City of Cambridge Home | Cambridge Historical Commission | About the CHC
CHC's Frequently Asked Questions |
Here are the answers to the administrative and research questions that we are asked most
frequently:
Q:
Where is the Historical Commission's office located?
A: The CHC office is located on the second floor of the
Lombardi Building at 831 Massachusetts Avenue, next door to City Hall.
The front door of this two-story building is flanked by two large marble lions.
Many people remember this building as the Brusch Medical Center. All floors
of the building are accessible. The office phone number is 617/349-4683
and the TTY number is 617/349-6112 (for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, or
who have communication disabilities).
Click here for office and research hours.
Q:
Where can I download an application to make changes to a designated historic
property?
A: Follow this link to download an Application
for Certificate. Not sure if you need to apply? Check the list
of designated properties or call the Commission office to ask.
Q:
What's the difference between the Cambridge Historical Commission and the Cambridge
Historical Society?
A: The Historical Commission is a department of the city
government, and the Historical Society is a private membership organization
that operates a historic house museum on Brattle Street. The phone number
for the Historical Society is 617/547-4252. Or
go to the Historical Society's web site.
Q:
When was Cambridge founded?
A: The
short answer is that Cambridge was founded in 1630. Here are some other important dates in
Cambridge history:
December 21, 1630 - Site was chosen for the settlement.
(Area south of Harvard Square, near the river).
December 28, 1630 - The name "Newtowne" was
chosen for the settlement.
Spring of 1631 - The streets were laid out in a grid
pattern. The first settlers arrived.
May 2, 1638 - The name of the town was changed from
"Newtowne" to "Cambridge."
March 17, 1846 - Cambridge was incorporated as a city.
Q:
What is the derivation of the name Cambridge?
A: In 1638, the General Court and the town agreed to change
Newtowne's name to Cambridge. It is generally agreed that this decision was made because
many of the men who comprised the court had attended Cambridge University in England and
thought that it would be an appropriate name for a college town in New England. In
England, Cambridge was named after "the bridge over the River Cam." However, the
Charles River had already been named after King Charles I, and the colonists apparently
made no effort to rename the river too.
Q:
What's a person from Cambridge called, and how do you spell it?
A:
CANTABRIGIAN (That's right, there's no D in it.) Cantabrigia is the
Latin name for Cambridge.
Q:
Which is older: Cambridge or Harvard College?
A:
Cambridge. The town was founded in 1630, and the college was founded in 1636.
Q:
What is the oldest house in Cambridge?
A:
Two houses in Cambridge, the Cooper-Frost-Austin House (21 Linnaean Street)
and the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House (159 Brattle Street), were built in the late
seventeenth century, altered in the eighteenth century, and have been preserved
by historical organizations that make them available to the public for viewing.
A recent dendrochronology study conclusively demonstrated that the timbers used
to build the Cooper-Frost-Austin house were harvested in 1682. Construction
on the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House did not begin until after 1684/85. The houses
are named for the primary families that lived there. For more information on
the Cooper-Frost-Austin House, contact Historic New England
and for more information on the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, contact the Cambridge
Historical Society.
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| Cooper-Frost-Austin
House (21 Linnaean Street) CHC File Photo by Kenneth J. Connant, Jr. for the Cambridge Planning Board, September 1952 |
Hooper-Lee-Nichols
House (159 Brattle Street) Cambridge Historical Society Office/House Museum CHC File Photo, April 1979 |
Q:
What is Fort Washington, and where is it?
A:
Fort Washington is located at 101 Waverly Street, between Reardon Street and
Talbot Street (See
#22 on CDD parks map). The fort was built in 1775 by order of General
George Washington. Seen now as grassy embankments, the fort is the only
surviving physical remnant of the Revolutionary War in Cambridge. Several
small forts, including this three-gun battery, were built to prevent the movement
of British troops up the Charles River.
Q:
Did George Washington take command of the American Army under the Washington
Elm?
A:
This popular legend became part of American popular culture as early as the
1830s. The story was made famous during the centennial year of 1876, with
the publication of a fictitious "eye-witness" journal, The
Diary of Dorothy Dudley. The tree itself was indeed real and stood
in the middle of Garden Street at the intersection of Mason Street. In 1923,
the diseased and very fragile trunk was accidently pulled over by a city worker.
