Carl Barron Plaza

Last updated
Carl Barron Plaza
Central Square from above.jpg
The plaza at Massachusetts and Western Avenues in Central Square, Cambridge, in 2008
Map of Boston and Cambridge.png
Red pog.svg
Location in Greater Boston
NamesakeCarl Barron
Type Plaza
Location Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates 42°21′55″N71°06′15″W / 42.36538°N 71.10404°W / 42.36538; -71.10404
Construction
InaugurationLate 1980s

Carl Barron Plaza is a plaza in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The space is named after Carl Barron, [1] who has been described as "a Central Square icon" and "a fixture in Cambridge". His office was located near the plaza. [2]

Contents

Description

The plaza is located at Massachusetts Avenue and Western Avenue in Central Square, Cambridge. [3] In 2019, Boston magazine's Megan Johnson described the plaza as "a place where transient folks often congregate", and noted the presence of a Cambridge Police Department (CPD) reporting station on site. [4] Ritsuko Taho's 1997 sculpture Multicultural Manifestoes "reveals the inner hopes of Cantabrigians of all ages and backgrounds". [5] [6] [7]

History

The space was dedicated during the late 1980s. [8] In 2014, Marc Levy of Cambridge Day wrote, "In an official December 2011 red ribbon report on the square, the plaza and the people most frequently found there were identified as making new residents 'uncomfortable'", despite the presence of benches and art welcoming visitors in various languages. [3] City Council supported a pilot program to bring performers and pushcarts to the plaza. The program received input from the Arts Council, Community Development Department, Department of Public Works, Inspectional Services Department, License Commission, and Police Department. [3]

In 2016, the AIDS Action Committee's Needle Exchange and Overdose Prevention Program hosted an Overdose Awareness Vigil at the plaza. [9]

The CPD reporting station opened in December 2018. [10] [11] In 2019, Boston magazine's Megan Johnson said of the station's opening, "It's a move applauded by those looking for more of a police presence, and derided by others who see it as just another way of pushing out the existing population that doesn't fit into the visions of high-end real estate developers." [12] The Central Square Business Association intends to renovate the space in 2020. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Public Library</span> Library in Massachusetts, US

The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth, meaning all adult residents of the state are entitled to borrowing and research privileges, and the library receives state funding. The Boston Public Library contains approximately 24 million items, making it the third-largest public library in the United States behind the federal Library of Congress and New York Public Library, which is also privately endowed. In 2014, the library held more than 10,000 programs, all free to the public, and lent 3.7 million materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendall Square</span> Neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The square itself at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. It also refers to the broad business district east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charles River, north of MIT and south of Binney Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government Center, Boston</span> Area in downtown Boston, Massachusetts

Government Center is an area in downtown Boston, centered on City Hall Plaza. Formerly the site of Scollay Square, it is now the location of Boston City Hall, courthouses, state and federal office buildings, and a major MBTA subway station, also called Government Center. Its development was controversial, as the project displaced thousands of residents and razed several hundred homes and businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Square, Cambridge</span> United States historic place

Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered on the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area. Harvard Square is to the northwest along Massachusetts Avenue, Inman Square is to the north along Prospect Street and Kendall Square is to the east along Main Street. The section of Central Square along Massachusetts Avenue between Clinton Street and Main Street is designated the Central Square Historic District, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokyo University of the Arts</span> Art university in Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo University of the Arts or Tokyogeidai (東京芸大) is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter-media, sound, music composition, traditional instruments, art curation and global arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haymarket Square (Boston)</span> Historic name of a former town square in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Haymarket Square is the historic name of a former town square in Boston, located between the North End, Government Center, the Bulfinch Triangle, and the West End. The square was a well-known feature of Boston from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, when the buildings around it were demolished to make way for the Central Artery and Government Center. The Haymarket produce market continues to operate at a location near the historic site of the square. The Haymarket MBTA station extends under the former site of the square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island</span> Neighborhood of Providence in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States

Federal Hill is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island. It lies immediately west of the city's Downtown, across Interstate 95. Since the late 19th century, Federal Hill has been an enclave of Providence's Italian American community; today the neighborhood is known as Providence's Little Italy and is noted for its abundance of Italian restaurants, markets, and cultural establishments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SUNY Plaza</span> Historic commercial building in New York, United States

SUNY Plaza, or the H. Carl McCall SUNY Building, formerly the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company Building, is a public office building located at 353 Broadway at the intersection with State Street in downtown Albany, New York, United States. Locally the building is sometimes referred to as "The Castle" or "D&H Plaza"; prior to the construction of the nearby Empire State Plaza it was simply "The Plaza". The central tower of the building is thirteen stories high and is capped by an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) working weathervane that is a replica of Henry Hudson's Half Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Substation</span> United States historic place

