of Natural History]], including the [[Glass Flowers]] collection
* [[List Visual Arts Center]], MIT
* [[MIT Museum]]
* [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology]], Harvard
* [[Semitic Museum]], Harvard
=== Public art ===
Cambridge has a large and varied collection of permanent public art, on both city property, managed by the Cambridge Arts Council,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/CAC/Public/overview.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516191034/http://www.cambridgema.gov/CAC/Public/overview.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 16, 2009 |title=CAC Public Art Program |publisher=City of Cambridge |date=March 13, 2007 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>  [[Community Art Center (Massachusetts)|Community Art Center]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Community Art Center Teen Programs {{!}} Find It Cambridge |url=https://www.finditcambridge.org/programs/community-art-center-teen-programs?language=ne |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=www.finditcambridge.org |language=}}</ref> and the Harvard<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/visualarts/pubart.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828231050/http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/visualarts/pubart.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 28, 2009 |title=Office for the Arts at Harvard: Public Art |publisher=Ofa.fas.harvard.edu |access-date=April 28, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and MIT<ref>{{cite web |url=http://listart.mit.edu/map |title=MIT Public Art Collection Map |publisher=Listart.mit.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312181322/http://listart.mit.edu/map |archive-date=March 12, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 28, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> campuses. Temporary public artworks are displayed as part of the annual Cambridge River Festival on the banks of the [[Charles River]] during winter celebrations in [[Harvard Square|Harvard]] and [[Central Square, Cambridge|Central]] Squares and at [[Harvard University]] campus sites. Experimental forms of public artistic and cultural expression include the Central Square World's Fair, the annual Somerville-based Honk! Festival,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://honkfest.org/ |title=Honk Fest |website=Honkfest.org |access-date=July 26, 2012 |archive-date=July 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722161458/http://honkfest.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[If This House Could Talk]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cambridgehistory.org/discover/ifthishousecouldtalk/index.html |title=The Cambridge Historical Society |website=Canbridgehistory.org |access-date=July 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530014816/http://cambridgehistory.org/discover/ifthishousecouldtalk/index.html |archive-date=May 30, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> a neighborhood art and history event.
Street musicians and other performers entertain tourists and locals in Harvard Square during the warmer months. The performances are coordinated through a public process that has been developed collaboratively by the performers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buskersadvocates.org/ |title=Street Arts & Buskers Advocates |website=Buskersadvocates.org |access-date=July 26, 2012 |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316092506/http://www.buskersadvocates.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> city administrators, private organizations and business groups.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://harvardsquare.com/Home/Arts-and-Entertainment/Street-Arts-and-Buskers-Advocates.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005063731/http://www.harvardsquare.com/Home/Arts-and-Entertainment/Street-Arts-and-Buskers-Advocates.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 5, 2007 |title=Street Arts and Buskers Advocates |publisher=Harvardsquare.com |access-date=April 28, 2012}}</ref> The Cambridge public library contains four [[Works Progress Administration]] murals completed in 1935 by [[Tracy Montminy|Elizabeth Tracy Montminy]]: ''Religion'', ''Fine Arts'', ''History of Books and Paper'', and ''The Development of the Printing Press''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heggemeyer |first1=Amy |title=Elizabeth Tracy |url=http://www.wpamurals.com/TracyEl.htm |website=WPA Murals |publisher=General Services Administration |access-date=April 28, 2016 |year=2006 |archive-date=March 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316104300/http://www.wpamurals.com/tracyel.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|[[Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site]]]]
[[File:Wfm stata center.jpg|thumb|[[Stata Center]] at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]]]
[[File:Simmons Hall, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|[[List of MIT undergraduate dormitories|Simmons Hall]] at MIT]]
=== Architecture ===
Despite intensive urbanization during the late 19th century and the 20th century, Cambridge has several historic buildings, including some from the 17th century. The city also has abundant contemporary architecture, largely built by Harvard and MIT.
'''Notable historic buildings in the city include''':
{{See also|List of Registered Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts}}
* The [[Asa Gray House]] (1810)
* [[Austin Hall, Harvard University]] (1882–1884)
* [[Cambridge, Massachusetts City Hall|Cambridge City Hall]] (1888–1889)
* [[Cambridge Public Library]] (1888)
* [[Christ Church (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Christ Church, Cambridge]] (1761)
* [[Cooper-Frost-Austin House]] (1689–1817)
* [[Elmwood (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Elmwood House]] (1767), residence of the [[president of Harvard University]]
* [[First Church of Christ, Scientist (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|First Church of Christ, Scientist]] (1924–1930)
* [[The First Parish in Cambridge]] (1833)
* [[Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church]] (1891–1893)
* [[Harvard Lampoon Building]] (1909)
* The [[Hooper-Lee-Nichols House]] (1685–1850)
* Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site (1759), former home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and headquarters of George Washington
* [[The Memorial Church of Harvard University]] (1932)
* [[Memorial Hall, Harvard University]] (1870–1877)
* [[Middlesex County Courthouse (Massachusetts)|Middlesex County Courthouse]] (1814–1848)
* [[Urban Rowhouse (40–48 Pearl Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Urban Rowhouse]] (1875)
* [[spite house|O'Reilly Spite House]] (1908), built to spite a neighbor who would not sell his adjacent land<ref name="existing">{{cite web |last=Bloom |first=Jonathan |date=February 2, 2003 |work=[[Boston Globe]] |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7763789.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329175647/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7763789.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 29, 2015 |title=Existing by the Thinnest of Margins. A Concord Avenue Landmark Gives New Meaning to Cozy }}</ref>
'''Contemporary architecture''':
* Arthur M. Sackler Museum at [[Harvard University]], one of the few buildings in the U.S. by [[Pritzker Prize]] winner [[James Stirling (architect)|James Stirling]]
* [[List of MIT undergraduate dormitories#Baker House|Baker House]] dormitory at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] by Finnish architect [[Alvar Aalto]], one of only two Aalto buildings in the U.S.
* Harvard Graduate Center/Harkness Commons by [[The Architects Collaborative]] with [[Walter Gropius]]
* [[Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts]] at Harvard, the only [[Le Corbusier]] building in North America
* [[Design Research Building]] by [[Benjamin Thompson and Associates]]
* [[Harvard Science Center]], [[Holyoke Center]], and [[Peabody Terrace]] by [[Catalonia|Catalan]] architect and [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]] Dean [[Josep Lluís Sert]]
* [[Kresge Auditorium]], [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], by [[Eero Saarinen]]
* [[Harvard Art Museums]], renovation and major expansion of Fogg Museum building, completed in 2014 by [[Renzo Piano]]
* [[MIT Chapel]] by Eero Saarinen
* [[MIT Media Lab]], two buildings by [[I. M. Pei]] and [[Fumihiko Maki]]
* [[List of MIT undergraduate dormitories#Simmons Hall|Simmons Hall]] at MIT by [[Steven Holl]]
* Stata Center, home to the [[MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory]], the Department of Linguistics, and the Department of Philosophy by [[Frank Gehry]]
=== Music ===
<!-- Made section generic. Needs more work. -->
The city has an active music scene, from classical performances to the latest popular bands. Beyond its colleges and universities, Cambridge has many music venues, including [[The Middle East (nightclub)|The Middle East]], [[Club Passim]], [[The Plough and Stars]], [[Lizard Lounge|The Lizard Lounge]] and the [[Nameless Coffeehouse]].