A plaque embedded in the street's pavement marks the original location of the
tree. Additionally, there is a marker on the Cambridge Common (See
#6 on parks map) commemorating the elm. Washington did take command of the
army in Cambridge on July 3, 1775, but there is no documentation to indicate
that the event took place under the elm tree. Washington established his
New England headquarters at the Vassal House on Brattle Street (now better known
as the Longfellow House), where he resided until April 1776. The myth
of Washington and the elm is still widely known today, and the image of the
tree remains a symbol of patriotism in Cambridge.
| Q: What are the symbols on the city seal? | |
|
|
A: The current city seal is a revision of the original seal, which was adopted in 1846. The seal contains an image of the Gothic Revival style building, Gore Hall, the former library building at Harvard College, and an image of the Washington Elm, the Cambridge tree made famous by the popular legend of George Washington taking command of the American Army under the tree during the Revolution. The Latin motto, which is often included around the city seal, reads: "Literis Antiquis Novis Institutis Decora." It can be translated as: "Distinguished for Classical Learning and New Institutions." Also written in Latin are the founding and chartering dates for the town and city, which are translated as: "Built in A.D. 1630. Chartered a city in A.D. 1846." The original seal of 1846 was designed by Edward Everett, the President of Harvard from 1846-1849. He also composed the Latin motto used on the seal. Everett served as a Congressman and U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Secretary of State, and ambassador to Great Britain. |
Q:
Do you have the original plans for my house?
A:
Probably not. Unfortunately, not many original house plans survive for
Cambridge homes. Any plans that were submitted to city offices between
1886 (when the first building permits were issued) and the mid-1920s have been
lost or destroyed. If you call our office, we will check to see if we
have plans in our files or if we know of any for your house. Even if we
do not have plans, we may have a measured drawing of the footprint of your house,
made between the 1870s and the 1930s, and we can help you find that.
Q:
I am interested in genealogy. Do you have records about members of my family
who once lived in Cambridge?
A: Although the emphasis of the CHC's archival collections is on the architecture
of the city, we do have several important resources to check if you are in town
doing family history research. Please note that we do not have genealogical
researchers available for hire. Please
follow this link for a list of resources and links for genealogical research.
Q: Where
is the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge and how do I find out who is buried
there?
A: The Old Burying Ground is located just outside of Harvard Square at
the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Garden Street, between First Parish
in Cambridge Church and Christ Church of Cambridge. At the Historical Commission
office/library we
have a copy of the publication, Epitaphs from the Old Burying Ground in
Cambridge (1845) by William T. Harris. (This
publication is also available online at Google Books). We also have an index
and maps of the burial plots that was compiled in 2000 by Richard B. Anderson,
Ed.D. from our files and map of the cemetery. These files have been scanned
and can be downloaded as four pdf files: Cover material
and notes; Base map and smaller sub-maps;
Name index; Sub-map
index. These are large files, especially the maps file. User feedback is
welcome.
Q:
Are there historic buildings that can be rented out for meetings or parties?
A:
Yes. The Massachusetts Historical Commission has a publication called "Historic
Places for Historic Parties." Call the State House Bookstore at (617) 727-2834
for a copy of the guide or check the MHC
website for more information. In Cambridge, you can check with
the Cambridge Historical Society about use of the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House at
159 Brattle Street, 617/547-4252.
Q:
Does a blue-oval historic marker indicate that a property is regulated by
the Historical Commission?
A:
No. Properties that are marked with blue-oval historic markers are not
necessarily protected by any design review or other regulation by the Historical
Commission. The marker program was started in 1976, and today there are
nearly one hundred of these "blue ovals" scattered throughout the
city, marking sites of historical importance. The sites were chosen, not for
the architectural significance of the existing structures, but for the sites'
relationship to important events or persons. The presence of a blue oval
historic marker does not mean that the structure
on the site is a designated property with regulatory protection from inappropriate
changes. For a list of properties that are regulated by the Cambridge
Historical Commission or one of the neighborhood conservation district commissions,
check the Designated Property List. You might
also be interested in reading the list of local landmarks, which
can be found at the end of the page that describes the landmark designation
process in Cambridge.
Q:
What advice can you give me about window repair and/or replacement?
A:
The CHC staff has recently printed an information guide about wood windows and
options for repair or replacement. Follow this
link to view the guidelines. If you own a designated property and would
like to make changes to your windows, please contact the staff about making
an application for a certificate.
Q:
What is the inscription over the front door of Cambridge City Hall and who
wrote it?
A:
The inscription reads as follows,
God
has given Commandments unto Men. From these
Commandments Men have framed Laws by which to be
governed. It is honorable and praiseworthy to faithfully serve the
people by helping to administer these Laws. If the Laws
are not enforced, the People are not well governed.
The passage was chosen and probably even written by the building's benefactor, Frederick Hastings Rindge.
Q:
For whom or what is my street named?
A:
The origin of many of Cambridge's Street names has been documented. Please
see our ongoing list here.
Refer also to our pages: Cambridge History City Hall History Historic Markers