The Plaza Substation was an electrical substation that formed a part of the "Yellow Car" streetcar system operated by the Los Angeles Railway from the early 1900s until 1963. After being threatened with demolition in the 1970s, the Plaza Substation was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Municipal Court</span> Trial court in Massachusetts, United States

The Boston Municipal Court (BMC), officially the Boston Municipal Court Department of the Trial Court, is a department of the Trial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The court hears criminal, civil, mental health, restraining orders, and other types of cases. The court also has an appellate division which reviews questions of law that arise from civil matters filed in the eight divisions of the department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston City Hall Plaza</span>

City Hall Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts, is a large, open, public space in the Government Center area of the city. The architectural firm Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles designed the plaza in 1962 to accompany Boston's new City Hall building. The multi-level, irregularly shaped plaza consists of red brick and concrete. The Government Center MBTA station is located beneath the plaza; its entrance is at the southwest corner of the plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ball Square station</span> Light rail station in Massachusetts, US

Ball Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Ball Square in Somerville and Medford, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rindge Towers</span>

Rindge Towers is an affordable housing development in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Completed in 1970, the three 22-story towers make up a 777-unit apartment complex located in close proximity to the Alewife MBTA station at the terminus of the Red Line. The towers are named for Frederick H. Rindge, the philanthropist who funded construction of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Cambridge City Hall, and the Cambridge Public Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Public Market</span>

The Boston Public Market is an indoor public market that opened in July 2015 in downtown Boston, adjacent to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The market houses more than 28 year-round vendor stalls, and is open seven days a week. Vendors for the indoor market are selected by the operator, the non-profit Boston Public Market Association, and must sell food and other products that are produced or originate in New England, as well as a limited amount of certain produce that is not able to grow in New England. The market was the first in the United States with an all-local-food requirement. The association operates a second seasonal outdoor farmers' market in Dewey Square, near the southern end of the Greenway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haymarket (Boston)</span> Open-air market in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Haymarket in Boston is an open-air market on Blackstone, Hanover, and North Streets, next to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway between the North End and Government Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Plaza (San Francisco)</span> Plaza in San Franciscos Civic Center

United Nations Plaza is a 2.6-acre (1.1 ha) plaza located on the former alignments of Fulton and Leavenworth Streets—in the block bounded by Market, Hyde, McAllister, and 7th Street—in the Civic Center of San Francisco, California. It is located 14 mi (0.40 km) east of City Hall and is connected to it by the Fulton Mall and Civic Center Plaza. Public transit access is provided by the BART and Muni Metro stops at the Civic Center/UN Plaza station, which has a station entrance within the plaza itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie T. Johnson</span> Former Superintendent of Chicago Police Department

Eddie T. Johnson is an American retired police officer for the Chicago Police Department. He served as the 62nd Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from March 2016 until December 2019.

This is a list of George Floyd protests in Arizona, United States. Protests occurred in at least nineteen communities in the state, with protests continuing for five weeks in Phoenix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Massachusetts</span> 2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd

This is a list of George Floyd protests in Massachusetts, United States. Protests and demonstrations occurred in at least 33 cities and towns throughout the state, and as of June 10, 2020 protests had occurred every day since May 28 in Boston.

References

  1. "Carl Barron, 97, furniture leasing pioneer, philanthropist". The Boston Globe. March 3, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  2. Baldassari, Erin (February 26, 2014). "Remembering Carl Barron, a Central Square icon". WickedLocal.com. GateHouse Media . Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Blight of Central Square's Barron Plaza will drag down pushcart test, some fear". Cambridge Day. 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  4. Johnson, Megan (2019-01-08). "Neighborhood Guide: So You Want to Live in Central Square". Boston . Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  5. "Multicultural Manifestoes: Ritsuko Taho". CultureNOW. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  6. "Dreams of Central Square: Prof. Ritsuko Taho Creates "Multicultural Manifestoes"". The Tech . Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 116 (21). April 26, 1996. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  7. "Public Art ACTS 2006". Cambridge Arts Council. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  8. "Cambridge Confronts a Plaza That's Just Not Doing It for People". Curbed Boston . Vox Media. 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  9. Handy, Natalie (August 2, 2016). "'Another chance at life:' Cambridge vigil highlights the hundreds of lives saved with Narcan". The Patriot Ledger . Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  10. Saltzman, Amy. "Cambridge police return to Central Square with opening of substation". WickedLocal.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  11. Saccone, Mike (26 July 2018). "Cambridge Police opening substation in Central Square". WFXT . Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  12. Johnson, Megan (January 8, 2019). "So You Want to Live in Central Square". Boston . Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  13. "Amazon is prepping Central Square space on plaza for merchandise pickup location". Cambridge Day. 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2020-01-19.