<!--
== Notable people ==
{{See also|List of Harvard University people}}
---- NOTE: Please create an article named "List of people from Cambridge, Massachusetts", ...
----       then put {{Main|List of people from Cambridge, Massachusetts}} in this section!
----       For examples, see [[List of people from Chicago]], [[List of people from Wichita, Kansas]], and others.
---- NOTE: Since there are numerous notable people from Cambridge, please put those people in the list articles!
-->
=== Parks and recreation ===
[[File:Alewife Brook Reservation.jpg|thumb|[[Alewife Brook Reservation]]]]
Consisting largely of densely built residential space, Cambridge lacks significant tracts of public parkland. Easily accessible open space on the university campuses, including [[Harvard Yard]], Radcliffe Yard, and MIT's Great Lawn, as well as the considerable open space of [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]] and [[Fresh Pond (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Fresh Pond]] Reservation, partly compensates for this. At Cambridge's western edge, the cemetery is known as a garden cemetery because of its landscaping (the oldest planned landscape in the country) and [[arboretum]]. Although known as a Cambridge landmark, much of the cemetery lies within Watertown.<ref>{{cite web |title=City of Cambridge map |publisher=City of Cambridge |year=2007 |url=http://www2.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/CambridgeStreetMap18x24_032007.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://www2.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/CambridgeStreetMap18x24_032007.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is also an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) in the Greater Boston area. Fresh Pond Reservation is the largest open green space in Cambridge with 162 acres (656,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of land around a 155-acre (627,000 m<sup>2</sup>) [[kettle hole]] lake. This land includes a 2.25-mile walking trail around the reservoir and a public nine-hole golf course.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Master Plan – Water – City of Cambridge, Massachusetts|url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/Water/freshpondreservation/aboutfreshpond/masterplandescription|access-date=2020-10-27|website=www.cambridgema.gov|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101084825/https://www.cambridgema.gov/Water/freshpondreservation/aboutfreshpond/masterplandescription|url-status=live}}</ref>
Public parkland includes the esplanade along the [[Charles River]], which mirrors its [[Charles River Esplanade|Boston counterpart]], [[Cambridge Common]], [[Danehy Park]], and [[Alewife Brook Reservation]].
== Government ==
=== Federal and state representation ===
{| class=wikitable
! colspan = 6 | Voter registration and party enrollment {{as of|lc=y|df=US|2024|02|24}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Registered Voters and Party Enrollment as of October 26, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Elections Division |access-date=November 24, 2024 |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/download/research-and-statistics/enrollment_count_20241105.pdf}}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Number of voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 36,319
| style="text-align:center;"| 48.67%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1,616
| style="text-align:center;"| 2.17%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
| Unaffiliated
| style="text-align:center;"| 36,183
| style="text-align:center;"| 48.49%
|-
| {{party color cell|Libertarian Party (United States)}}
| [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 131
| style="text-align:center;"| 0.18%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! style="text-align:center;"| 74,616
! style="text-align:center;"| 100%
|}
Cambridge is split between Massachusetts's [[Massachusetts's 5th congressional district|5th]] and [[Massachusetts's 7th congressional district|7th]] U.S. congressional districts. The 5th district seat is held by Democrat [[Katherine Clark]], who replaced now-Senator [[Ed Markey]] in a [[Massachusetts's 5th congressional district special election, 2013|2013 special election]]; the 7th is represented by Democrat [[Ayanna Pressley]], elected in 2018. The state's senior [[United States Senate|United States senator]] is Democrat [[Elizabeth Warren]], elected in 2012, who lives in Cambridge. The governor of Massachusetts is Democrat [[Maura Healey]], elected in 2022.
Cambridge is represented in six districts in the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]]: the 24th Middlesex (which includes parts of Belmont and Arlington), the 25th and 26th Middlesex (the latter of which includes a portion of Somerville), the 29th Middlesex (which includes a small part of Watertown), and the Eighth and Ninth Suffolk (both including parts of the City of Boston).<ref name=cambridgeGIS>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/gis/gisdatadictionary/elections/elections_staterepdistricts.aspx |work=Geographic Information System |publisher=City of Cambridge |title=State Rep Districts |access-date=July 1, 2014 |archive-date=July 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725170759/http://www.cambridgema.gov/gis/gisdatadictionary/elections/elections_staterepdistricts.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> The city is represented in the [[Massachusetts Senate]] as a part of the [[Massachusetts Senate's 2nd Middlesex district|2nd Middlesex]], [[Massachusetts Senate's Middlesex and Suffolk district|Middlesex and Suffolk]], and [[Massachusetts Senate's 1st Suffolk and Middlesex district|1st Suffolk and Middlesex]] districts.<ref name=Acts2011>{{citation |url=https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2011/Chapter152 |access-date=August 5, 2020 |work=Session Laws: Acts (2011) |title=An Act Establishing Executive Councillor and Senatorial Districts |author=Massachusetts General Court |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331163214/https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2011/Chapter152 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Politics===
From 1860 to 1880, Republicans [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Ulysses S. Grant]], [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], and [[James Garfield]] each won Cambridge, Grant doing so by margins of over 20 points in both of his campaigns. Following that, from 1884 to 1892, [[Grover Cleveland]] won Cambridge in all three of his presidential campaigns, by less than ten points each time.
Then from 1896 to 1924, Cambridge became something of a swing city with a slight Republican lean. Republican candidates carried the city in five of the eight presidential elections during that time, with five of the elections resulting in either a plurality or a margin of victory of fewer than ten points.
In modern times, however, Cambridge has been a stronghold of the Democratic Party. In the last 23 presidential elections, dating back to the nomination of [[Al Smith]] in the [[1928 United States presidential election|1928 presidential election]], Democratic presidential candidates have won Cambridge with every Democratic nominee since Massachusetts native [[John F. Kennedy]] in [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]] receiving at least 70% of the vote, except for [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976 and 1980. Since 1928, the only Republican nominee to come within ten points of carrying Cambridge is [[Dwight Eisenhower]] in his 1956 reelection bid.
