 Cambridge is a Massachusetts city facing Boston across the Charles River and is home to two famous academic institutions Harvard University and MIT.
With a population of over 100,000 people, Cambridge is a city in its own right rather than a borough of neighbouring Boston . Cambridge was named after the famous university town in England and is home to two of the world’s most prestigious universities: Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
John Winthrop and the original Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony established Cambridge in 1630. It was then called Newtowne and was situated at what is now Harvard Square, across the Charles River from Boston. In 1636 Harvard College was established and two years later Newtowne changed its name to Cambridge, reflecting its status as a centre for learning in the new colony. Even at the time of the American Revolution, most residents of Cambridge were descendants of the Puritan colonists, with the exception of a small British Elite living in mansions along today’s Brattle Street on what was known as Tory Row. Throughout the 18th century Cambridge continued to grow and by 1920 was one of the main industrial cities of New England. As industry declined following WWII, Cambridge shifted to an intellectual rather than industrial centre with Harvard and MIT (which moved form Boston in 1912) at the forefront.
Residents of Cambridge (or Cantabrigians) are known for their diversity and liberal ideals. Indeed Cambridge is often referred to by conservatives as ‘the People’s Republic of Cambridge’, or ‘Boston’s Left Bank’ while they also call Harvard ‘the Kremlin on the Charles’!
Less derisively Cambridge is known as the City of Squares, after the number of squares within the city, such as Harvard Square, Central Square and Kendall Square. Harvard Square, situated outside the gates of Harvard Yard, is renowned for its checkers playing academic types, colourful buskers, the Out of Town News Kiosk and the stone sculpture Omphalos representing Harvard as the naval of the universe. Cambridge Common is another popular local landmark and was where George Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 4 1775. Three British cannons stand close to a bronze statue of Washington to commemorate this event.
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