Misplaced Pages

#637362

27-461: East Cambridge was originally an island at high tide, surrounded by marshland. The Millers River , called Willis Creek in colonial times, passed just to the north. The shoreline is shown as Lechmere's Point on Revolutionary War maps, and was the landing point for British troops en route to the Battles of Lexington and Concord . The investors who constructed Craigie's Bridge encouraged the creation of

54-576: A mix of Polish and Italians along with professionals who work in Boston and Kendall Square. It is predominantly a middle-class neighborhood, with over 96% of residents working in white collar industries. Per American Community Survey, in 2019 East Cambridge had a population of 12,254 residents living in 5,816 households. The average household income was $ 140,245. 64% of them were United States born citizens, while 12.64% were citizens from abroad. 23.25% of residents were not United States citizens. Since 2005,

81-491: A stairway to the Longfellow Bridge, requiring a longer path of travel than by following the original seawall. The high-rise Middlesex Jail was constructed in 1971 on top of the former Cambridge Superior Courthouse. The 1978 East Cambridge Riverfront Plan resulted in the redirection of traffic to Commercial Street, improving a narrower strip of parkland along Cambridge Parkway for recreational use. A widened Binney Street,

108-420: A steam-powered monorail, ran as a demonstration project in the late 1800s. "East Cambridge Begins at The Tracks", a controversial slogan in the early 20th century, challenged neighborhood honor between the residents of East Cambridge and Wellington-Harrington . Considerable landfill expanded the street grid to nearly its modern configuration by the 1920s, connecting with the surrounding neighborhoods but leaving

135-737: Is a neighborhood within the East Cambridge section of Cambridge, Massachusetts . A former railroad yard , the site was originally built by the Boston and Maine Railroad . It is triangular in shape and bound by the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line , the Charles River and associated dam with the Lechmere Viaduct , the former Lechmere wetlands, and Millers River remnant that once divided Cambridge and Charlestown , along with

162-717: Is currently the site of most of large scale developments in Cambridge, including North Point , which plans over a dozen residential towers. In 2011, several new restaurants opened in the Kendall Square area. The relocation of Lechmere station was made part of a land swap arrangement to be paid for by the NorthPoint developers, but later became part of the Green Line Extension . The new station opened on March 21, 2022. There are predominantly Irish and Portuguese natives, with

189-427: The Charles River , providing water transport to commercial and industrial sites along its shores beginning in the early colonial period. It was previously called Willis Creek and is labeled as such on the 1777 Pelham Map, among others. In the late 19th century, Millers River was used as a dumping place for wastes from abattoirs and slaughterhouses. The stench and health problems related to this use resulted in some of

216-478: The Interstate 93 Northern Expressway viaduct to the northeast. After development continued in the area surrounding, it was decided to turn portions of the now-unused rail yard area into a large development, containing commercial, retail and residential development, along with a relocated Lechmere Green Line transit station. The area was master planned and partially constructed under the name NorthPoint, from which

243-627: The Lechmere Canal and part of the Broad Canal . The Miller's River has since been completely filled, except for a small remnant under the I-93 Charlestown interchange. From 1895 to 1940, there was a wide public park between Commercial Street and the Charles River. Designed by Charles Eliot , it was called The Front; part of it was sold for private development in 1950. Another riverside park

270-792: The Middlesex County courthouse designed by Charles Bulfinch ; industries like soap, furniture, and the Boston Porcelain and Glass Company; merchants; lawyers; and residences from factory worker cottages to the upscale "Quality Row" and "Millionaire's Row". Freight service between neighboring Charlestown and Lowell opened on the Middlesex Canal around 1802, while the Middlesex Turnpike connected Broadway with points north around 1810. The Boston and Lowell Railroad began parallel freight service in 1835. The Fitchburg Railroad opened on

297-673: The Orange Line ), adjacent to Kendall Square , one MBTA stop away from North Station . Lechmere opened on March 21, 2022 as part of the Green Line Extension project. Completed as of January 2022 are two original North Point buildings containing condominiums, one life science building, one retail and office building, and a central retail building along with acres of green space. In progress as of January 2022 are four life science buildings and one residential building. Phase 2 includes additional life science, residential and retail buildings along with new streets being constructed. The final plans for

SECTION 10

#1732851080638

324-400: The "daylighting" (opening up) of portions of the now-filled Miller's River. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is developing management plans to enhance and protect the ecological environment of Millers River and the lower Charles River Basin, and to support and encourage passive and active recreational use. NorthPoint (Cambridge, Massachusetts) North Point

351-593: The Charles River a new park landscape (completed 2012) provides pedestrian and bicycle access into a previously inaccessible part of industrial Boston. Visitors traveling from the West from North Point Park Cambridge, cross over Millers River on the North Bank Pedestrian Bridge, funded through the Obama Administration's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Designed for both bicycles and pedestrians,

378-569: The Charles River and Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown , Massachusetts. A linear public art project, Millers River Littoral Way, presents a series of artworks, graphics, lighting, stainless steel bench sculptures, and etchings of historic pre-landfill harbor depths. In addition, the Potato Shed Memorial, marks the site of potato sheds that once existed in the area. This series of artworks provide placemaking waypoints for pedestrians traversing