{| class="wikitable"  margin:0 0 1em 1em; font-size:95%;"
|+ Presidential election results<ref>{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Election Statistics |access-date=September 26, 2018 |url=http://electionstats.state.ma.us/ |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329210225/https://electionstats.state.ma.us/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[2024 United States presidential election in Massachusetts|2024]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''87.2%''' ''43,690''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|8.3% ''4,159''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''91.7%''' ''50,233''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|6.4% ''3,519''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[2016 United States presidential election|2016]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''87.9%''' ''46,563''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|6.3% ''3,323''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[2012 United States presidential election|2012]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''86.0%''' ''43,515''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|10.8% ''5,476''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''87.8%''' ''40,876''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|10.1% ''4,697''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''84.8%''' ''35,886''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|12.6% ''5,338''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[2000 United States presidential election|2000]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''72.1%''' ''28,846''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|12.9% ''5,166''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1996 United States presidential election|1996]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''78.9%''' ''30,043''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|13.1% ''4,990''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1992 United States presidential election|1992]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''74.7%''' ''30,737''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|14.2% ''5,847''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1988 United States presidential election|1988]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''77.0%''' ''32,027''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|21.1% ''8,770''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1984 United States presidential election|1984]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''76.2%''' ''32,582''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|23.4% ''10,007''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1980 United States presidential election|1980]]
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''60.8%''' ''24,337''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|19.9% ''7,952''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/123544/filter_by_county:Middlesex|title=PD43+ » 1976 President General Election Statewide (showing only Middlesex County)|website=PD43+|access-date=March 6, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519052150/https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/123544/filter_by_county:Middlesex|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''68.7%''' ''29,052''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|24.6% ''10,424''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1972 United States presidential election|1972]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/116994/filter_by_county:Middlesex|title=PD43+ » 1972 President General Election Statewide (showing only Middlesex County)|website=PD43+|access-date=March 24, 2020|archive-date=March 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324055907/https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/116994/filter_by_county:Middlesex|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''74.0%''' ''30,486''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|25.4% ''10,464''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1968 United States presidential election|1968]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/electionstatisti19671968mass/page/274/mode/2up] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''76.8%''' ''29,386''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|17.9% ''6,840''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1964 United States presidential election|1964]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/electionstatisti1964mass|title=Election statistics, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|date=December 30, 1964|publisher=[Boston] : The Office|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''83.6%''' ''36,009''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|13.4% ''5,764''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1960 United States presidential election|1960]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/electionstatisti19591960mass/page/344/mode/2up] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''70.3%''' ''34,029''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|28.3% ''13,691''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1956 United States presidential election|1956]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/electionstatisti1956mass|title=Election statistics, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|date=December 30, 1956|publisher=[Boston] : The Office|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''49.7%''' ''25,240''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|48.3% ''24,538''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1952 United States presidential election|1952]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/electionstatisti1952mass|title=Election statistics, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|date=December 30, 1952|publisher=[Boston] : The Office|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''56.2%''' ''31,668''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|41.8% ''23,526''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1948 United States presidential election|1948]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/electionstatisti19461948mass/page/296/mode/2up] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''62.6%''' ''33,501''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|32.1% ''17,149''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1944 United States presidential election|1944]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/electionstatisti19431945mass/page/256/mode/2up] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''58.4%''' ''27,629''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|36.2% ''17,149''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1940 United States presidential election|1940]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/electionstatisti19401941mass/page/274/mode/2up] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''58.8%''' ''30,412''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|38.6% ''19,967''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1936 United States presidential election|1936]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/electionstatisti19351936mass/page/340/mode/2up] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''55.9%''' ''25,917''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|33.4% ''15,495''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1932 United States presidential election|1932]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/electionstatisti19311932mass/page/252/mode/2up] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''60.9%''' ''24,585''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|35.0% ''14,121''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1928 United States presidential election|1928]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40703|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1929).|date=December 30, 1929|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40703|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727063718/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40703|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''60.9%''' ''25,794''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|37.0% ''15,662''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1924 United States presidential election|1924]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40701|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1925).|date=December 30, 1925|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40701|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727070433/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40701|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|37.2% ''11,321''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''49.5%''' ''15,048''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1920 United States presidential election|1920]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40699|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1921).|date=December 30, 1921|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40699|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519002635/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40699|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|38.6% ''10,808''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''58.2%''' ''16,289''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1916 United States presidential election|1916]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40695|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1917).|date=December 30, 1917|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40695|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519023528/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40695|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''55.6%''' ''7,999''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|42.8% ''6,149''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1912 United States presidential election|1912]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40691|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1913).|date=December 30, 1913|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40691|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727092619/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40691|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''48.7%''' ''6,665''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|24.5% ''3,360''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1908 United States presidential election|1908]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40687|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1909).|date=December 30, 1909|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40687|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519063903/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40687|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|43.5% ''5,562''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''51.6%''' ''6,595''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1904 United States presidential election|1904]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40683|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1905).|date=December 30, 1905|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40683|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519085154/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40683|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''48.7%''' ''6,769''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|48.3% ''6,706''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1900 United States presidential election|1900]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40679|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1901).|date=December 30, 1901|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40679|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519115809/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40679|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|46.2% ''5,249''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''50.3%''' ''5,717''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1896 United States presidential election|1896]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40675|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1897).|date=December 30, 1897|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40675|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519044218/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40675|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|25.6% ''2,868''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''64.8%''' ''7,247''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1892 United States presidential election|1892]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40671|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1893).|date=December 30, 1893|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40671|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519060752/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40671|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''53.6%''' ''5,996''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|44.2% ''4,945''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1888 United States presidential election|1888]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40667|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1889).|date=December 30, 1889|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40667|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519044205/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40667|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''51.4%''' ''4,832''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|46.1% ''4,330''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|[[1884 United States presidential election|1884]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40663|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1885).|date=December 30, 1885|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40663|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519072452/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40663|url-status=live |last1=Court. |first1=Massachusetts. General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|'''47.8%''' ''4,040''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|40.6% ''3,430''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1880 United States presidential election|1880]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40659|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1881).|date=December 30, 1881|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40659|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519072507/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40659|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|43.5% ''3,293''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''55.9%''' ''4,227''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1876 United States presidential election|1876]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40655|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1877).|date=December 30, 1877|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40655|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519002844/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40655|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|49.1% ''3,531''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''50.9%''' ''3,654''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1872 United States presidential election|1872]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40651|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1873).|date=December 30, 1873|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40651|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519074943/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40651|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|34.8% ''1,753''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''65.2%''' ''3,289''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1868 United States presidential election|1868]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40647|title=A manual for the use of the General Court (1869).|date=December 30, 1869|via=archives.lib.state.ma.us|hdl=2452/40647|hdl-access=free|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519023431/https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/40647|url-status=live |last1=Court |first1=Massachusetts General }}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|39.2% ''1,982''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''60.8%''' ''3,079''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1864 United States presidential election|1864]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=53827954&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjUzMTc5MzAxMywiaWF0IjoxNjI2NDE5MDY3LCJleHAiOjE2MjY1MDU0Njd9.Os-HIsoGX4v8qoLkSjdSlWSX15gD71tjeorbb7taYGQ|title=10 Nov 1864, 2 - The Berkshire County Eagle at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 21, 2021|archive-date=July 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185219/http://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=53827954&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjUzMTc5MzAxMywiaWF0IjoxNjI2NDE5MDY3LCJleHAiOjE2MjY1MDU0Njd9.Os-HIsoGX4v8qoLkSjdSlWSX15gD71tjeorbb7taYGQ|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|38.0% ''1,693''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''62.0%''' ''2,760''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|[[1860 United States presidential election|1860]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-nov-07-1860-p-2/|title=Boston Post Newspaper Archives, Nov 7, 1860, p. 2|date=November 7, 1860|website=NewspaperArchive.com|access-date=July 16, 2021|archive-date=July 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716074104/https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-nov-07-1860-p-2/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|24.6% ''888''
| style="background:#fff3f3;"|'''50.0%''' ''1,805''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|}
===City government ===
{{anchor|govt}}
[[File:CambridgeMACityHall1.jpg|thumb|[[City Hall (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Cambridge City Hall]] in the 1980s]]
Cambridge has a city government led by a [[List of mayors of Cambridge, Massachusetts|mayor]] and a nine-member city council. There is also a six-member school committee that functions alongside the superintendent of public schools. The councilors and school committee members are elected every two years using [[Single transferable vote|proportional representation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/electioncommission/cambridgemunicipalelections |title=Cambridge Municipal Elections |publisher=City of Cambridge |access-date=September 19, 2017 |archive-date=September 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920044049/http://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/electioncommission/cambridgemunicipalelections |url-status=live }}</ref>
The mayor is elected by the city councilors from among themselves and serves as the chair of city council meetings. The mayor also sits on the school committee. The mayor is not the city's chief executive. Rather, the city manager, who is appointed by the city council, serves in that capacity.
