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Waltham ( ) is a city in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populous cou ...
, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the
American Industrial Revolution The technological and industrial history of the United States describes the United States' emergence as one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. The availability of land and literate labor, the absence of a landed arist ...
. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning, spawning what became known as the Waltham-Lowell system of labor and production. The city is now a center for research and higher education, home to
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
and
Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...
as well as industrial powerhouse
Raytheon Technologies Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
. The population was 65,218 at the census in 2020. Waltham has been called "watch city" because of its association with the watch industry. Waltham Watch Company opened its factory in Waltham in 1854 and was the first company to make watches on an assembly line. It won the gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia
Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...
. The company produced over 35 million watches, clocks and instruments before it closed in 1957.


History

Waltham was first settled in 1634 as part of Watertown and was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1738. Waltham had no recognizable town center until the 1830s, when the nearby Boston Manufacturing Company gave the town the land that now serves as its central square. In the early 19th century,
Francis Cabot Lowell Francis Cabot Lowell (April 7, 1775 – August 10, 1817) was an American businessman for whom the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, is named. He was instrumental in bringing the Industrial Revolution to the United States. Early life Francis Cabot ...
and his friends and colleagues established in Waltham the Boston Manufacturing Company—the first integrated textile mill in the United States, with the goal of eliminating the problems of co-ordination, quality control, and shipping inherent in the subcontracting based textile industry. The Waltham–Lowell system of production derives its name from the city and the founder of the mill. The city is home to a number of large estates, including
Gore Place Gore Place is a historic country house, now a museum, located at 52 Gore Street, Waltham, Massachusetts. It is owned and operated by the nonprofit Gore Place Society. The estate is open to the public daily without charge; an admission fee is c ...
, a mansion built in 1806 for former
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
governor Christopher Gore, the
Robert Treat Paine Estate The Robert Treat Paine Estate, known as Stonehurst, is a country house set on in Waltham, Massachusetts. It was designed for philanthropist Robert Treat Paine in a collaboration between architect Henry Hobson Richardson and landscape architect ...
, a residence designed by architect
Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
and landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...
for philanthropist
Robert Treat Paine, Jr. Robert Treat Paine Jr. (December 9, 1773 – November 13, 1811) was an American poet and editor. He was the second son of Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born Thomas Paine (after his paternal grandfather), he changed ...
(1810–1905), and the Lyman Estate, a estate built in 1793 by Boston merchant Theodore Lyman. In 1857, the Waltham Model 1857 watch was produced by the American Watch Company in the city of Waltham, Massachusetts. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Waltham was home to the
brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...
manufacturer
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
, where the first production motorcycle in the U.S. was built. Another first in Waltham industrial history involves the method to mass-produce the
magnetron The cavity magnetron is a high-power vacuum tube used in early radar systems and currently in microwave ovens and linear particle accelerators. It generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field while ...
tube, invented by Percy Spencer at
Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...
. During World War II, the magnetron tube technology was applied to radar. Later, magnetron tubes were used as components in microwave ovens. Waltham was also the home of the Walter E. Fernald State School, the western hemisphere's oldest publicly funded institution serving people with developmental disabilities. The storied and controversial history of the institution has long been covered by local and, at times, national media.


