Inman Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge–Somerville border; latitude 42.3737 N, longitude 71.1010 W.   Settled: 1630 â€“ Incorporated: 1636 Zip Code(s): 02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ... Central Square August, 2005 Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. ... Settled: 1630 â€“ Incorporated: 1842 Zip Code(s): 02143 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ...

Location

Like many "squares" in the Boston area, Inman Square refers both to an intersection and to a retail district and neighborhood. Current residents of the area seem to converge on a broad definition of Inman Square as the region centered on the intersection of Cambridge and Hampshire Streets that radiates out around 500 feet along Cambridge Street to Prospect and encompasses the business district and outlying houses.

Geologically, the area is part of the larger Boston Basin and attaches to the relative lowland known as the Cambridge plain. Originally, the land was both flat and surrounded by an irregular, swampy region that formed a natural boundary. Situated a short walk east of Harvard Square, north of Central Square, south of Union Square, and west of Lechmere (also known as East Cambridge), Inman Square is fairly centralized within the Mid-Cambridge/Somerville area. Hampshire Street connects it with Porter Square to the northwest and Kendall Square to the southeast. Chess players in Harvard Square in August of 2005 Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. ... Central Square August, 2005 Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. ... The Prospect Hill Monument in Union Square, Somerville, MA Union Square is a neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, located around the intersection of Washington Street and Somerville Avenue, not far from Cambridges Inman Square. ... Porter Square is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, located around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue, between Harvard and Davis Squares. ... Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, located around the intersection of Main Street, Broadway, Wadsworth Street, and Third Street. ...

History

Inman Square likely owes its name to Ralph Inman (1713-1788), described as a gentleman of fortune and a Boston merchant. The details of his life can be pieced together from articles in the New England and Genealogical Register, vols. 12, 14, 25, 26, 30, 55, 84, 112, and 136, as well as numerous other sources. He had extensive business interests along the Boston wharf and with Thomas Sodden owned 400 acres making up "what is now the Port."

Inman also owned a "large, three-story rambling mansion" in a "little genteel Town about 4 Miles off (from Boston) calld Cambridge, where a number of Gentlemen's Families live upon their Estates." This included the Brattles, after whom Brattle Square was named.

In 1775, General Israel Putnam took over Inman's house as his headquarters. Inman was intent on remaining neutral in the war, but his intentions went for naught when his son joined the British Army, causing authorities to begin confiscating his property. He fled, leaving Mrs. Inman to deal with General Putnam. He apparently recovered from this, because he was at home again in Cambridge after the war.

Inman's wife, his second, was a business woman in her own right. She owned the sugar warehouse in Boston that the British troops took over as a barracks when they came to settle the unrest in Boston. It was from there that they marched to their problems in Lexington.

An extensive description of the house is given in NE & GR, July 1871, vol. 25, page 232. "On the Inman street side" and "looking toward Boston road" are mentioned. It was "the first object of any interest in approaching the colleges from Boston ..." At the time of the description, six acres were still attached to it. Inman died there in 1788. His wife predeceased him.

Inman Square's origins lie in the growth of East Cambridge, starting at around 1790, when a group of financiers led by Andrew Craigie began buying up land around Lechmere Point, home to present day Galleria mall, in an effort to build a toll bridge over the Charles River. After Craigie's bridge was built, he constructed roads from the Lechmere area that had been laid out with a gridwork of streets. One of these roads was the Middlesex Turnpike, the present-day Hampshire Street, which connected Cambridge with Lowell and Boston, bringing regional traffic through the area. Craigie also laid out Cambridge Street, which would intersect with Hampshire, producing Inman Square in 1809. East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

By the 1860s, horse carts were common in the area and contributed to dwellings popping up along their routes. By 1900, full streetcar service was in the area, led by the Charles River Street Railway, which built its first railway through Inman Square in 1881. By 1874 the region was an urban center called both "Atwood's Corner" and "Inman Square." This ambiguity was fixed a year later in a petition that would make official the Inman Square moniker.

After transportation brought people and commerce to the region, a new era of stability overtook Inman Square. From 1910 up until the early 1950s, streetcar, automobile, and foot traffic shuffled people to and from the square where architectural instead of transportation construction was taking place. During this period commercial dwellings popped up to service the local community: drugstores, taverns, markets, bakeries, delis, and an insurance company were among the many stores that called Inman Square home. The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ... Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον = drug) is the profession of compounding and dispensing medication. ... A tavern is, loosely, a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and, more than likely, also be served food, though not licenced to put up guests. ...