Under the city's Plan E form of government, the city council does not have the power to appoint or remove city officials who are under the direction of the city manager. The city council and its members are also forbidden from giving orders to any subordinate of the city manager.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/planE.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://www.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/planE.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live |publisher=City of Cambridge |title=Plan E}}</ref>
Yi-An Huang is the City Manager as of September 6, 2022, succeeding Owen O'Riordan (now the Deputy City Manager) who briefly served as the Acting City Manager after Louis DePasquale resigned on July 5, 2022, after six years in office.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cambridgeday.com/2022/07/18/next-city-manager-transition-will-come-sept-6-huang-arriving-in-office-after-summer-of-prep/ | title=Next city manager transition is set for Sept. 6: Huang arriving in office after summer of prep | publisher=Cambridge Day | date=2022-07-08 | access-date=2022-07-24 | archive-date=July 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724103216/https://www.cambridgeday.com/2022/07/18/next-city-manager-transition-will-come-sept-6-huang-arriving-in-office-after-summer-of-prep/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! District
! Councillor
! In office since
|-
| At-large
| Burhan Azeem
| Jan. 2022
|-
| At-large
| [[Marc C. McGovern]]**
| Jan. 2014
|-
| At-large
| Patty Nolan
| Jan. 2020
|-
| At-large
| Joan Pickett
| Jan. 2024
|-
| At-large
| [[Sumbul Siddiqui]]**
| Jan. 2018
|-
| At-large
| [[E. Denise Simmons]]*
| Jan. 2002
|-
| At-large
| Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
| Jan. 2024
|-
| At-large
| Paul Toner
| Jan. 2022
|-
| At-large
| Ayesha Wilson
| Jan. 2024
|}
''* = current mayor''<br />
''** = former mayor''
On March 8, 2021, Cambridge City Council voted to recognize [[Polyamory|polyamorous]] domestic partnerships, becoming the second city in the United States following neighboring Somerville, which had done so in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-10|title=Cambridge Will Recognize Polyamorous Partnerships and Other Domestic Arrangements With More Than 2 Adults|url=https://reason.com/2021/03/10/cambridge-will-recognize-polyamorous-partnerships-and-other-domestic-arrangements-with-more-than-2-adults/|access-date=2021-07-12|website=Reason.com|language=en-US|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310210412/https://reason.com/2021/03/10/cambridge-will-recognize-polyamorous-partnerships-and-other-domestic-arrangements-with-more-than-2-adults/|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== County government ===
Cambridge was a [[county seat]] of [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]], along with Lowell, until the abolition of executive county government. Though the county government was abolished in 1997, the county still exists as a geographical and political region. The employees of Middlesex County courts, jails, registries, and other county agencies now work directly for the state. The county's registrars of [[Deed]]s and Probate remain in Cambridge, but the Superior Court and District Attorney have had their operations transferred to [[Woburn, Massachusetts|Woburn]]. Third District Court has shifted operations to [[Medford, Massachusetts|Medford]], and the county Sheriff's office awaits near-term relocation.<ref>(1) {{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/02/14/court_move_a_hassle_for_commuters/ |title=Court move a hassle for commuters |access-date=July 25, 2009 |first=Eric |last=Moskowitz |date=February 14, 2008 |work=[[Boston Globe]] |quote=In a little more than a month, Middlesex Superior Court will open in Woburn after nearly four decades at the Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse in Cambridge. With it, the court will bring the roughly 500 people who pass through its doors each day – the clerical staff, lawyers, judges, jurors, plaintiffs, defendants, and others who use or work in the system. |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604033229/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/02/14/court_move_a_hassle_for_commuters/ |url-status=live }}<br />(2) {{cite news |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/homepage/x135741754/Cambridges-Middlesex-Jail-courts-may-be-shuttered-for-good |title=Cambridge's Middlesex Jail, courts may be shuttered for good |access-date=July 25, 2009 |first=Charlie |last=Breitrose |date=July 7, 2009 |work=Wicked Local News: Cambridge |quote=The courts moved out of the building to allow workers to remove asbestos. Superior Court moved to Woburn in March 2008, and in February, the Third District Court moved to Medford. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513192408/http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/homepage/x135741754/Cambridges-Middlesex-Jail-courts-may-be-shuttered-for-good#axzz3b53SkwbD |archive-date=May 13, 2011 }}</ref>
== Education ==
[[File:MIT Main Campus Aerial.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of part of [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]'s main campus]]
[[File:Dunster House.jpg|thumb|[[Dunster House]], one of 12 undergraduate dormitories at [[Harvard University]]]]
=== Higher education ===
Cambridge is perhaps best known as an academic and intellectual center. Its colleges and universities include:
* [[Cambridge School of Culinary Arts]]
* [[Harvard University]]
* [[Hult International Business School]]
* [[Lesley University]]
* [[Longy School of Music of Bard College]]
* [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
At least 258 of the world's total 962 Nobel Prize winners have at some point in their careers been affiliated with universities in Cambridge.
[[Cambridge College]] is named for Cambridge and was based in Cambridge until 2017, when it consolidated to a new headquarters in neighboring Boston.
The [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], one of the nation's oldest [[learned society|learned societies]] founded in 1780, is based in Cambridge.
