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89-731: Revson was born in Somerville, Massachusetts after his family immigrated from Canada to the United States. He was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire . His father, Samuel Revson, was born in Lithuania and of Lithuanian-Jewish heritage; his mother, Jeanette Weiss Revson, in Austria-Hungary and of German-Jewish background. His parents emigrated to Boston in the late 19th century where they had eight other children. Jeanette died young of pneumonia in

178-617: A Tony Award . Wright first earned acclaim earning the Obie Award for Best Playwright for his darkly satirical play Quills (1995), about the final days of the French sadist and author Marquis de Sade . He later adapted it into the 2000 film of the same name , earning a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay . He went on to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and

267-466: A Formula One racecar driver and son of his brother Martin, died in 1974. Peter's younger brother Doug died before him in a racecar accident in Denmark in 1967. Peter was engaged to 1973 Miss World , Marjorie Wallace 14 days before his fatal accident in practice for the 1974 South African Grand Prix. Revson was a frequent customer of master tailor William Fioravanti at 45 West 57th Street, ordering around

356-556: A cigar roller in Manchester, not far from where the Revsons lived in the Squog Area , a German-American neighborhood that was part of Manchester's "West Side". Revson moved to Boston after graduating from Manchester High School West . When Elka, the cosmetics company he worked for, did not promote him to the position of national distributor, Revson decided to go into business for himself. In

445-638: A dozen suits a year; Revson later invested in the business. Revson died on August 24, 1975, at his home in Premium Point, New Rochelle , New York. In 1956, Revson established the Charles H. Revson Foundation , which he funded with over $ 10 million during his lifetime. The foundation funded schools, hospitals, and service organizations serving the Jewish community, mostly located in New York. Upon his death, Revson endowed

534-524: A force of roughly 260 British regulars from the 4th Regiment , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Maddison, were rowed in secrecy up the Mystic River from Boston to a landing point near Winter Hill. From there they marched about one mile (1.5 kilometers) to the Powder House, and after sunrise removed all of the gunpowder. Most of the regulars then returned to Boston the way they had come, but

623-458: A hold in the area after the railroads first arrived in the 1830s, Somerville's brickyards boomed through 1870. Meatpacking soon displaced brickmaking as the primary industry in the city, dubbed "The Chicago of New England". Additionally, Somerville's location adjacent to Boston and proximity to rail and road transportation made it an ideal location for distribution facilities. It was in this period that Irish immigrants moved to Somerville to work in

712-582: A major industrial center as automobile assembly surpassed meat packing as Somerville's most important industry. By 1930, 70% of Somerville residents had either been born outside of the United States or had parents who were. The population was then estimated to be 60% Catholic. Although Union Square and Davis Square continued to be the largest commercial areas during the first decades of the 20th century, smaller, less-developed squares grew as well. Ball Square , Magoun Square and Teele Square were developed with one- or two-story masonry commercial buildings, and

801-556: A number of squares that are centers for business and entertainment, as well as a number of other neighborhoods: Somerville has experienced dramatic growth since the Red Line of Boston's MBTA subway system was extended through Somerville in 1985, especially in the area between Harvard and Tufts. This was especially accelerated by the dot-com bubble of the late 90s, rising incomes, and concomitant rises in demand for urban housing. This growth did not, however, translate into an increase in

890-473: A petition was presented to the Legislature asking that a part of Charlestown be set off as a separate town, to be known as Warren. This petition was subsequently withdrawn. The desire for a separate township continued to spread, and by 1841, becoming impatient at the neglect of the government to adequately provide for their needs, the inhabitants again agitated a division of the town, and a meeting in reference to

979-470: A precursor to the United States Navy . The " Ten Hills " neighborhood, located in the northeastern part of the city, has retained the name for over 300 years. New research has found that less than a decade after John Winthrop moved to the farm in 1631, there were enslaved Native American prisoners of war on the property. Each successive owner of Ten Hills Farm would depend upon slavery's profits until

