Inman Square is a neighborhood and historic district in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
. It lies north of
Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge–
Somerville border.
Location
Like many
squares
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
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.
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
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, and west of Lechmere (also known as
East Cambridge
East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to in modern times as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Bro ...
), Inman Square is fairly centralized within the Mid-Cambridge/Somerville area. Hampshire Street connects it with
Porter Square
Porter Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts, located around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue, between Harvard and Davis Squares. The Porter Square station serves both the MBTA Red Li ...
to the northwest and
Kendall Square
Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The square itself at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. It also refers to the broad business district east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charles River, north of MIT ...
to the southeast.
History
18th century
Inman Square likely owes its name to
Ralph Inman (1713–1788), described as a gentleman of fortune and a
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
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 making up "what is now the Port."
Inman also owned a "large, three-story rambling mansion" in a "" This included the Brattles, after whom Brattle Square was named.
During the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, in 1775, American general
Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...
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
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, causing authorities to begin confiscating his property. He fled, leaving his wife,
Elizabeth Murray, to deal with General Putnam and protect the property.
Inman's wife, his second, was a business woman in her own right. Elizabeth Murray 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 the
Battles of Lexington and Concord. When her husband fled to Boston to seek protection from the British, Elizabeth Murray protected the Cambridge property. After the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Continental Army confiscated the property and her husband fled with the British to Halifax. She remained in America until she died in 1785.
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, were still attached to it. Inman died there in 1788. His wife predeceased him.
19th century
Inman Square's origins lie in the growth of
East Cambridge
East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to in modern times as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Bro ...
, starting at around 1790, when a group of financiers led by
Andrew Craigie
Andrew Craigie (1754-1819) is best known for serving as the first Apothecary General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The one-time owner of the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Craigie dev ...
began buying up land around
Lechmere Point
Lechmere Square ( ) is located at the intersection of Cambridge Street and First Street in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was originally named for the Colonial-era landowner Richard Lechmere, a Loyalist who returned to England at the beginning ...
, home to present-day
CambridgeSide Galleria
CambridgeSide (previously CambridgeSide Galleria) is an enclosed shopping mall in Cambridge, Massachusetts that opened in 1990. , the mall is anchored by TJ Maxx. Previous anchors include department stores Filene's, Lechmere, Macy's, Macy's Home ...
shopping mall, in an effort to build a
toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...
over the
Charles River
The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...
. 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.
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.
20th century
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
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...
, 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:
drugstore
A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmaci ...
s,
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...
s, markets, bakeries, delis, and an insurance company were among the many stores that called Inman Square home.
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 no 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 regional restaurant chain
Legal Sea Foods
Legal Sea Foods is an American restaurant chain of casual-dining seafood restaurants mostly located in the Northeastern region of the United States.
The current company headquarters is located in the South Boston Seaport District and as of 202 ...
began in Inman Square in 1950 as a fish market that also did a takeout business. Legal Sea Foods grew to a chain of 31 restaurants, including those in Kendall Square and in
Copley Square
Copley Square , named for painter John Singleton Copley, is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to it ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, as well as in suburbs and cities throughout the region. After the original Legal Sea Foods location burned in a fire, it was rebuilt and became Cambridge Family Health. An ornate fish on the building facade at 237 Hampshire Street commemorates the previous presence.
From the 1960s through the late 1970s, next to Legal Seafoods one could find the home of the improvisational troupe The Proposition. Alumni of the troupe include actors
Josh Mostel
Joshua Mostel (born December 21, 1946) is an American actor with numerous film and Broadway credits. The son of Zero Mostel, he is best known for his supporting roles in films such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973), '' Harry and Tonto'' (1974 ...
,
Judith Kahan
Judith Kahan (born May 24, 1948) is an American actress and television writer. Early years
Kahan was born May 24, 1948, in Roslyn Heights, New York, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Kahan. She attended Boston University's School of Fine and ...
Paul Kreppel
Paul Kreppel (born June 20, 1947) is an American actor and director. On television, he was best known as pianist Sonny Mann on the show '' It's a Living''. In his work as theater director-producer-creator, he received the 2007 Tony Award for '' J ...
and original ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' cast member
Jane Curtin
Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...
. Later, in the 1980s, at the Ding Ho restaurant at 11 Springfield Street
(where Ole Mexican Grill is presently located), such comedians as
Steven Wright,
Jimmy Tingle
Jimmy Tingle (born April 9, 1955) is an American comic and occasional actor.
Life and career
Tingle was the American correspondent for David Frost’s show for PBS and the BBC, ''The Strategic Humor Initiative''. He completed two seasons with ...
,
Bobcat Goldthwait
Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched voice. ...
, and club founder
Barry Crimmins
Barry Francis Crimmins (July 3, 1953 – February 28, 2018) was an American stand-up comedian, political satirist, activist, author, Air America Radio writer and correspondent, and comedy club owner.
Early life
Crimmins was born in Kingston, New ...
got their start.
[Turbovsky, Rob. "Steven Wright inducted into Hall, a city’s comedy history celebrated"]
, ''Punchline Magazine'', December 22, 2008
LoadedGunBoston.com, April 8, 2008 Most, including future ''
Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010â ...
'' host
Jay Leno, began by performing between sets of musical acts at the "Ding", as it was known to locals. Leno's first stage appearance took place there between sets of JT's Mardi Gras Band and the Lawnchair Ladies.
21st century
Inman Square is a culturally diverse neighborhood, home to professionals, working people, and students and professors from neighboring
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
and
Harvard. Inman Square also has strong
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
influences, as can be seen in the storefronts lining Cambridge Street, especially to the east of Prospect Street.
Boston's oldest continuously operating
improvisational theater
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
troupe,
ImprovBoston, moved in 2008 from its longtime home in Inman Square to Prospect Street in nearby Central Square. ImprovBoston alumni include ''
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' panelist
Adam Felber.
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. Located at 186 Hampshire Street, it closed its retail business in the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, from 2003 to early 2006, the Zeitgeist Gallery resided at 1353 Cambridge Street, after a fire drove it from its former home at the corner of Norfolk Street and Broadway. Run by a group of artists, musicians and activists, it was a focal point for art, music and community activism, and fostered avant garde, experimental and underground work.
A related space called Zeitgeist Outpost or Outpost 186, opened by former Zeitgeist volunteers, is now on the other side of Inman Square.
It is, in fact, in the former New Words back room, where the women's bookstore once held poetry readings, author presentations and acoustic concerts.
In 2013, the neighborhood near Inman Square attained some notoriety as the home of the two main suspects in the
Boston Marathon bombing
The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...
[
] and the location of the
Islamic Society of Boston
The Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) is an organization that runs two mosques in the Boston area. The original mosque called Islamic Society of Boston is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2007, the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) wa ...
, at which they occasionally attended services.
[
]
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Cambridge, Massachusetts
References
External links
InmanSquare.com
{{Authority control
Historic districts in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Neighborhoods in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Squares in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Inman Square