=== Primary and secondary public education ===
The city's schools constitute the [[Cambridge Public School District]]. Schools include:
* [[Amigos School]]
* Baldwin School (formerly the Agassiz School)
* Cambridgeport School
* Fletcher-Maynard Academy
* Graham and Parks Alternative School
* Haggerty School
* Kennedy-Longfellow School
* King Open School
* Martin Luther King Jr. School
* Morse School (a [[Core Knowledge Foundation|Core Knowledge]] school)
* Peabody School
* Tobin School (a [[Montessori school]])
Five upper schools offer grades 6–8 in some of the same buildings as the elementary schools:<ref name=SchoolList>{{cite web |title=Schools |url=http://www3.cpsd.us/Schools/Schools |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713224232/http://www3.cpsd.us/Schools/Schools |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 13, 2011 |access-date=January 6, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* Amigos School
* Cambridge Street Upper School
* Putnam Avenue Upper School
* Rindge Avenue Upper School
* Vassal Lane Upper School
Cambridge has three district public high school programs, including [[Cambridge Rindge and Latin School]] (CRLS).<ref name=SchoolsataGlance>{{cite web |title=Cambridge Public Schools at a Glance 2012–2013 |format=PDF |url=http://www3.cpsd.us/media/theme/Pro-Cambridge/network/10516/media/CPS%20Redesign/documents/Schools_at_a_glance_2012_13.pdf?rev=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502115441/http://www3.cpsd.us/media/theme/Pro-Cambridge/network/10516/media/CPS%20Redesign/documents/Schools_at_a_glance_2012_13.pdf?rev=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |access-date=January 6, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
Other public charter schools include [[Benjamin Banneker Charter School]], which serves grades K–6;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.banneker.org/ |title=The Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School |publisher=Banneker.org |date=March 1, 2012 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-date=October 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023231545/http://www.banneker.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Community Charter School of Cambridge]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccscambridge.org/ |title=Community Charter School of Cambridge |publisher=Ccscambridge.org |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-date=May 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501212035/http://www.ccscambridge.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in Kendall Square, which serves grades 7–12; and [[Prospect Hill Academy]], a [[charter school]] whose upper school is in Central Square though it is not a part of the Cambridge Public School District.
=== Primary and secondary private education ===
[[File:Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|The portion of [[Cambridge Public Library]] built in 1888]]
Cambridge also has several private schools, including:
<!-- please keep alphabetical -->
* [[Boston Archdiocesan Choir School]]
* [[Buckingham Browne & Nichols School]]
* [[Cambridge Montessori school]]
* Cambridge [[Religious Society of Friends|Friends]] School
* Fayerweather Street School<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fayerweather.org/|title=Prek to 8th grade in Cambridge MA|website=www.fayerweather.org|access-date=December 30, 2020|archive-date=January 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116235036/https://www.fayerweather.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[International School of Boston]] (formerly École Bilingue)
* [[Matignon High School]]
* [[Shady Hill School]]
* St. Peter School
== Media ==
{{See also|Media in Boston}}
As part of the [[Boston metropolitan area|Metro Boston area]], the city's primary network-affiliated television stations are [[WBTS-CD]] ([[NBC]]), [[WBZ-TV]] ([[CBS]]), [[WCVB-TV]] ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]), and [[WFXT]] ([[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]). There are several additional local stations that are accessible over the air without the need of cable, etc. access. The city also is served by [[WGBH-TV]] and [[WGBX-TV]], which are [[PBS]] member stations, with WGBH being the flagship station of the statewide [[WGBH Educational Foundation]] network.  Several TV services provide different portions of Cambridge with [[Cable television|cable]], [[DSL]], [[Fiber-optic communication|fiber]] and [[satellite TV]] broadcasts and [[Internet]] including [[DirecTV|AT&T U-verse/DIRECTV]],<ref>{{cite web |title=AT&T Shop & support |url=https://www.att.com/ |website=att.com |publisher=AT&T Intellectual Property |access-date=March 24, 2024}}</ref> [[Comcast Xfinity|Comcast/Xfinity]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Xfinity Comcast Business |url=http://my.xfinity.com/|website=my.xfinity.com |publisher=Comcast Corporation |access-date=March 24, 2024}}</ref> and [[Dish Network|DISH Network.]].
=== Newspapers ===
Cambridge is served by a single online newspaper, Cambridge Day. The last physical newspaper in the city, ''[[Cambridge Chronicle]]'', ceased publication in 2022 and today only cross-posts regional stories from other Gannett properties.
=== Radio ===
Cambridge is home to the following radio stations, including both commercially licensed and student-run stations:
{| class=wikitable
|-
! [[Callsign]] !! Frequency !! City/town !! Licensee !! Format
|-
| [[WHRB]] || align=right | 95.3 FM || Cambridge (Harvard) || Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc. || [[Variety (US radio)|Musical variety]]
|-
| [[WJIB]] || align=right | 740 AM/101.3 FM || Cambridge || Bob Bittner Broadcasting || [[Adult standards]]/Pop
|-
| [[WMBR]] || align=right | 88.1 FM || Cambridge (MIT) || Technology Broadcasting Corporation || [[College radio]]
|}
=== Television and broadband ===
Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) has served the city since its inception in 1988. CCTV operates Cambridge's public access television facility and three television channels, 8, 9, and 96, on the XFinity cable system (Comcast). The city has invited tenders from other cable providers, but Comcast remains its only fixed television and broadband utility,<ref>(1) {{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil/cambridgecableinformation.aspx |title=Cable Television in the City of Cambridge |year=2013 |work=Cambridge Consumers' Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508210917/http://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil/cambridgecableinformation.aspx |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 3, 2013 |quote=Comcast is currently the only cable operator that has sought a license with Cambridge. The City of Cambridge has approached other operators, more than once, about seeking a license to operate a cable TV system in Cambridge, but they have informed us that Cambridge is not part of their business plan; however, City officials stand ready to negotiate with any willing operator. }}<br />(2) {{cite web |url=http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/government/oca-agencies/dtc-lp/competition-division/cable-tv-division/municipal-info/cable-television-licenses.html |title=Cable TV franchise agreements in Massachusetts |publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation (OCABR) |access-date=January 24, 2014 |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116070435/http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/government/oca-agencies/dtc-lp/competition-division/cable-tv-division/municipal-info/cable-television-licenses.html |url-status=live }}</ref> though services from American satellite TV providers are available. In October 2014, Cambridge City Manager Richard Rossi appointed a citizen Broadband Task Force to "examine options to increase competition, reduce pricing, and improve speed, reliability and customer service for both residents and businesses."<ref>{{cite web |title=Broadband Task Force – City Manager's Office – City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/cmanager/broadbandtaskforce |website=cambridgema.gov |access-date=October 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030041545/http://www.cambridgema.gov/cmanager/broadbandtaskforce |archive-date=October 30, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
== Infrastructure ==
{{further|List of tallest buildings in Cambridge, Massachusetts}}
===Utilities===
*Cable television service is provided by XFINITY (Comcast Communications).<ref name="MassUtilities">{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massgis-data-public-utility-service-providers |url-access= |title=MassUtilities |author=<!--Not stated--> |year=2022 |website=massgis.maps.arcgis.com |publisher=Government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts |agency=MassGIS (Bureau of Geographic Information) (MASSGIS) |access-date=May 5, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506041313/https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massgis-data-public-utility-service-providers |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |quote= }}</ref>
*Parts of Cambridge are served by a [[district heating]] systems loop for industrial organizations that also cover Boston.
*Electric service and natural gas are both provided by [[Eversource Energy]].<ref name="MassUtilities" />
*Landline telecommunications service are provided by Harvard University,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://huit.harvard.edu/home|title=Harvard University Information Technology|website=Huit.harvard.edu|access-date=October 19, 2022|archive-date=October 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019104428/https://huit.harvard.edu/home|url-status=live}}</ref> Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ist.mit.edu/|title=Information Systems & Technology|website=Ist.mit.edu|access-date=October 19, 2022|archive-date=October 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019091836/https://ist.mit.edu/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Verizon Communications. All phones in Cambridge are inter-connected to central office locations in the metropolitan area.