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1068-499: A scouting party of 100 Puritans from the settlement of Salem to prepare the site for the Great Migration of Puritans from England . Graves was attracted to the narrow Mishawum Peninsula between the Charles and Mystic rivers, linked to the mainland at the present-day Sullivan Square . The area of earliest settlement was based at City Square on the peninsula, though the territory of Charlestown officially included all of what

1157-580: A small contingent marched on to Cambridge , seizing two field pieces from the Cambridge Common . The field pieces and powder were then taken from Boston to the British stronghold on Castle Island , then known as Castle William (renamed Fort Independence in 1779). In response to the raid, amid rumors that blood had been shed, alarm spread through the countryside as far as Connecticut and beyond, and American Patriots sprang into action, fearing that war

1246-539: A township in 1842 the area was primarily populated by British farmers and brick makers who sold their wares in the markets of Boston, Cambridge and Charlestown. As the markets grew, the population of Somerville increased six-fold between the years of 1842 and 1870 to 14,685. With the sharp influx of immigrants to the Somerville area, industry boomed and brick manufacturing became the predominant trade. Before mechanical presses were invented, Somerville produced 1.3 million bricks

1335-571: A turning point in the events leading up to war. First built by settlers for use as a windmill in the early 1700s, the Old Powder House was sold to the colonial government of Massachusetts for use as a gunpowder magazine in 1747. Located at the intersection of Broadway and College Avenue in present-day Powder House Square , the Old Powder House held the largest supply of gunpowder in all of Massachusetts. General Thomas Gage , who had become

1424-436: A year. Thereafter, production increased rapidly to 5.5 million bricks a year, and the success of the brickyards began to attract numerous other industries. In 1851, American Tubes Works opened, followed by meat processing and packaging plants. Other Somerville factories came to produce steam engines, boilers, household appliances, glass, and iron. Shortly thereafter Somerville incorporated as a city in 1872. The population growth

1513-564: Is any record was John Woolrich, an Indian trader who came from the Charlestown Peninsula in 1630, and settled near what is now Dane Street. Others soon followed Woolrich, locating in the vicinity of present-day Union Square . In 1639 colonists officially acquired the land in what is now Somerville from the Squaw Sachem of Mistick . The population continued to slowly increase, and by 1775 there were about 500 inhabitants scattered across

1602-691: Is at its best when centered on the Marquis". For his work Wright received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay as well as the Writers Guild of America 's Paul Selvin Award . Wright's I Am My Own Wife was produced Off-Broadway by Playwrights Horizons in 2003. It transferred to Broadway where it won the Tony Award for Best Play , as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama . The subject of this one-person play, which starred Jefferson Mays ,

1691-403: Is known for. By mid-century, powerful social and economic forces precipitated a period of industrial and population decline that lasted into the 1980s. The postwar period was characterized by the ascent of the private automobile, which carried significant implications for Somerville. Streetcar lines that had crisscrossed the city since 1890 were systematically ripped out and commuter rail service

1780-527: Is now Somerville, as well as Medford , Everett , Malden , Stoneham , Melrose , Woburn , Burlington , and parts of Arlington and Cambridge . From that time until 1842, the area of present-day Somerville was referred to as "beyond the Neck" in reference to the thin spit of land, the Charlestown Neck , that connected it to the Charlestown Peninsula. The first European settler in Somerville of whom there

1869-509: Is the German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf . With his play I Am My Own Wife , Wright tied in with the film I Am My Own Woman by avant-garde director Rosa von Praunheim (1992). Wright returned to Broadway in 2006, writing the book for Grey Gardens , starring Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson . The musical is based on the Maysles brothers ' 1975 film documentary of

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1958-711: The Fells Connector Parkways , originally conceived in the 1890s as a means for city residents to reach the metropolitan parks, evolved into congested commuter routes for suburban drivers. Highway projects were advanced in the wake of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 , in some instances displacing entire neighborhoods. The Brickbottom neighborhood was razed in 1950 to prepare for a proposed Inner Belt Expressway , and construction of Interstate 93 resulted in demolition of homes in The States neighborhood during

