Inman Square
|
|
Inman Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in East Cambridge; latitude 42.3737 N, longitude 71.1010 W.
| Contents |
Culture
Inman Square is a culturally diverse neighborhood, home to professionals and working people alike. Students and professors from neighboring MIT and Harvard find their home there as well.
Inman Square is also known as an area with a strong Brazilian and Portuguese influences, as can be seen in the storefronts lining Cambridge Street (even those whose owners, and theme, do not share those origins).
Inman Square has the distinction of being one of the few major commercial centers in Cambridge that does NOT sport at least one Starbuck's franchise. Home to 1369 Coffeehouse, the S&S Deli, Stellabella Toys, the Zeitgeist Gallery, and Ryles (a well-known jazz and blues club), it offers a refreshing mix of ethnic diversity and cultural events without the pretention and gentrification that mars other areas of Cambridge, such as Harvard Square and Central Square.
Shops
- Food
- Christina's Ice-Cream Shop
- Midwest Grill
- S&S Deli (http://www.sandsrestaurant.com/)
- Ryles (jazz & blues club, also serves food)
- 1369 Coffeehouse (http://www.1369coffeehouse.com/) (coffee shop, also serves food) (there is also one in Central Square)
- East Coast Grille (http://www.eastcoastgrill.net/)
- Argana (http://www.arganarestaurant.com/)
- City Girl Cafe
- Ole Mexican Grill (http://olegrillcambridge.citysearch.com/)
- Oleana (http://www.oleanarestaurant.com/)
- Sweet Chili (http://www.sweetchili.com/cambridge/main.htm)
- Rosie's Bakery (http://www.rosiesbakery.com)
- PUNJABI DHABA INDIAN CAFÉ (http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/harinder97/myhomepage/profile.html)
- Stores
- Christina's Spice Shop
- Stellabella Toys
- Absolutely Fabulous
- Buckaroo's Mercantile (1950s memorabilia and kitsch)
- Lorem Ipsum Books (http://www.loremipsumbooks.com/) - Useful Books Bought and Sold
- ImprovBoston (http://www.improvboston.com/php/index.php) Comedy Club
Location
Inman Square fails to refer to a simple intersection anymore. Current residents of the area seem to converge on a broad definition of Inman Square as a the region centered on the intersection of Cambridge and Hampshire streets that radiates out around 500 feet along Cambridge Street to Prospect and encompasses the business district and outlying houses.
Geologically, the area is part of the larger Boston Basin and attaches to the relative lowland known as the Cambridge plain. Originally, the land was both flat and surrounded by an irregular, swampy region that formed a natural boundary. Situated a short walk east of Harvard Square, north of Central Square, south of Union Square (Somerville), and west of Lechmere, Inman Square is fairly centralized within the Mid-Cambridge/Somerville scene.
History
Inman Square’s growth started in East Cambridge, starting at around 1790, when a group of financiers led by Andrew Craigie began buying up land around Lechmere Point, home to present day Galleria mall, in an effort to build a toll bridge over the Charles River. After Craigie’s bridge was built, he constructed roads from the Lechmere area that had been laid out with a gridwork of streets. One of these roads was the Middlesex Turnpike, the present-day Hampshire Street, which connected Cambridge with Lowell and Boston, bringing regional traffic through the area. Craigie also laid out Cambridge Street, which would intersect with Hampshire, producing Inman Square in 1809.
By the 1860s, horse carts were common in the area and contributed to dwellings popping up along their routes. By 1900, full streetcar service was in the area, led by the Charles River Street Railway, which built its first railway through Inman Square in 1881. By 1874 the region was an urban center called both “Atwood’s Corner” and “Inman Square.” This ambiguity was fixed a year later in a petition that would make official the Inman Square moniker.
After transportation brought people and commerce to the region, a new era of stability overtook Inman Square. From 1910 up until the early 1950s, streetcar, automobile, and foot traffic shuffled people to and from the square where architectural instead of transportation construction was taking place. During this period commercial dwellings popped up to service the local community— drugstores, taverns, markets, bakeries, delis, and an insurance company were among the many stores that called Inman Square home.
After the streetcars left Cambridge Street around 1950 the square became “just a little bit out of the way,” yet remained “around the corner from Harvard, Central, Kendall and Lechmere.”. Even though there is not direct rapid transit, three bus lines (69, 83, 91) stop in the square, making it accessible by mass transit. Post-streetcar visitors still regularly frequent the area’s restaurant and entertainment attractions.
Well known regionally, Legal Sea Foods restaurant started in Inman Square in 1950 as a fish market that also did a takeout business. In true self-helping Inman Square spirit, founder George Berkowitz “learned from his customers, they learned from him, and the fledgling business grew” to today’s 26 restaurants, including some in Kendall Square (Cambridge) and Copley Square (Boston), as well as in various suburbs and cities throughout the region. After the original Legal Sea Foods burnt in a fire it was rebuilt and became another regional culinary super-star, Rosie’s Bakery, which distributes its cakes and pies throughout Boston.
Inman Square is also home to the Center for New Words, originally the New Words Bookstore, one of the oldest and longest-running women's bookstores in the country. While no longer a retail shop, the Center for New Words continues to provide programs that support women's voices in the media and publishing.
External links
- Inman Square (http://www.inmansquare.com)
- 1369 Coffee Shop (http://www.1369coffeehouse.com)
- Center for New Words (http://www.centerfornewwords.org/)
- Lorem Ipsum Books (http://www.loremipsumbooks.com)