*The city maintains its own [[Public, educational, and government access]] (PEG) known as Cambridge Community Television (CCTV).
=== Water department ===
Cambridge obtains water from [[Hobbs Brook]] (in Lincoln and Waltham) and [[Stony Brook (Boston)|Stony Brook]] (Waltham and Weston), as well as an emergency connection to the [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us – Water – City of Cambridge, Massachusetts|url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/Water/aboutus|access-date=2020-10-27|website=www.cambridgema.gov|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030231921/https://www.cambridgema.gov/Water/aboutus|url-status=live}}</ref> The city owns over {{convert|1200|acres|0|abbr=on}} of land in other towns that includes these reservoirs and portions of their watershed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.cambridgema.gov/CWD/wat_lands.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040531100327/http://www.cambridgema.gov/CWD/wat_lands.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 31, 2004 |title=Cambridge Watershed Lands & Facilities |publisher=.cambridgema.gov |access-date=April 28, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Water from these reservoirs flows by gravity through an aqueduct to [[Fresh Pond (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|Fresh Pond]] in Cambridge. It is then treated in an adjacent plant and pumped uphill to an elevation of {{convert|176|ft|m}} [[above sea level]] at the Payson Park Reservoir (Belmont). The water is then redistributed downhill via gravity to individual users in the city.<ref>(1) {{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/CWD_March_2010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://www.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/CWD_March_2010.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live |title=Water supply system |access-date=April 28, 2012}}<br />(2) {{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/CWD/fpfaqs.cfm |title=Is Fresh Pond really used for drinking water? |publisher=Cambridge Water Department |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302040328/http://www2.cambridgema.gov/CWD/fpfaqs.cfm |archive-date=March 2, 2013}}</ref> A new water treatment plant opened in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/Water/wateroperationsdivision/watertreatment |title=Water Treatment |website=City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |access-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313124012/https://www.cambridgema.gov/Water/wateroperationsdivision/watertreatment |url-status=live }}</ref>
In October 2016, the city announced that, owing to drought conditions, they would begin buying water from the MWRA.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/10/17/cambridge-begin-buying-water-from-mwra/6RhEx8I8ggrrj54njzwteI/story.html |title=Cambridge to begin buying water from MWRA |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |access-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313125118/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/10/17/cambridge-begin-buying-water-from-mwra/6RhEx8I8ggrrj54njzwteI/story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 3, 2017, Cambridge announced that "As a result of continued rainfall each month since October 2016, we have been able to significantly reduce the need to use MWRA water. We have not purchased any MWRA water since December 12, 2016 and if 'average' rainfall continues this could continue for several months."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/~/link.aspx?_id=68DCA993566D4B90A695CB129313F620&_z=z |title=Cambridge Continues Temporary MWRA Water Usage – Water – City of Cambridge, Massachusetts |website=Cambridgema.gov |access-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313125530/http://www.cambridgema.gov/~/link.aspx?_id=68DCA993566D4B90A695CB129313F620&_z=z |archive-date=March 13, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
*Sewer service is available in Cambridge. The city is inter-connected with the [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority]] (MWRA)'s sewage network with [[Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant|sewage treatment plant]] in the Boston Harbor.
=== Transportation ===
{{See also|Boston transportation}}
==== Road ====
[[File:Harvard Square at Peabody Street and Mass Avenue.jpg|thumb|[[Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston)|Massachusetts Avenue]] in [[Harvard Square]]]]
Cambridge is served by several major roads, including [[Massachusetts Route 2|Route 2]], [[Massachusetts Route 16|Route 16]], and the [[Massachusetts Route 28|Route 28]]. The [[Massachusetts Turnpike]] does not pass through Cambridge but is accessible by an exit in nearby [[Allston, Massachusetts|Allston]]. Both [[U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts|U.S. Route 1]] and [[Interstate 93]] provide additional access at the eastern end of Cambridge via Leverett Circle in Boston. [[Massachusetts Route 2A|Route 2A]] runs the length of the city, chiefly along Massachusetts Avenue. The Charles River forms the southern border of Cambridge and is crossed by 11 bridges connecting Cambridge to Boston, eight of which are open to motorized road traffic, including the [[Longfellow Bridge]] and the [[Harvard Bridge]].
Cambridge has an irregular street network because many of the roads date from the colonial era. Contrary to popular belief, the road system did not evolve from longstanding cow-paths. Roads connected various village settlements with each other and nearby towns and were shaped by geographic features, most notably streams, hills, and swampy areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Matthew Reed |date=2018-03-06 |title=Are Boston's Streets Really Paved Over Cow Paths? |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2018/03/06/boston-streets-cow-paths/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=Boston Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Today, the major "squares" are typically connected by long, mostly straight roads, such as [[Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston)|Massachusetts Avenue]] between [[Harvard Square]] and [[Central Square, Cambridge|Central Square]] or Hampshire Street between [[Kendall Square]] and [[Inman Square]].
On October 25, 2022, Cambridge City Council voted 8–1 to eliminate [[Parking mandates|parking minimums]] from the city code, citing declining car ownership, with the aim of promoting housing construction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge Becomes First Massachusetts City to Fully Abolish Parking Minimums {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/10/25/cambridge-parking/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Dana |last=Gerber |date=October 26, 2022 |title=No more parking mandates at new buildings in Cambridge |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/25/business/no-more-parking-mandates-new-buildings-cambridge/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=BostonGlobe.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
==== Mass transit ====
[[File:MBTA Central Station Outbound Platform, August 2021.jpg|thumb|[[Central station (MBTA)|Central station]] on the [[Red Line (MBTA)|MBTA Red Line]] in Cambridge]]
Cambridge is served by the [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]], including [[Porter station]] on the regional [[MBTA Commuter Rail|Commuter Rail]], [[Lechmere station]] on the [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green Line]], and [[Alewife station|Alewife]], Porter, [[Harvard station|Harvard]], [[Central station (MBTA)|Central]], and [[Kendall/MIT (MBTA station)|Kendall Square/MIT]] stations on the [[Red Line (MBTA)|Red Line]]. Alewife station, the terminus of the Red Line, has a large multi-story parking garage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-alfcl |title= Alewife |publisher=MBTA |access-date=October 3, 2023 }}</ref>
The Harvard bus tunnel under [[Harvard Square]] connects to the Red Line underground. This tunnel was originally opened for streetcars in 1912 and served trackless trolleys, [[trolleybus]]es, and buses as the routes were converted; four lines of the [[Trolleybuses in Greater Boston|MBTA trolleybus system]] continued to use it until their conversion to diesel in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/03/11/cambridge-trackless-trolleys-to-retire-this-weekend-as-the-technology-nears-extinction|title=Cambridge trackless trolleys to retire this weekend as the technology nears extinction|date=March 11, 2022|website=Wgbh.org|access-date=October 19, 2022|archive-date=September 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922091206/https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/03/11/cambridge-trackless-trolleys-to-retire-this-weekend-as-the-technology-nears-extinction|url-status=live}}</ref> The tunnel was partially reconfigured when the Red Line was extended to Alewife in the early 1980s.