2047-594: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located and near Tufts University , which straddles the Somerville-Medford city line. The city is inhabited by blue collar Irish American , Italian American , Greek American , and Portuguese American families, who are spread throughout the city. In November 1997, the Utne Reader named Davis Square in Somerville one of the 15 hippest places to live in

2136-706: The Mystic River watershed as early as the beginning of the Archaic Period (8000–1000 BCE). At the time of English contact in the 1600s, the Somerville area was inhabited by the Mystic Tribe of the Naumkeag people , headed by the Squaw Sachem and her son Wonohaquaham . Though no archaeological sites within Somerville have been identified from this time period, an indigenous settlement near College Hill in Somerville can be inferred from contemporary written records. The Mystic River continued to be an important regional core for

2225-458: The North End through Charlestown towards East Somerville . In Revere's own written account of his ride, he mentions a specific location in Somerville (then part of Charlestown). The location was the site where the executed body of a local enslaved man known as " Mark ", owned by John Codman, was publicly gibbeted and displayed for several years after his execution. The location is probably near

2314-663: The Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop followed by a run at Washington, D.C. 's Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in 1995. The play recounts the imagined final days in the life of the Marquis de Sade . Quills garnered the 1995 Joseph Kesselring Prize for Best New American Play from the National Arts Club and, for Wright, a 1996 Village Voice Obie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting. In 2000, Wright wrote

2403-538: The Revlon Foundation in 1962. Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( / ˈ s ʌ m ər v ɪ l / SUM -ər-vil ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston , and north of Cambridge , in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. As of the 2020 United States Census , the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area of 4.12 square miles (10.7 km ),

2492-596: The Tony Award for Best Play for his debut Broadway play, I Am My Own Wife (2004). Wright earned a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical nomination for Grey Gardens (2006), based on the 1975 documentary of the same name . He continued writing for musical theatre, adapting the books for the Broadway musicals The Little Mermaid (2007), Hands on a Hard Body (2012), and War Paint (2017). He returned to plays, authoring Posterity (2015) for off-Broadway, and Good Night, Oscar (2023) for Broadway. He wrote

2581-618: The gentrification period the city went through in the 1990s, and an influx of artists to the area, this name has mostly faded from use and the city has instead gained a reputation for its active arts community and effective government, including being named the best-run city in Massachusetts in 2006. Nowadays lobbying by grassroots organizations is attempting to revive and preserve Somerville's "small-town" neighborhood environments by supporting local business, public transit and gardens. For some Somerville residents, some of these efforts, such as

2670-518: The seven hills of Rome ): These hills rise from the floodplain of the Mystic River, and generally run west to east, providing for beautiful vistas of Boston to the south and Medford/Everett to the north. Physical boundaries are also defined by prominent waterways: the Mystic River to the north, its tributary Alewife Brook to the west, and the Miller's River to the southeast. Land in early Somerville

2759-439: The 1780s, when Massachusetts abolished the practice. In a short time, the settlers began laying out roads in all directions in search of more land for planting and trade with various Native American tribes in the area. Laid out as early as the mid-1630s, the earliest highway in Somerville was probably what is now Washington Street, and led from present-day Sullivan Square to Harvard Square . In its earliest days, Washington Street

Charles Revson - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-532: The 1920s. Jeanette's parents, Saul J. and Mary Ella Greenberg Weiss, influenced many of their offspring to pursue success. Many of the Weiss family descendants exhibited qualities such as the perfectionism and aestheticism evident in Charles Revson's career. Revson, like many other Weiss family descendants, disassociated from most of the family of origin to create a fiercely autonomous identity. Revson's father worked as

2937-468: The 2022 Green Line extensions into Somerville, present a challenge for balancing accessibility of public transit and the need for affordable housing. According to the United States Census Bureau , Somerville has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km ), of which 4.1 square miles (11 km ) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ), or 2.61%, is water. Somerville is bordered by

3026-505: The American Revolution. Shortly after Paul Revere set out on his ride, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and 700 British Army regulars landed near Lechmere Square . As it was nearly high tide, East Cambridge was an island and the troops, skirting the marshes, were obliged to wade "thigh deep" to reach Somerville. They probably came through Prospect Street into Washington Street, and through Union Square. Defeated and in retreat,