Timeline

* 1703 – Grove Hill Cemetery established. * 1738 – Town of Waltham incorporated from
Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Waterto ...
. * 1755 – Part of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
annexed to Waltham. * 1793 – The Vale (residence) built. * 1810 – Waltham Cotton and Wool Factory Company formed. * 1813 – Boston Manufacturing Company in business. * 1820 ** First Congregational Church founded. ** Manufacturers' Library active. ** Waltham Bleachery built. * 1827 – Rumford Institute organized. * 1833 – ''The Hive'' newspaper begins publication. * 1835 – Waltham Bank established. * 1837 – Methodist Episcopal Church organized. * 1849 ** Part of Newton annexed to Waltham. ** Christ Episcopal Church built. * 1851 – Tornado. * 1852 – Baptist Church organized. * 1853 – Waltham Gas Light Company incorporated. * 1854 – American Horologe Company relocates to Waltham. * 1856 – ''Waltham Sentinel'' newspaper begins publication. * 1857 ** Waltham and Watertown Railroad constructed. ** Mount Feake Cemetery established. ** Waltham Agricultural Library Association formed. * 1859 – Town of Belmont separates from Waltham. * 1863 – ''Waltham Free Press'' begins publication. * 1865 – Public Library founded. * 1866 – Emmet Literary Association formed. * 1870 ** Waltham Horological School established. ** Waltham Foundry Co. established. * 1876 ** ''Waltham Weekly Record'' begins publication. ** Davis & Farnum Manufacturing Company in business. * 1879 – Leland Home for aged women established. * 1880 – Music Hall built. * 1881 – Emery Wheel Company in business. * 1882 – Parmenter Crayon Company chartered. * 1884 ** City of Waltham incorporated. ** Harrington Block built. * 1885 ** Board of Trade organized. ** Waltham Hospital founded. ** Waltham Training School for Nurses established. * 1886 –
Robert Treat Paine Estate The Robert Treat Paine Estate, known as Stonehurst, is a country house set on in Waltham, Massachusetts. It was designed for philanthropist Robert Treat Paine in a collaboration between architect Henry Hobson Richardson and landscape architect ...
built. * 1888 – Sesquicentennial. * 1890 ** Population: 18,707. ** Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded relocates to Waltham. * 1891 – O'Hara Waltham Dial Company organized. * 1893 ** ''Waltham Evening News'' begins publication. ** Waltham Manufacturing Company established. ** Beaver Brook Reservation and Charles River Reservation established. * 1894 ** Linden Street Bridge constructed. ** Waltham Bicycle Park opens. * 1902 – Metz Company in business. * 1908 –
Company F State Armory The Company F State Armory, also known as the Waltham State Armory, is a historic armory building at Curtis and Sharon Streets in Waltham, Massachusetts. Built in 1908, it is locally notable for its Georgian Revival architecture, and as the city' ...
built. * 1910 – Population: 27,834. * 1915 – Waltham Historical Society incorporated. * 1924 – '' Waltham News Tribune'' newspaper in publication. * 1928 – Middlesex College of Medicine and Surgery relocates to Waltham. * 1933 – First Parish Church rebuilt. * 1935 – Gore Place Society founded. * 1936 – Hovey Players (theatre group) founded. * 1938 –
County Courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
built. * 1941 – Waltham Garden Club founded. * 1948 –
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
established. * 1961 –
Rose Art Museum The Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, US. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from the permanent col ...
founded at Brandeis University. * 1968 **
Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...
relocates to Waltham. ** WBRS on air. * 1970 – Population: 61,582. * 1971 ** Waltham Museum established. ** Robert Drinan becomes Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district
representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...
. * 1975 – Aerosmith musical group rents Wherehouse. * 1976 – Waltham Mills Artists Association open studios begins (approximate date) * 1980 – Charles River Museum of Industry established. * 1982 – Parexel International Corporation headquartered in Waltham. * 1985 – Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra formed. * 1987 – Joseph P. Kennedy II becomes Massachusetts's 8th congressional district
representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...
. * 1988 – Global Petroleum Corporation headquartered in Waltham (approximate date). * 1995 – Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. headquartered in Waltham. * 1996 ** Lionbridge Technologies Inc. headquartered in Waltham. ** City website online. * 1999 – Waltham Land Trust incorporated. * 2003 –
Raytheon Company The Raytheon Company was a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft unti ...
and Roving Software Inc. headquartered in Waltham. * 2004 ** Jeannette A. McCarthy becomes mayor. ** Brandeis University's Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism nonprofit established. * 2006 – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. headquartered in Waltham. * 2007 ** PerkinElmer, Inc. headquartered in Waltham. ** Waltham Symphony Orchestra formed. * 2010 – Population: 60,632. * 2011 ** A triple homicide occurs on September 11. ** Watch City Steampunk Festival begins. * 2013 –
Katherine Clark Katherine Marlea Clark (born July 17, 1963) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district since 2013. She has been Assistant House Democratic Leader (officially Assistant Spea ...
becomes
Massachusetts's 5th congressional district Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in eastern Massachusetts. The district is represented by Katherine Clark. Massachusetts congressional redistricting after the 2010 census has changed the borders of the distr ...
representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...
.


