Over the past several years, History Cambridge has focused its research and programming on one of Cambridge’s thirteen neighborhoods. In 2023 we delved deeply into the history of the Cambridgeport neighborhood, followed by North Cambridge in 2024 and East Cambridge in 2025. As 2026 begins, we are moving to West Cambridge. We’ll view the neighborhood through a new, wider lens that incorporates the well-known elements of the area’s past while also bringing to light stories of people, places, and events that may be less widely recognized but have been crucial to the neighborhood’s growth and development.
As defined by the City of Cambridge’s Community Development Department, the neighborhood of West Cambridge is bounded on the west by Fresh Pond, on the north by Concord Avenue, on the south by the Charles River and the Mount Auburn and Cambridge Cemeteries, and on the east by John F. Kennedy Street. It is an economically diverse neighborhood, encompassing not only the multi-million-dollar mansions on Brattle Street, but also more modest single-family and multi-family homes and apartment buildings. Although the area just west of Harvard Square is arguably best known for its most famous residents, including William Brattle, Andrew Craigie, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, West Cambridge was also home to working-class laborers and immigrant communities, as well as the area known as Lewisville, where free Black Cantabrigians have lived, worked, and supported one another since the late eighteenth century.
2026 provides a particularly significant opportunity to focus on West Cambridge, as it marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Although Cambridge began its Revolutionary commemorations in 2025, with the commemoration of George Washington’s arrival in Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army in July of 1775, as well as the city’s role in the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill, Washington remained in residence in the city until April of 1776 and planned here for the operations surrounding the Siege of Boston and the evacuation of the British Army on March 17, 1776. In addition to Washington’s presence in Cambridge, the early months of the Revolution greatly affected Cantabrigians of all racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds, and bringing some of these lesser-known wartime experiences to light will be part of History Cambridge’s programming in 2026.
History Cambridge’s embrace of a neighborhood history center model over the past several years has provided many valuable insights into the city’s rich and varied experiences, and we look forward to continuing that process of discovery as we move into West Cambridge. The most important part of our neighborhood focus has been learning about and from the people and organizations in a particular neighborhood; History Cambridge is committed to approaching community collaborations with curiosity, a willingness to learn, and a commitment to amplifying the voices of those who are experts in their own Cambridge stories. We welcome ideas and insights from community members, and we invite you to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date with our programs and events. We look forward to learning from the West Cambridge community and exploring the many diverse experiences of the people who have called and continue to call West Cambridge home.
About History Cambridge
History Cambridge started in 1905 as the Cambridge Historical Society. Today we have a new name and a new mission. We engage with our city to explore how the past influences the present to shape a better future. We recognize that every person in our city knows something about Cambridge’s history, and their knowledge matters. We listen to our community and we live by the ideal that history belongs to everyone. Throughout 2025, we are focusing on the history of East Cambridge. Make history with us at historycambridge.org.
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