3115-455: The British army passed again through Somerville en route back to Boston. Upon reaching Union Square, the British marched down Washington Street as far as the base of Prospect Hill, where a skirmish took place. The handful of rebellious locals, having heard of the storied battles at Lexington and Concord earlier that day, caught an exhausted retreating British contingent off guard. As the story goes, 65-year-old minuteman James Miller lost his life in

3204-482: The MBTA station, with connections to Cambridge and Boston. Retail vacancy rates around the square were close to zero as of 2013. The telecommunication and biotechnology booms of the mid-to-late 1990s significantly contributed to Somerville's revitalization. As with the housing boom a century earlier, the sudden increase in the number of jobs available in the cities of Somerville, Boston, and particularly Cambridge—as well as in

3293-458: The Millers River marsh was turned into railyards , slaughterhouses and other large-scale land uses. Somerville's commercial property is not concentrated in a recognized downtown central business district but instead is spread over many different nodes or corridors of business activity. The difference in character ranges from the vibrant nightlife, live music and theaters of Davis Square to

3382-615: The Naumkeag into the period of European colonization in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1627, Mystic sachem Wonohaquaham reportedly gave permission for English settlement at Charlestown, which then included present-day Somerville. In 1639, his mother the Squaw Sachem deeded the land that would become Somerville to English settlers. The territory now comprising the city of Somerville was first settled by Europeans in 1629 as part of Charlestown . In 1629, English surveyor Thomas Graves led

3471-507: The Revolutionary War over, the residents of Somerville were able once again to devote their energies wholeheartedly to the business of making a living. From the 1780s until Somerville's separation from Charlestown in 1842, material progress was continuous, if a bit slow. As transportation infrastructure gradually transformed the area, new industries sprang up, such as brickmaking, quarrying and dairy farming. Transportation improvements in

3560-515: The U.S. Somerville is home to a thriving arts community and boasts the second highest number of artists per capita in America. Doug Wright Douglas Wright (born December 20, 1962) is an American playwright , librettist , and screenwriter . Known for his extensive work in the American theatre in both plays and musicals, he has received numerous accolades including the Pulitzer Prize and

3649-481: The area declined from 68 in 1977 to 56 in 1987. However many non-retail uses, such as beauty salons and real estate offices, had already begun to fill the empty retail spaces. With the Boston area's emergence from its long recession, the area truly began to revive. Clearly, the community's vision of a rebirth of commercial and retail activity has, in the past few years, been fully realized. All benefit from their proximity to

Charles Revson - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-483: The area. Otherwise, the area was mostly used as grazing and farmland. It was once known as the "Stinted Pasture" or "Cow Commons", as early settlers of Charlestown had the right to pasture a certain number of cows in the area. John Winthrop , the first colonial governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony , was granted 600 acres (240 hectares) of land in the area in 1631. Named for the ten small knolls located on

3827-639: The book for the musical Hands on a Hardbody , with the score by Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio . The musical had a brief run on Broadway in March and April 2013 after premiering at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2012. As an ardent supporter for writers' rights in the theatre industry, he is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and was formerly the elected president of the non-profit organization, succeeded in 2021 by Amanda Green (the first woman to hold

3916-529: The brickyards and on the railroad. At the same time, older residents of East Boston and Charlestown moved to Somerville to seek a more bucolic setting than that of more densely populated areas. They also worked to maintain political control over immigrant groups, using slogans such as "Keep Somerville Republican" and establishing a local branch of the anti-Catholic American Protective Association . Between 1915 and 1930 population growth slowed slightly as Somerville's industries consolidated rather than expanded, and

4005-487: The cities of Cambridge , Medford , Everett , Arlington and the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown . It is located on the west bank of the Mystic River . Millennia ago, glaciation left a series of drumlins running west to east across the landscape of what would become Somerville. These ridges would later become known as the "Seven Hills" of Somerville (like many other cities claiming to be built on seven hills, following