405-729: The Lost Half Mile, guides pedestrians out from under the highway structures into Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. Several now-buried sections of the Millers River watershed have been identified by the Charles River Watershed Association and others as locations to develop in order to improve local water quality and increase natural rainwater storage. Options to achieve this include opening culverted drainage, providing surface water recharge infiltration swales, and exploring

432-695: The average household income has risen and real estate values have increased significantly. The boom in Kendall Square area has brought a lot of development and modernization to the area. Dorothea Lynde Dix became an advocate for the humane treatment of the insane during the Antebellum era , during which time she volunteered as a Sunday school teacher in East Cambridge. 42°22′00″N 71°04′48″W  /  42.36667°N 71.08000°W  / 42.36667; -71.08000 Millers River (Middlesex) Millers River (frequently written as Miller's River )

459-556: The bridge's sinusoidal shape curves over MBTA railway tracks, and threads between railroad Control Tower A and the Route 1 North highway loop ramp. The bridge terminates on the East side of Millers River under the viaducts and structure of the Zakim Bridge and into a rugged landscape built from reclaimed granite seawall blocks, designed by CRJA-IBI Group. A light-based public artwork, 5 Beacons for

486-679: The first public health based anti-pollution environmental laws in Massachusetts and provided precedent for early environmental protection laws throughout the United States. As a result of these issues Chapter 91 of the Massachusetts General Laws was established in 1866 to regulate uses of tidal waterways and is a powerful tool to protect the public welfare in relationship to filled and flowing tidelands today. The inaccessible and degraded industrial landscape around Millers River and along

513-431: The grid (which originally only extended to Charles and Sixth). By 1844, the island was connected to destinations on the mainland via a small number of roads: Harvard via Cambridge Street, what is now Kendall Square via Third Street (then Court Street), and two roads to Charlestown/Medford (Gore and Monsignor O'Brien Highway – formerly Bridge Street; this was before Somerville split from Charlestown). The area became host to

540-449: The grid of structural piers that support Interstate Highway 93 above. The public art concept plan, and artwork along the access walkway and Littoral Way, were created by artist Ross Miller . The mouth of Millers River, closed off by railroad tracks and wharves since the 1830s, was opened to the Charles River as a part of Central Artery construction. Where Millers River meets the North bank of

567-778: The lower Charles River basin became known during the late 19th century and 20th century as "the Lost Half-Mile". There is a small surviving section of Millers River along, and under, the North section of the I-93 Highway Charles River Crossing development. This several hundred yard-long section of river became the source of many contentious environmental issues during planning for the Big Dig highway project. The Charles River Watershed Association and The Conservation Law Foundation led efforts to protect Millers River and open it for public access. Permit requirements prevented

SECTION 20

#1732851080638

594-465: The neighborhood received its name. After development stalled, a different developer, DivcoWest, took over the remainder of the site and named it Cambridge Crossing . A new master plan envisioned a center for innovation and collaboration with a central retail hub surrounded by acres of open space. North Point is positioned between two MBTA stations ( Lechmere on the Green Line and Community College on

621-562: The north side of the neighborhood in 1843, while the Grand Junction Railroad (later Boston and Albany Railroad ) was constructed on the west side in 1847. A B&A rail yard north of Binney and Portland fed freight tracks which ran down neighborhood streets (some of which can still be seen) to industrial customers from Rogers and Potter Streets. (The curve of the yard can still be seen on an industrial building on Fulkerson Street, formerly Ninth.) The quirky Meigs Elevated Railway ,

648-454: The remaining section of the river from being filled, and Chapter 91 permits mandated pedestrian access to the previously inaccessible section of the Northern bank of the Charles River. A pedestrian walkway with playfully designed light poles, interpretive historical panels, and bordered by re-introduced native wetland vegetation, allows access along the remaining section of Millers River between

675-572: The riverside apartment buildings, the CambridgeSide Galleria, and the re-landscaping of the remaining Lechmere Canal with access to The Front were also enabled by this plan. The plan envisioned relocating Lechmere Station to the north side of Monsignor O'Brien Highway with a pedestrian overpass. Since the late 1990s, East Cambridge and its neighbor Lechmere Square have undergone a gentrification process, as old factories have been converted into condominiums and office space. The neighborhood

702-586: Was a river in Middlesex County, Massachusetts . It has since mostly been obscured by landfill and "made land" (land created by filling of waterways). The small remaining estuary is a remnant of wetlands and open water that once divided Cambridge from Charlestown, Massachusetts . The exact historical course of parts the river is somewhat uncertain, and thus parts of the Charlestown-Cambridge and Somerville-Cambridge borders may have changed due to incorrect historical reconstruction. Millers River flowed into

729-626: Was eliminated by the Museum of Science , which opened on the Charles River Dam Bridge in 1951. Around 1956–57, additional ramps, referred to as the Cambridge Viaduct, were installed to double the capacity of Memorial Drive under the Longfellow Bridge. The ramps split the road into two carriageways, westbound using the original First Street underpass, and eastbound using the new viaduct. The new configuration prevents safe pedestrian access to

#637362