Both [[Union Square station (Somerville)|Union Square station]] in [[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]] on the [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green Line]] and [[Community College (MBTA station)|Community College station]] in [[Charlestown, Boston|Charlestown]] on the [[Orange Line (MBTA)|Orange Line]] are located just outside of Cambridge.
Besides the state-owned transit agency, the city is also served by the Charles River Transportation Management Agency (CRTMA) shuttles which are supported by some of the largest companies operating in the city, in addition to the municipal government itself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.charlesrivertma.org/members.htm |title=Charles River TMA Members |date=January 1, 2013 |work=CRTMA |access-date=January 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127055722/http://charlesrivertma.org/members.htm |archive-date=November 27, 2012}}</ref>
==== Cycling ====
Cambridge has several [[bike path]]s, including one along the [[Charles River]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/maps/bikepaths_dudley.gif |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041117145514/http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/maps/bikepaths_dudley.gif |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 17, 2004 |title=Dr. Paul Dudley White Bikepath |access-date=April 28, 2012}}</ref> and the [[Cambridge Linear Park|Linear Park]] connecting the [[Minuteman Bikeway]] at Alewife with the [[Somerville Community Path]]. A [[Watertown Branch Railroad|connection to Watertown]] opened in 2022. Bike parking is common and there are bike lanes on many streets, although concerns have been expressed regarding the suitability of many of the lanes. On several central [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] streets, bike lanes transfer onto the sidewalk. Cambridge bans cycling on certain sections of sidewalk where pedestrian traffic is heavy.<ref>(1) {{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/et/bike/bike_ban.html |title=Sidewalk Bicycling Banned Areas – Cambridge Massachusetts |publisher=City of Cambridge |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419060953/http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cdd/et/bike/bike_ban.html |archive-date=April 19, 2012}}<br />(2) {{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/et/bike/bike_reg.html |title=Traffic Regulations for Cyclists – Cambridge Massachusetts |publisher=City of Cambridge |date=May 1, 1997 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521205927/http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cdd/et/bike/bike_reg.html |archive-date=May 21, 2012}}</ref>
''[[Bicycling Magazine]]'' in 2006 rated [[Boston]] as one of the worst cities in the nation for bicycling,<ref>{{cite news |author=MacLaughlin, Nina |year=2006 |title=Boston Can Be Bike City...If You Fix These Five Big Problems |work=The Phoenix – Bicycle Bible 2006 |url=http://thephoenix.com/supplements/2006/bicyclebible/article.aspx?ID=Boston |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811055614/http://thephoenix.com/supplements/2006/bicyclebible/article.aspx?ID=Boston |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |df=mdy}}</ref> but it has given Cambridge honorable mention as one of the best<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-2-16-14593-9,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927023835/http://www.bicycling.com/article/1%2C6610%2Cs1-2-16-14593-9%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |title=Urban Treasures |last=Fiske |first=Brian |work=Bicycling Magazine |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and was called "Boston's great hope" by the magazine. Boston has since then followed the example of Cambridge and made considerable efforts to improve bicycling safety and convenience.<ref>(1) {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/us/09bike.html |title=Boston Tries to Shed Longtime Reputation as Cyclists' Minefield |access-date=August 16, 2009 |author=Katie Zezima |work=The New York Times |date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309215959/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/us/09bike.html |url-status=live }}<br />(2) {{cite web |url=http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-2-13-17078-1,00.html |title=A Future Best City: Boston |access-date=August 16, 2009 |publisher=Rodale Inc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211195827/http://www.bicycling.com/article/0%2C6610%2Cs1-2-13-17078-1%2C00.html |archive-date=February 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}<br />(3) {{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/13/boston_gear_up_for_influx_of_new_bicycle_riders/ |title=Boston gear up for influx of new bicycle riders |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=July 13, 2011 |access-date=July 15, 2011 |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203033712/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/13/boston_gear_up_for_influx_of_new_bicycle_riders/ |url-status=live }}<br />(4) {{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/15/make_boston_bicycle_free/ |title=Make Boston bicycle-free |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |author=McGrory Brian |date=July 15, 2011 |access-date=July 15, 2011 |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103183911/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/15/make_boston_bicycle_free/ |url-status=live }}<br />(5) {{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/11/bicycle.wars/index.html |title=Drivers, bicyclists clash on road sharing |access-date=July 15, 2011 |date=October 18, 2010 |archive-date=January 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106090439/http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/11/bicycle.wars/index.html |url-status=live }}<br />(6) {{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2009/07/29/hub_to_beckon_bikers_with_sharing_program |title=Hub's bike routes beckon, white knuckles and all |access-date=July 15, 2011 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |first=David |last=Filipov |date=July 29, 2009 |archive-date=January 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121014418/http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2009/07/29/hub_to_beckon_bikers_with_sharing_program/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==== Walking ====
[[File:Weeks Footbridge Cambridge, MA.jpg|thumb|[[John W. Weeks Bridge|Weeks Bridge]] provides a pedestrian-only connection between Boston's [[Allston-Brighton]] neighborhood and Cambridge over the [[Charles River]].]]
Walking is a popular activity in Cambridge. In 2000, among U.S. cities with more than 100,000 residents, Cambridge had the [[List of U.S. cities with most pedestrian commuters|highest percentage of commuters who walked to work]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bikesatwork.com/carfree/census-lookup.php?state_select=ALL_STATES&lower_pop=100000&upper_pop=99999999&sort_num=2&show_rows=25&first_row=0 |title=The Carfree Census Database: Result of search for communities in any state with population over 100,000, sorted in descending order by % Pedestrian Commuters |publisher=Bikesatwork.com |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-date=March 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303020523/http://www.bikesatwork.com/carfree/census-lookup.php?state_select=ALL_STATES&lower_pop=100000&upper_pop=99999999&sort_num=2&show_rows=25&first_row=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cambridge's major historic squares have changed into modern walking neighborhoods, including [[traffic calming]] features based on the needs of pedestrians rather than of motorists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Transportation/programs/currentprograms/pedestrianplan |title=City of Cambridge Pedestrian Plan |publisher=CambridgeMA.gov |access-date=January 22, 2017 |archive-date=January 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118234923/http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Transportation/programs/currentprograms/pedestrianplan |url-status=live }}</ref>
==== Intercity ====
The Boston intercity bus and train stations at [[South Station]] in Boston, and [[Logan International Airport]] in [[East Boston]], both of which are accessible by subway. The Fitchburg Line rail service from Porter Square connects to some western suburbs. Since October 2010, there has also been intercity bus service between [[Alewife (MBTA station)|Alewife Station]] (Cambridge) and New York City.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Sarah |url=http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/cambridge/2010/10/warren_mbta_welcome_world_wide.html |title=NYC-bound buses will roll from Newton, Cambridge |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=October 19, 2010 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215753/http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/cambridge/2010/10/warren_mbta_welcome_world_wide.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Police department ===
{{Main|Cambridge Police Department (Massachusetts)}}
In addition to the Cambridge Police Department, the city is patrolled by the Fifth (Brighton) Barracks of Troop H of the [[Massachusetts State Police]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsterminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Law+Enforcement+%26+Criminal+Justice&L2=Law+Enforcement&L3=State+Police+Troops&L4=Troop+H&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=msp_divisions_field_services_troops_troop_h_msp_field_troop_h_station_h5&csid=Eeops |title=Station H-5, SP Brighton |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204093603/http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsterminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Law+Enforcement+&+Criminal+Justice&L2=Law+Enforcement&L3=State+Police+Troops&L4=Troop+H&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=msp_divisions_field_services_troops_troop_h_msp_field_troop_h_station_h5&csid=Eeops |archive-date=December 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Owing, however, to proximity, the city also practices functional cooperation with the Fourth (Boston) Barracks of Troop H, as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsterminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Law+Enforcement+%26+Criminal+Justice&L2=Law+Enforcement&L3=State+Police+Troops&L4=Troop+H&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=msp_divisions_field_services_troops_troop_h_msp_field_troop_h_station_h4&csid=Eeops |title=Station H-4, SP Boston |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204093602/http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsterminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Law+Enforcement+&+Criminal+Justice&L2=Law+Enforcement&L3=State+Police+Troops&L4=Troop+H&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=msp_divisions_field_services_troops_troop_h_msp_field_troop_h_station_h4&csid=Eeops |archive-date=December 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The campuses of Harvard and MIT are patrolled by the [[Harvard University Police Department]] and [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Department|MIT Police Department]], respectively.