4094-458: The city has a density of 19,671/sq mi (7,595/km ), making it the most densely populated municipality in New England and the 19th most densely populated incorporated municipality in the country . Somerville was established as a town in 1842, when it was separated from Charlestown . In 2006, the city was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe . In 1972, 2009, and 2015,

4183-421: The city of Somerville and its neighboring cities of Boston and Cambridge has created an underlying tension between residents that has persisted for multiple generations. Due to Somerville's proximity to various institutions of higher education , the city has a constant influx of college students and young professionals, who reside in sections near Cambridge where Harvard University , Lesley University , and

4272-404: The city over $ 1 million in annual taxes, were gone. By the late 1970s, Somerville was losing population, revenue and jobs. Somerville also has a history of racial tension. It only hired its first black police officer, a person named Francis Moore, in 1974. Moore subsequently won a suit charging that the police department was "blatantly discriminatory" against him, including an episode in which he

4361-626: The city received the All-America City Award . It is home to Tufts University , which has its campus along the Somerville and Medford border. Tufts, alongside Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , makes up one corner of the Brain Power Triangle, which thus includes the city of Somerville. The area that would become Somerville was inhabited for thousands of years prior to European colonization , with multiple archaeological sites indicating habitation in

4450-567: The city. Almost thirty years after passenger rail service to Somerville was halted, the Red Line Northwest Extension reached Davis Square in 1984. The city and community used the creation of the new station as a catalyst for revitalizing the faded square, promoting new commercial development and sponsoring other physical and infrastructural improvements. However, when the new transit station opened, business around Davis Square did not immediately thrive. The number of retail stores in

4539-460: The client," Carlin testified. "We were willing to please the client." Though they testified, neither Charles nor Martin Revson ever became the subjects of an official inquiry. The scandal effectively killed the quiz show phenomenon, but by that time, Revlon had vastly increased its market share and was established as an international behemoth in its niche. Charles Revson was married three times. His first

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4628-485: The duplication of the producers' and sponsors' dubious methods to ensure a large viewership. Steve Carlin, executive producer of Entertainment Productions, Inc., which produced The $ 64,000 Question and The $ 64,000 Challenge , was called to testify before Congress about the rigging of the TV quiz shows. He said that Revson demanded the shows be rigged to ensure high ratings. "There is a tradition in television...of trying to please

4717-521: The early to mid-1800s factored significantly in the growth of a more urban residential form and Somerville's incorporation as a City in 1872. These improvements included the opening of the Middlesex Canal through Somerville in 1803, various turnpikes such as Medford and Beacon streets, built during the 1810s and 1820s, and especially the introduction of rail lines. In 1841, the Fitchburg Railroad

4806-512: The first time. Despite the growth, however, discontent was growing steadily outside the "neck". The area's rural farmers paid taxes to the local government in Charlestown, but received little in return. By 1842, the area had no churches, few schools, no taverns, and suffered from poor and impassable roads. For many years after the Revolution the two parts of Charlestown styled "within" and "without

4895-521: The foundation with $ 68 million from his estate and granted the board of directors the discretion to chart the foundation's future course. In 1978, the foundation began a formal grantmaking process, and since that time, it has disbursed a total of $ 145 million in grants and its endowment has grown from $ 68 million to $ 141 million. Revson was a character in the Doug Wright - Scott Frankel - Michael Korie musical War Paint based on Lindy Woodhead's book of

4984-578: The harbor had tremendous strategic value and the fortress became known as the "Citadel". Originally occupied by just 400 men, Prospect Hill became a primary encampment for American forces after General Israel Putnam 's retreat from the Battle of Bunker Hill . It is believed that on January 1, 1776, the Grand Union Flag flew for the first time at the Citadel, the first official raising of an American flag. With

5073-445: The large scale retail and highway access of Assembly Square . This spatial allocation is directly related to the early influence of rail and streetcar systems which caused economic activity to occur at stops. The other key factor in the creation of commercial squares is the area's topography. The numerous hills making up Somerville's landscape determined where road networks would allow neighborhood commercial development. Somerville has