After the streetcars left Cambridge Street around 1950 the square became "just a little bit out of the way" yet remained "around the corner from Harvard, Central, Kendall and Lechmere." Even though there is not direct rapid transit, three MBTA bus lines (69, 83, 91) stop in the square, making it accessible by mass transit. Post-streetcar visitors still regularly frequent the area's restaurant and entertainment attractions. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is a quasi-governmental organization formed in 1964 that controls the subway, bus, commuter rail, and ferry systems in the Boston, Massachusetts area. ...

Present day

Today, Inman Square is a culturally diverse neighborhood, home to professionals and working people alike. Students and professors from neighboring MIT and Harvard find their home there as well. Inman Square also has strong Brazilian and Portuguese influences, as can be seen in the storefronts lining Cambridge Street, especially to the East of Prospect Street. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is organized into five schools and one college, containing 32 academic departments and 53 interdisciplinary laboratories, centers and programs. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ...

Well known regionally, Legal Sea Foods restaurant started in Inman Square in 1950 as a fish market that also did a takeout business. Legal Sea Foods now has over 31 restaurants, including some in Kendall Square and Copley Square (in Boston), as well as in various suburbs and cities throughout the region. After the original Legal Sea Foods burnt in a fire it was rebuilt and became another regional culinary super-star, Rosie's Bakery, which distributes its cakes and pies throughout Boston. Legal Sea Foods is a chain of seafood restaurants with 30 locations on the East Coast of the United States. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, located around the intersection of Main Street, Broadway, Wadsworth Street, and Third Street. ... Categories: Stub | Boston ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ...

Comedy is part of Inman Square's history. From the 1960's through the late '70's, next to Legal Seafoods one could find the home of the improvisational troupe The Proposition. Alumni of the troupe include actor Josh Mostel and original Saturday Night Live cast member Jane Curtin. Later in the 1980's, the Boston standup comedy boom took off at the Ding Ho restaurant on Springfield Street (now home of Ole Mexican Grill), where nationally known comedians like Steven Wright, Jimmy Tingle, Barry Crimmins and Bobcat Goldthwait got their start. Boston's oldest continuously operating improvisational theater troupe, ImprovBoston, continues to perform weekly in their theater on Cambridge Street next to Christina's Ice Cream. Notable ImprovBoston alumni include Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! panelist Adam Felber. Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late night 90-minute American comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC on Saturday nights since October 11, 1975. ... Jane Curtin - Promo Picture from 3rd Rock from the Sun Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian, from Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... f u ... Bobcat Goldthwait at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival Robert Francis Bobcat Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American comedian. ... Improvisational Theatre (also known as improv or impro) is a form of theatre in which the actors perform spontaneously, without a script. ... ImprovBoston is a nonprofit improvisational theater, based in Cambridge, MA. They offer shows 6 nights per week at their theatre in Inman Square, as well as workshops and training programs in improvisation and, more recently, sketchwriting. ... ImprovBoston is a nonprofit improvisational theater, based in Cambridge, MA. They offer shows 6 nights per week at their theatre in Inman Square, as well as workshops and training programs in improvisation and, more recently, sketchwriting. ... Wait Wait. ... Adam Felber is a political satirist, author, radio personality and actor. ...

Until recently, Inman Square was also home to the Center for New Words, originally the New Words Bookstore, one of the oldest and longest-running women's bookstores in the country. While it closed its retail business in the early 2000s the Center for New Words continues to provide programs that support women's voices in the media and publishing. During the early 2000's, up until early 2006, the Zeitgeist Gallery resided there, on Cambridge Street, its space now occupied by the Lilypad. This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Inman Square also has the distinction of being one of the few major commercial centers in Cambridge that does not sport at least one Starbucks. Home to 1369 Coffeehouse, the S&S restaurant, Stellabella Toys, and Ryles (a well-known jazz and blues club), it is considered by some to have avoided the gentrification of other significant crossroads in Cambridge such as Harvard Square and Central Square. Starbucks is the worlds largest multinational chain of coffee shops. ... Gentrification, or more specifically urban gentrification, is a process in which low-cost, physically deteriorated neighborhoods experience physical renovation and an increase in property values, along with an influx of wealthier residents who typically replace the prior residents. ... Chess players in Harvard Square in August of 2005 Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. ... Central Square August, 2005 Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. ...

Images

• [1] 1369 Coffee House in Inman Square.

• [2] Rosie's Bakery in Inman Square.

• [3] Boutique Fabulous in Inman Square.

• [4] ImprovBoston in Inman Square.

• [5] Punjabi Dhaba in Inman Square

External links

• inmansquare.com Contains links to numerous shops and restaurants in the square.