Wellington-Harrington

Last updated
Roosevelt Towers Roosevelt Towers, Cambridge MA.jpg
Roosevelt Towers

Wellington-Harrington, also known as Area 3, is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overlapping with Inman Square and Kendall Square, it is bounded by Hampshire Street and Broadway on the southwest, the Grand Junction railroad tracks on the east, and the Somerville town line on the north.

Contents

Though primarily residential, the neighborhood includes commercial areas along Cambridge Street and in the One Kendall Square plaza in the southeast.

As of 1990, Wellington-Harrington had the highest population of immigrants of any neighborhood in Cambridge, with 40% of its residents born outside the United States, as compared to 20% in Cambridge as a whole. The neighborhood has a high population of linguistic minorities, and 40% of residents speak a language other than English at home. [1] In 2010, it had a population of 6,516 residents living in 2,996 households, making it the second-most densely populated neighborhood in Cambridge, after Mid-Cambridge. The median household income was $50,593. [2]

The name Wellington-Harrington likely derives from the names of two former schools in the area: Wellington Elementary School and Charles G. Harrington Elementary School.[ citation needed ]

History

Andrew Craigie invested heavily in land in the area, which led to the construction of the Craigie Bridge in 1809. The completion of the bridge prompted the construction of Cambridge Street to allow easy travel to Harvard Square. Hampshire Street, then the start of the Middlesex Turnpike, was completed around 1810. [3]

The James B. Barnes House, a Federal-style brick house built in 1824 for a glassmaker at the New England Glass Company, was originally in East Cambridge on Monsignor O'Brien Highway but was moved to 109 Hampshire Street in 1984.

Prior to the Civil War, residential growth was slow in Wellington-Harrington due to its relative isolation from Central Square. The construction of the Grand Junction Railroad, which was completed in 1856, promoted new industries in the area including soap-making, woodworking, food processing. This dramatically increased the neighborhood's population.

Many of the neighborhood's earliest residents were of Irish and Canadian ancestry. Immigrant groups included northern and eastern Europeans, especially from Sweden and Russia, and a large Portuguese population. The Portuguese influx began around 1900 but declined in the 1920s because of restrictive immigration laws. A spike in Portuguese population occurred after the Immigration Act of 1965, which eliminated quotas and allowed many new immigrants to join their families already living in the United States. [1]

During the 20th century, the residents of Wellington-Harrington resisted multiple urban development and renewal programs that would have dislocated many from their homes. [4] The Inner Belt Expressway would have divided the neighborhood along Elm Street but was never built because of backlash from various communities along its proposed route.

Notable residents

Wellington-Harrington was home to Lunsford Lane, a former slave and prominent abolitionist, who lived on Webster Avenue from 1848 to 1860.

John J. Fatal, an abolitionist, supporter of the Underground Railroad, and member of the Cambridge Common Council, moved to Cambridge in 1859. He lived on Lincoln Street in Wellington-Harrington at the time of his death in 1904. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridge, Massachusetts</span> City in Eastern Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Boston metropolitan area, at the 2020 U.S. Census the city's population was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. It is one of two de jure county seats of Middlesex County, although the county's executive government was abolished in 1997. Situated directly north of Boston, across the Charles River, it was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, once also an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders.

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

Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, with 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. Kendall Square has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", in reference to the high concentration of entrepreneurial start-ups and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South End, Boston</span> Neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts

The South End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is bordered by Back Bay, Chinatown, and Roxbury. It is distinguished from other neighborhoods by its Victorian style houses and the many parks in and around the area. The South End is the largest intact Victorian row house district in the country, as it is made up of over 300 acres. Eleven residential parks are contained within the South End. In 1973, the South End was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Much of the South End was originally marshlands in Boston's South Bay. After being filled in, construction of the neighborhood began in 1849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Square (Somerville)</span> Neighborhood in Somerville, Massachusetts

Union Square is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of Somerville, Massachusetts. It is centered on Union Square proper, which is located at the intersection of Washington Street, Webster Avenue, and Somerville Avenue.

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

Inman Square is a neighborhood and historic district in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge–Somerville border.

<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">Woodlawn Heights, Bronx</span> Neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City

Woodlawn Heights, also known as Woodlawn, is a predominantly Irish-American working class neighborhood at the very north end of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by McLean Avenue to the north, the Bronx River to the east, Woodlawn Cemetery to the south, and Van Cortlandt Park to the west. Woodlawn Heights remains one of the few areas in New York City that still has young Irish immigrants still arriving to the area en masse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allston</span> Neighborhood in Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is administered collectively with the adjacent neighborhood of Brighton. The two are often referred to together as "Allston–Brighton". Boston Police Department District D-14 covers the Allston-Brighton area and a Boston Fire Department Allston station is located in Union Square which houses Engine 41 and Ladder 14. Engine 41 is nicknamed "The Bull" to commemorate the historic stockyards of Allston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverdale, Chicago</span> Community area in Chicago

Riverdale is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois and is located on the city's far south side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Englewood, Chicago</span> Community area in Chicago