5162-595: The late 1960s. In 1970, the state authorized rent control in municipalities with more than 50,000 residents. Somerville, Lynn, Brookline, and Cambridge subsequently adopted rent control. Rent control was repealed statewide in 1994 via ballot initiative. At the time, only Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline had rent control measures in place. Industry slowly moved outward to the metropolitan fringes, encouraged by highway access and cheap, undeveloped land. The Ford Motor Plant in Assembly Square , which had been one of

5251-457: The matter was held November 22 in the Prospect Hill school house. A petition was accordingly drawn up and signed by Guy C. Hawkins and 151 others, and a committee deputed to further its passage through the legislature, then in session. A bill incorporating a new town was signed by the governor on March 3, 1842. The original choice for the city's new name, after breaking away from Charlestown,

5340-439: The mid-1870s meat packing plants were the primary employers and profit centers of the community. The Late Industrial Period (1870–1915) was a time of phenomenal growth for Somerville in all spheres including civic and commercial ventures. Infrastructure such as rail, water lines, telegraph and electricity were established and connected to surrounding towns. The population soared from 15,000 to 90,000. While brickmaking had taken

5429-484: The mid-1950s, Revlon sponsored the quiz show The $ 64,000 Question , which became a television phenomenon and boosted sales considerably. Revson and his brother Martin, second in charge at the company, allegedly demanded that the producers control the questions in order to keep popular contestants winning and maintain the program's high ratings. This sparked what later became known as the quiz show scandal , as The $ 64,000 Question , The Challenge and Twenty One led to

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5518-524: The military governor of Massachusetts in May 1774, was charged with enforcement of the highly unpopular Intolerable Acts , which British Parliament had passed in response to the Boston Tea Party . Seeking to prevent the outbreak of war, he believed that the best way to accomplish this was by secretly removing military stores from storehouses and arsenals in New England . Just after dawn on September 1, 1774,

5607-479: The neck" were nearly equal in population; the former had by this time completely outstripped the latter. With this growth of population and trade came the need of city institutions, and consequently greater expenses were involved. Therefore, the rural part of Charlestown found itself contributing to the paving of the streets, the maintenance of a night watch, to the building of engine houses, and various other improvements from which they derived little benefit. In 1828,

5696-494: The other communities immediately surrounding Somerville—led to a new surge in the demand for housing. Additionally, the end of rent control in Cambridge coincided with the economic recovery in 1995, increasing demand for Somerville's affordable housing options. The city also had a very high car theft rate, once being the car theft capital of the country, and its Assembly Square area was especially infamous for this. However, after

5785-564: The period's most important enterprises were meat packing, dairy processing, ice and food distribution. In 1920, 73% of meatpacking in Massachusetts occurred in Somerville. Construction of the McGrath Highway in 1925 marked the turning point of Somerville as an industrial city, which accelerated when the Ford Motor Company built a plant in Assembly Square in 1926. In the years that followed, Somerville would see itself transformed into

5874-404: The population of the city overall, as seen in the table. Tensions between long-time residents/families and recent arrivals exist (often referred to as “yuppies”), with many of the former accusing the latter of ignoring problems such as drugs and gang violence. Incidents such as anti-" yuppie " graffiti , appearing around town in 2005, highlighting this rift. The economic and cultural clash between

5963-621: The property, Ten Hills Farm extended from the Cradock Bridge in present-day Medford Square to Convent Hill in East Somerville . Winthrop lived, planted, and raised cattle on the farm. It is also where he launched the first ship in Massachusetts, the " Blessing of the Bay ". Built for trading purposes in the early 1630s, it was soon armed for use as a patrol boat for the New England coast. It is seen as

6052-411: The public green at Gilman Square was surrounded by multiple four-story commercial buildings. Retail development and banking facilities also spread. During this time of industrial prosperity, continuing through World War II, the city of Somerville reached its population apex at 105,883 residents in 1940. The building boom continued until the 1940s, creating the dense residential fabric the "city of homes"

