Third Annual Cambridgeport History Day

Click here for a PDF map of the Pop-Up Histories

Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011 (rain date, Sunday, Oct. 2)
What happened in your own backyard?

On Sunday, October 2, 2011, Cambridge celebrated Cambridgeport History Day, bringing people together and creating a sense of place and community through shared history and common stories. Dana Park, on Magazine Street, between Lawrence and McTernan streets, is the event’s hub.

Events 

• 10 am “If This House Could Talk…” booth opens in Dana Park, with sign lists, historical maps, and maps of the living history performance circuit.
  
  
• 12 noon Yankee Ingenuity and Romantic Visions on Magazine Street: Magazine Street extends from bustling Central Square to the powder magazine on the quiet river and, from the beginning, was intended as the area’s finest avenue. Yet this has never been an exclusive enclave, but is a well-travelled thoroughfare inhabited by all sorts of people – from dauntless New Englanders exemplifying “Yankee push and ingenuity,” to a Romantic artist and poet who was said to have “brought Italian sunshine into the gray little town.” This walking tour will be led by Kathleen (Kit) Rawlins, Cambridge Historical Commission. The tour will depart from Dana Park.
  
  
• 3:00 -3:30 pm Can you see that? A family oriented exploration around Dana Park: Why is it called Dana Park? What did that building used to be? What style is it? What used to be on that spot? Join this special treasure hunt in and around Dana Park, and see what you can discover! This tour will be led by Kathleen (Kit) Rawlins from the Cambridge Historical Commission.
  
  
• 2-5pm Fun at Dana Park for kids and adults featuring:  
  
  • Cambridge Historical Society — Mystery-history photo contest
    
  • Cambridge’s first Civil War volunteer company in the state — A fabulous display
    
  • Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association — display about the Powder House project at Magazine Beach
    
  • Riverside Boat Club — try out a rowing machine
    
  • Central Square Theater
    
  • Alyssa Pacy— From the Archives of the Cambridge Public Library
    
  • Vision Central Square
    
  • Cambridge Community Learning Center
    
  • Henrietta Davis’ Book Swap — Bring history books, cookbooks, gardening books to swap.
    
  • Community Development Department — Information about Housing and an arts and crafts activity for kids
    
  • Cambridge Arts Council with Sidewalk Sam
    
  • Boy Scout photography project
    
    
• 2-5pm Pop-Up Histories. Visit with five characters from history around the  neighborhood.
  • An 1890s reporter discusses the latest local scandal. Was it love gone wrong, or something more insidious?
  • An Irish rower in 1914 talks about the founding of the Riverside Boat Club.
  • Did you know Model T Fords were made in Cambridgeport? An assembly line worker in the 1920 plant speaks proudly as he buffs his own new Model T.
  • An angry 1960s community activist protests the proposed Inner Belt highway.
  • An 1880s neighbor of Alvan Clark shares stories about the world-famous telescope maker.
  Maps for the living history route can be found at the ITHCT booth.
  
  
• 5-7pm Potluck party at Dana Park with music by the Andy Baer Quartet, hosted by the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association 

Cambridgeport History Day is sponsored by the Cambridgeport History Project, co-chaired by Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis and Michael Kenney. Partners include the Cambridge Historical Society, Cambridge Historical Commission, Cambridge Arts Council, Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, Riverside Boat Club, CCTV, MIT, Central Square Business Association, and Underground Railway Theater in-residence at Central Square Theater. Events this year are funded in part by Cambridge Trust Company, Cambridge Savings Bank, Forest City, Riverside Boat Club and Mass Humanities.

Click here for a PDF of our poster

Information on 2010 Cambridgeport History Day

This site is hosted by the Cambridge Historical Society, an independent non-profit organization. We are not tax supported, we rely on memberships and contributions to make the history of Cambridge available and host educational programs.