Pronunciation

The name of the city is pronounced with the primary stress on the first syllable and a full vowel in the second syllable, , though the name of the Waltham watch was pronounced with a reduced schwa in the second syllable: . As most would pronounce in the British way, "Walthum", when people came to work in the mills from Nova Scotia, the pronunciation evolved. The "local" version became a phonetic sounding to accommodate French speakers who could not pronounce in the British way. In some areas, the city is referred to as "The Waltham".


Geography

The Waltham is located at (42.380596, −71.235005), about north-west of downtown
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 ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, and approximately northwest of Boston's Brighton neighborhood. The heart of the city is Waltham Common, which is home to the City Hall and various memorial statues. The Common is on Main Street, which is home to several churches, the town library and Post Office. The city stretches along 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 ...
and contains several
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
s. The dams were used to power textile mills and other endeavors in the early years of the industrial activity. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (6.69%) is water.


Neighborhoods

Waltham has several neighborhoods or villages, including: * Angleside * Banks Square * The Bleachery (named after the former Waltham Bleachery and Dye Works) * Cedarwood * The Chemistry (named after the former Newton Chemical Company) * Ellison Park * Gardencrest * Headyland * The Highlands * The Island (formerly Morse Meadow Island) * Kendal Green (mostly in
Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...
) * Kendall Park * Lakeview * The Lanes * Northeast * The North Side * Piety Corner * Prospectville (defunct in 1894, now under Cambridge Reservoir) * Rangeley Acres * Ravenswood * Robert's * Rock Alley * The South Side * Warrendale * West End * Wildwood Acres


Adjacent towns

It is bordered to the west by
Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...
and
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
, to the south by Newton, to the east by Belmont and Watertown, and to the north by Lexington.


Demographics

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
in 2020, there were 65,218 people and 23,891 households in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 5,117.9/mile². According to 2021 census estimates, the racial makeup of the city was 70.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 7.6% Black or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.5% Native American or Alaska Native, 11.8% Asian, 0.0%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 5.3% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 4.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino of any race were 14.3% of the population. There were 23,891 households, 19.8% of which included children under the age of 18 and 28.4% with people 65 and older. 39.7% of households were married couples living together, 9.9% cohabitating couples, 21.2% male householders with no partner present, and 29.2% female householders with no partner present. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.02. 32.7% of households spoke a language other than English at home. The age distribution is as follows: 13.7% under 18, 20% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 9.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% 65 or older. The median age was 34. The population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The median income for a household was $95,851, and per capita was $44,977. In 2020, 9.2% of the population and 5% of families lived below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. 11.7% of those under 18 and 8.45% of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line.


Foreign-born residents

As of 2020, 26.6% of Waltham residents were born outside of the United States. Of foreign-born residents, 41.5% were born in Asia, 32.7% in Latin America, 11.9% in Europe, and 9.7% in Africa.


Economy

Among the companies based in Waltham are the defense contractor
Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...
, medtech corporation PerkinElmer, biopharmaceutical services provider Paraxel, energy supply company Global Partners, data services provider Lionbridge, Steel Connect, broker-dealer Commonwealth Financial Network, technology companies Care.com and StudentUniverse, research and development organization Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), provisioner of scientific instrumentation
Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American supplier of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, and software services. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Fisher was formed through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Sc ...
, and the marketing firm Constant Contact. Footwear manufacturer Wolverine World Wide, Inc. moved their regional headquarters from Lexington to the CityPoint campus in July 2016. C & J Clark America, Inc. moved their headquarters from Newton to the Polaroid site in October 2016. Retail activity is concentrated on Main Street, Moody Street, Lexington Street, River Street, parts of Route 60, and the First Avenue area. New retail development has also been active at a former Polaroid site.


Top employers

According to the city's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top ten non-city employers in the city are as follows.