6141-493: The raid on the Powder House, the colonists took action to conceal arms and munitions of war in Concord . When General Gage found out, he was resolved to take the powder by force if necessary. The Americans learned that the British intended to start for Concord on April 18, 1775, and couriers Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on their famous ride to warn the farmers and militiamen in between Boston and Concord, including Sam Adams and John Hancock . That night, he set out from

6230-439: The region's largest employers, closed its doors in 1958 with severe consequences for the local economy. From the late 1950s through the early 1970s, Finast Supermarkets used the building that had earlier housed the Ford assembly plant on Middlesex Avenue, but in 1976 it too closed its doors. By 1976, Assembly Square was becoming a ghost town: Finast Stores, the Boston and Maine Railroad , and Ford Motor Company, which had each paid

6319-418: The role in the Guild's history). Wright also serves on the board of New York Theatre Workshop . He serves on the boards of Yaddo and New York Theatre Workshop . He is a recipient of the William L. Bradley Fellowship at Yale University, the Charles MacArthur Fellowship at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, an HBO Fellowship in playwriting and the Alfred Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University . In 2010 he

6408-516: The same name and The Powder and the Glory documentary. Erik Liberman played Revson in both the Goodman Theatre and Broadway productions, as well as on the original cast recording, opposite Patti LuPone as Helena Rubinstein and Christine Ebersole as Elizabeth Arden . Designed by Philip Johnson Associates, Revson Fountain at Lincoln Center was dedicated on April 7, 1964, and was funded by

6497-671: The same title about Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ("Big Edie") and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale ("Little Edie"), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis 's aunt and cousin. For his work he received a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical nomination. He then adapted the Disney film The Little Mermaid for the Broadway musical , which opened in 2007. In 2009, he was commissioned by the La Jolla Playhouse to adapt and direct Creditors by August Strindberg . In another La Jolla commission, he wrote

6586-502: The screenplay for the film version of Quills which was directed by Philip Kaufman and starred Geoffrey Rush , Kate Winslet , Joaquin Phoenix , and Michael Caine . The production earned positive reviews with Variety film critic Todd McCarthy writing, "Kaufman‘s intelligently boisterous screen version of Doug Wright‘s successful play...maintains a sharp focus on the notorious writer’s compulsive creativity" adding, "Wright’s script

6675-623: The screenplay for the Amazon Prime legal drama film The Burial (2023). Wright was born in Dallas, Texas . He attended and graduated from Highland Park High School, a suburb of Dallas, Texas , where he excelled in the theater department and was President of the Thespian Club in 1981. He earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1985. He earned his Master of Fine Arts from New York University . Wright's play Quills premiered at

6764-480: The scuffle while standing his ground against the British. He was shot thirteen times after famously telling a retreating colleague, "I am too old to run." Somerville occupied a conspicuous position during the entire Siege of Boston , which lasted nine months, and Prospect Hill became the central position of the Continental Army's chain of emplacements north of Boston. Its height and commanding view of Boston and

6853-523: The settlement at Menotomy (present-day Arlington ). Initially bordered by farmsteads, Broadway would come into its own as a commercial thoroughfare after horse-drawn trolleys were introduced to the highway in 1858. Somerville was home to one of the first hostile acts of the American Revolutionary War . The removal of gunpowder by British soldiers from a powder magazine in 1774, and the massive popular reaction that ensued, are considered to be

6942-434: The site of the present day Holiday Inn on Washington Street. Revere wrote "nearly opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on Horse back, under a Tree", which he then realized were two British officers stationed on Washington Street. They immediately pursued him, and Revere galloped up Broadway towards Winter Hill and eventually eluded them. His warning gave the militia enough time to prepare for battle, and launch

7031-540: The upcoming courtroom drama The Burial (2023) directed by Maggie Betts starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones . Also in 2023, Doug wrote the play Good Night, Oscar a drama centered around pianist and actor Oscar Levant 's appearance on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar . The play starred Sean Hayes and premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago before making its transfer to Broadway . The production earned three Tony Award nominations for Best Actor in