=== Fire department ===
[[File:Cambridge Engine 2 Ladder 3 firehouse jeh.jpg|thumb|Cambridge Fire Department's Engine 2, Paramedic Squad 2, Ladder 3 firehouse]]
The city of Cambridge is protected by the Cambridge Fire Department. Established in 1832, the CFD operates eight engine companies, four ladder companies, one rescue company, and three paramedic squad companies from eight fire stations located throughout the city. The Acting Chief is Thomas F. Cahill Jr.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgema.gov/cfd/aboutus.aspx |title=City of Cambridge Fire Department: About Us |publisher=cambridgema.gov |access-date=May 18, 2023 |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404230427/https://www.cambridgema.gov/cfd/aboutus.aspx }}</ref>
=== Emergency medical services (EMS) ===
The city of Cambridge receives [[emergency medical services]] from PRO EMS, a privately contracted ambulance service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://proems.com/|title=PRO EMS|website=Proems.com|access-date=April 14, 2021|archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417060355/https://proems.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Public library services ===
{{Main|Cambridge Public Library}}
Further educational services are provided at the Cambridge Public Library. The large modern main building was built in 2009, and connects to the restored 1888 Richardson Romanesque building. It was founded as the private Cambridge Athenaeum in 1849 and was acquired by the city in 1858, and became the Dana Library. The 1888 building was a donation of [[Frederick H. Rindge]].
== Sister cities and twin towns ==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the United States}}
Cambridge's [[Sister city|sister cities]] with active relationships are:<ref name="sister cities">{{cite web |url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/peacecommission/SisterCitiesSummary |title=Sister Cities Overview – City of Cambridge, MA |publisher=City of Cambridge |access-date=April 29, 2020 |archive-date=May 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519014648/https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/peacecommission/SisterCitiesSummary |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*{{flagicon|POR}} [[Coimbra]], Portugal (1982)
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Gaeta]], Italy (1982)
*{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Tsukuba, Ibaraki|Tsukuba]], Japan (1983)
*{{flagicon|SLV}} [[San José Las Flores, Chalatenango|San José Las Flores]], El Salvador (1987)
*{{flagicon|ARM}} [[Yerevan]], Armenia (1987)
*{{flagicon|IRL}} [[Galway]], Ireland (1997)
*{{flagicon|HTI}} [[Les Cayes]], Haiti (2014)
{{div col end}}
Cambridge has ten additional inactive sister city relationships:<ref name="sister cities"/>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*{{flagicon|IRL}} [[Dublin]], Ireland (1983)
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Ischia]], Italy (1984)
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Catania]], Italy (1987)
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Kraków]], Poland (1989)
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Florence]], Italy (1992)
*{{flagicon|DOM}} [[Santo Domingo Oeste]], Dominican Republic (2003)
*{{flagicon|UK}} [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]], England (2004)
*{{flagicon|KOR}} [[Yuseong District|Yuseong (Daejeon)]], Korea (2005)
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Haidian District|Haidian (Beijing)]], China (2005)
*{{flagicon|CUB}} [[Cienfuegos]], Cuba (2005)
{{div col end}}
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}
=== Sources ===
{{See also|Timeline of Cambridge, Massachusetts#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Cambridge, Massachusetts}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite EB9 |mode = cs2 |wstitle = Cambridge (3.) |volume = 4  |ref = {{harvid|''EB''|1878}} |page = 732 }}
* {{cite EB1911 |mode = cs2 |wstitle = Cambridge (Massachusetts) |volume = 5 |ref ={{harvid|''EB''|1911}} |pages = 95–96 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Drake |editor-first=Samuel Adams |title=History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts: Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County |volume=2 (L-W) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGolOAyd9RMC&pg=PA506 |year=1879 |publisher=Estes and Lauriat }}
** [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QGolOAyd9RMC Cambridge article] by Rev. Edward Abbott in Volume 1, pages 305–358.
* Eliot, Samuel Atkins. ''A History of Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1630–1913''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[The Cambridge Tribune]], 1913.
* {{cite journal |last=Hiestand |first=Emily |title=Watershed: An Excursion in Four Parts |journal=[[The Georgia Review]] |issue=Spring 1998 |pages=7–28 |location=[[Athens, Georgia]] |publisher=[[University of Georgia]]}}
* Paige, Lucius. ''History of Cambridge, Massachusettse: 1630–1877''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[The Riverside Press]], 1877.
* ''Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Mid Cambridge''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1967. {{ISBN|0-262-53012-0}}.
* ''Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Cambridgeport''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1971. {{ISBN|0-262-53013-9}}.
* ''Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Old Cambridge''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1973. {{ISBN|0-262-53014-7}}.
* ''Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Northwest Cambridge''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1977. {{ISBN|0-262-53032-5}}.
* ''Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: East Cambridge'' (revised edition). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge Historical Commission, 1988. {{ISBN|0-262-53078-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Sinclair |first=Jill |title=Fresh Pond: The History of a Cambridge Landscape |publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |date=April 2009 |isbn=978-0-262-19591-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Seaburg |first=Alan |title=Cambridge on the Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c7_oCS782-8C |publisher=Anne Miniver Press |location=[[Billerica, Massachusetts]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-9625794-9-3 |access-date=June 16, 2015 |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215200853/https://books.google.com/books?id=c7_oCS782-8C |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Cambridge (Massachusetts)}}
{{EB1911 poster|Cambridge (Massachusetts)|Cambridge, Massachusetts}}
* {{Official website|http://www.cambridgema.gov/}}
* {{Osmrelation-inline|1933745}}
* [https://www.theinnovationtrail.org/ The Innovation Trail] – History of invention in Cambridge and Boston
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