history Archives - Cambridge | Somerville Independent

Architects in 1907 planned to unite Cambridge and Boston governments on an artificial island in the Charles

by Kaliyah Macaraig September 29, 2026

St. Botolph’s Island was imagined as transforming the Charles River into the civic center of a shared metropolis and a major Boston-Cambridge-Somerville boulevard.

CULTURE

‘Looking Back at 20 Years of Honk!’ exhibit at Somerville City Hall celebrates the October music festival

by Marc Levy September 29, 2026

Before the music and marching starts for the Honk! festival running Oct. 9-11, Somerville City Hall opens a “Looking Back at 20 Years of Honk!” retrospective exhibit.

DID YOU KNOW

New School of Music’s 50th anniversary of offering music for all kicks off with a party on Sunday

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge September 21, 2026

There are 50 free, public events planned over the next year, starting with a party to bring together current and former students, faculty and supporters from over 50 years.

LET’S GET COFFEE

Follow your nose: Pavement Coffeehouse and its predecessors

by Corky White September 16, 2026

Memories of coffee in places sometimes layer over each other; there’s been a lot of movement and those of us who remember have followed the coffee aromas across town.

DID YOU KNOW

Fear and fellowship: Cambridge’s response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge September 14, 2026

Cantabrigians from all walks of life were struggling the morning of Sept. 12, 2001, but soon began to seek ways of uniting their diverse, multicultural city.

ART AND DESIGN

Cambridge’s artsy People’s Sculpture Race looks for its team, but Lowell’s Kinetic Sculpture Race runs on

by Marc Levy September 8, 2026

Lowell's fun race, which takes place again Sept. 19, was once matched by a version in Cambridge born out of artists with close connections with MIT.

DID YOU KNOW

Police raided the ironworks expecting ‘charred, grimy,’ degraded women, but this labor tale is more complicated

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge September 7, 2026

We mark Labor Day with the anniversary of an industrial raid that challenged notions of “suitable” work for women and the role of government in regulating working conditions.

DID YOU KNOW

For 50 years that home economics was treated as a science, Harvard Square hosted a center for housewives

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge August 31, 2026

The idea of “specialists” trained to view household challenges in the same way as larger economic, political and social problems was a hallmark of the 1920s.

DID YOU KNOW

‘Cambridge is a Tiny Cuba’: Harvard and the Cuban teachers’ expedition of 1900

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge August 24, 2026

Four ships landed on July 4, 1900, and more than 1,200 Cuban teachers came to Cambridge. One remarked that “Cambridge es Cuba chiquita” (“Cambridge is a tiny Cuba”).

DID YOU KNOW

For a summer staycation, Cantabrigians flocked to Mount Auburn Cemetery

by Beth Folsom of History Cambridge August 17, 2026

Most Cantabrigians couldn't afford summer travel – except to their beautiful cemetery, where the public did not always agree on appropriate etiquette.