West Englewood, one of the 77 community areas, is on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois. At one time it was known as South Lynne. The boundaries of West Englewood are Garfield Blvd to the north, Racine Ave to the east, the CSX and Norfolk Southern RR tracks to the west, and the Belt Railway of Chicago to the south. Though it is a separate community area, much of the history and culture of the neighborhood is linked directly to the Englewood neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridgeport, Cambridge, Massachusetts</span>

Cambridgeport is one of the neighborhoods of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, the Charles River, the Grand Junction Railroad, and River Street. The neighborhood contains predominantly residential homes, many of the triple decker style common in New England. Central Square, at the northernmost part of Cambridgeport, is an active commercial district and transportation hub, and University Park is a collection of renovated or recently constructed office and apartment buildings. The neighborhood also includes Fort Washington Park, several MIT buildings, and Magazine Beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Cambridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts</span> Neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts

East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to in modern times as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Broadway and Main Street on the south, and the railroad tracks on the west. Most of the streets form a grid aligned with Cambridge Street, which was laid out to directly connect what is now the Charles River Dam Bridge with what in 1809 was the heart of Cambridge, Harvard Square. The northern part of the grid is a roughly six by eight block residential area. Cambridge Street itself is retail commercial, along with Monsignor O'Brien Highway, the Twin Cities Plaza strip mall, and the enclosed Cambridgeside Galleria. Lechmere Square is the transportation hub for the northern side. The southern half of the grid is largely office and laboratory space for hundreds of dot-com companies, research labs and startups associated with MIT, biotechnology firms including Genzyme, Biogen and Moderna, the Athenaeum Press Building, light industry, an NRG Energy power station, and various small businesses. This half of the neighborhood is generally identified with Kendall Square. Along the waterfront are several hotels and taller apartment buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Medford, Massachusetts</span> Neighborhood in Medford, Massachusetts

South Medford is the southern neighborhood of Medford, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West End, Boston</span> Neighborhood of Boston in Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

The West End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bounded generally by Cambridge Street to the south, the Charles River to the west and northwest, North Washington Street on the north and northeast, and New Sudbury Street on the east. Beacon Hill is to the south, North Point is across the Charles River to the north, Kendall Square is across the Charles River to the west, and the North End is to the east. A late 1950s urban renewal project razed a large Italian and Jewish enclave and displaced over 20,000 people in order to redevelop much of the West End and part of the neighboring Downtown neighborhood. After that, the original West End became increasingly non-residential, including part of Government Center as well as much of Massachusetts General Hospital and several high rise office buildings. More recently, however, new residential buildings and spaces, as well as new parks, have been appearing across the West End.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Port, Cambridge</span>

The Port, formerly Area 4, is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, roughly between Central Square, Inman Square, and MIT. It is bounded on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Prospect Street, on the north by Hampshire Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. Area 4 is a densely populated residential neighborhood with about 7,000 residents.

North Quincy is a neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts. It is separated from the city of Boston by the Neponset River, and borders the Quincy neighborhoods of Squantum, Montclair and Wollaston. It contains the smaller neighborhoods of Atlantic and Norfolk Downs, as well as much of Wollaston Beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Cambridge, Massachusetts</span>

North Cambridge, also known as "Area 11", is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts bounded by Porter Square and the Fitchburg Line railroad tracks on the south, the city of Somerville on the northeast, Alewife Brook and the town of Arlington on the northwest, and the town of Belmont on the west. In 2005 it had a population of 10,642 residents living in 4,699 households, and the average income was $44,784. In 2010, the racial demographics for the neighborhood were 57.6% White, 20% Black, 15.1% Asian/Pacific Islander, 7.3% Hispanic origin, 0.3% Native American, 2.4% other race.

Cambridge Highlands also known as "Area 12", is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts bounded by the railroad tracks on the north and east, the Belmont town line on the west, and Fresh Pond on the south. In 2005 it had a population of 673 residents living in 281 households, and the average household income was $56,500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sullivan Square</span>

Sullivan Square is a traffic circle located at the north end of the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after James Sullivan, an early 19th-century Governor of Massachusetts. Sullivan Square station on the MBTA Orange Line is located just west of the square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Hill, Boston</span> United States historic place

Fort Hill is a 0.4 square mile neighborhood and historic district of Roxbury, in Boston, Massachusetts. The approximate boundaries of Fort Hill are Malcolm X Boulevard on the north, Washington Street on the southeast, and Columbus Avenue on the southwest.

References

  1. 1 2 Cambridge Community Development Department. Wellington-Harrington Neighborhood Study. 1996.
  2. Cambridge Community Development Department. Wellington-Harrington Statistical Profile. 2013.
  3. Hastings, Lewis Morey. "The Streets of Cambridge — Some Accounts of Their Origin And History". Cambridge Historical Society, 1919. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  4. Cunningham, Bill. "Which People's Republic?". Cambridge Civic Journal, 1999.
  5. "John J. Fatal: Death of This Aged Colored Citizen at the Age of 88—Once a Member of Cambridge Common Council". Cambridge Chronicle. Cambridge, MA. March 26, 1904. Retrieved May 27, 2016.

Coordinates: 42°22′21″N71°5′31″W / 42.37250°N 71.09194°W / 42.37250; -71.09194