7120-499: Was Walford, after the first settler of Charlestown, Thomas Walford. However, this name was not adopted by the separation committee. Charles Miller, a member of this committee, proposed the name "Somerville", which was ultimately chosen. It was not derived from any one person's name, and a report commissioned by the Somerville Historical Society found that Somerville was a "purely fanciful name". Before Somerville became

7209-613: Was at hand. Thousands of militiamen began streaming toward Boston and Cambridge , and mob action forced Loyalists and some government officials to flee to the protection of the British Army . This action provided a "dress rehearsal" for the Battles of Lexington and Concord seven months later in the famous "shot heard 'round the world", and inflamed already heated feelings on both sides, spurring actions by both British and American forces to remove powder and cannon to secure locations. After

7298-443: Was brief. His second was to Johanna C Ancky Johnson, producing sons John and Charles H. Revson, Jr., and an adopted daughter, Penelope. He had 5 grandchildren: Jill Revson, Jennifer Mitchell, Charles Mitchell, Charles H. Revson III and Alexander Revson. He married a third time to Lyn Revson (who in the 1980s was a subject of portraits by Andy Warhol ). He also had an affair with actress/singer Eartha Kitt . His nephew, Peter Revson ,

7387-461: Was built between Boston and Fresh Pond in Cambridge, paralleling the route of Somerville Avenue. This led to the establishment of industries along its path. Soon after, in 1843 the Fitchburg Railroad commenced passenger service and enabled residential development along the southern slopes of Prospect and Spring hills. By the early 1840s, the population of present-day Somerville topped 1,000 for

7476-589: Was discontinued at the city's eight railway stations, one by one. Passenger rail service along the Fitchburg and Lowell lines had been declining for some time, and stations such as the Winter Hill station at Gilman Square were removed as early as the late 1940s. Passenger rail service stopped altogether by 1958. The number of cars on Somerville's streets continued to rise, and road construction projects proliferated. The Alewife Brook Parkway , Mystic Valley Parkway and

7565-469: Was due in part to improvements in pre-existing transportation lines, as well as a new rail line, the Lexington and Arlington Railroad , introduced through Davis Square in 1870. At its height, Somerville was served by eight passenger rail stations. Somerville's buoyant economy during this period was tied to industries that tended to locate at the periphery of the residential core, near freight rail corridors. By

7654-461: Was known as the "Road to Newtowne" (renamed Cambridge in 1638). During the 1700s and early 1800s Somerville Avenue was "Milk Row," a route favored by Middlesex County dairy farmers as the best way to get to the markets of Charlestown and Boston. Laid out in 1636, Broadway was likely the second highway built in the area. Originally called "Menotomie's Road", it ran from the Charlestown Neck to

7743-794: Was named a United States Artists Fellow. He wrote the book for the musical, War Paint , about Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden . The music is by Scott Frankel and the lyrics by Michael Korie . War Paint premiered at the Goodman Theatre , Chicago, from June 28 to August 14, 2016, with stars Patti LuPone as Helena Rubinstein and Christine Ebersole as Elizabeth Arden. It ran on Broadway in 2017. The musical received four Tony Award nominations for Ebersole, LuPone, set design, and costume design. For television, Wright worked on four pilots for producer Norman Lear and teleplays for Hallmark Entertainment and HBO . In film, Wright’s credits include screenplays for Fine Line Features , Fox Searchlight , and DreamWorks SKG . He wrote screenplay for

7832-461: Was told to patrol the East Somerville neighborhood of Glen Park at night without his issued firearm , night stick, Mace, or communication devices. Moore's name had been written on a barrel in the neighborhood and used for target practice by local youth. In the last years of the 20th century, the situation in Somerville stabilized and growth returned—first to West Somerville, and then the rest of

7921-485: Was used primarily as grazing commons and small farms. After the proliferation of the railroads in the area during the mid-1800s, industrialization transformed the landscape. In the 1800s, the Millers River was used as a sewer and dumping ground for local industry and would be ordered filled by the Commonwealth before the end of the century, for health reasons. As a result of landfill and the elimination of former Cobble Hill,

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