Arts and culture

Waltham's combination of population (especially in central and south Waltham) parks, public transit, stores, and trails gives it 62 (out of 100) walkability ranking on walkscore.com. This is often reflected downtown and along the Charles Riverwalk, which is often crowded on summer nights by people fishing, jogging, or walking off a meal at one of the many restaurants. Moody Street in downtown Waltham offers its own brand of entertainment with a colorful assortment of shops, restaurants, and bars, including The Gaff, Outer Limits, Gourmet Pottery, and the Embassy Cinema. Moody Street's booming nightlife, convenience to the commuter rail and lower rents have attracted younger professionals to Waltham in growing numbers in recent years. Moody Street is also referred to as "Restaurant Row" and has become a destination because of the number, variety and quality of its locally owned restaurants. The city of Waltham has a free "Tick Tock Trolley" on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 6pm–11pm for visitors that provides easy access to local municipal parking lots. Starting in 2020, the City of Waltham in Massachusetts has shut down a large portion of the main road, Moody St., to vehicular traffic from May 1 until October 31 annually. Moody Street is lined with restaurants and other small businesses but typically has high volumes of automobile passage. In an effort to assist these businesses in a difficult time, the Waltham Traffic Commission closed off a segment of the road to allow businesses to have outdoor dining and storefronts amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Bus stops that would typically be on the blocked off part of Moody St. are temporarily relocated to nearby spots. Moody Street is a wide road, and with its closure, many residents of Waltham have began walking the length of the closure frequently to get outdoors. Waltham has a high immigrant population, and a high population of people without cars. Providing a space that is for pedestrians and cyclists only has increased the number of chance encounters residents have, hence improving social connections. Many restaurants have brought in tents with lighting, while others just bought picnic tables and umbrellas and set them outside. Some restaurants have brought in green spaces or features, creating a biophilic experience for those passing by or eating. These changes have overarching public health benefits for local residents utilizing the space. Additionally, the Moody St. closure has had a traffic calming effect on surrounding traffic, as it requires street furniture and closures. The shift of Moody St. from an automobile road to a pedestrian road for a significant share of the year challenges the automobility paradigm by reclaiming the space for pedestrians. Without the barrier effect that cars often have on Moody Street, the street is open and enjoyable to walk around. The dense rows of restaurants and other businesses lining the road make for an engaging experience for people who walk the street during the street closure. Restaurants are supportive of the closure, as they can offer outdoor seating and increase their capacity for business. However, Moody Street has a variety of other businesses like small grocery stores, clothing stores, and jewelers. Some of these non-restaurant business owners oppose repeating the plan in the future, arguing that closing off the road makes their businesses less accessible due to a lack of automobile access. While Waltham has included a variety of stakeholders in the process of the street closure, it is crucial that they continue to do so in order to continue using a democratic process for city-wide decision-making. For over 25 years, the Waltham Arts Council has sponsored "Concerts On Waltham Common", featuring a different musical act each week of the summer, free of charge to attendees. "Concerts On Waltham Common" was created and organized by Stephen Kilgore until his death in 2004. Waltham's cultural life is enriched by the presence of two major universities and a number of arts organizations throughout the city. The
Rose Art Museum The Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, US. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from the permanent col ...
at
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
is devoted to modern and contemporary art. The Rose holds a variety of exhibitions and programs, and collections are free and open to the public. The city's history is also celebrated at a number of museums, monuments, and archives. The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, the Waltham Watch Factory historic district, the Gore Estate, the Lyman Estate, and the Robert Treat Payne Estate are among the most well known of the 109 sites in the city on the National Register of Historical Sites. Many festivals are held at these sites each year, such as the annual sheep shearing festival at the Gore Estate. The
National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
Northeast regional branch is located in Waltham. The Waltham Public Library has extensive archives regarding the city's history. The Waltham Museum is devoted solely to the history of the city. Mark Gately is the only stakeholder left of the Waltham Museum. Waltham is known for its embracing of literary arts. Local author Jessica Lucci has written a series of books about Waltham which can be found at the Waltham Museum, The Waltham Historical Society, and many other regional establishments devoted to promoting literary arts. The Waltham Mills Artists Association is located in one of the former factories of the Boston Manufacturing Company. The WMAA Open Studios takes place each year on the first weekend of November. The 76 artists of the WMAA open their homes and studios to the public. Works of all media imaginable are demonstrated, displayed and discussed. The Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra, a civic symphony of the MetroWest area, began in 1985 under the direction of local musicians David J. Tierney and Harold W. McSwain, Jr. With almost 60 professional, semi-professional, and amateur musicians, the orchestra's mission is to provide the Waltham community with the opportunity to perform in and attend classical concerts of the highest quality. WPO musicians come from Waltham as well as from Boston and surrounding communities. The ensemble includes players of a wide range of ages and professions. There are five to six concerts throughout the season, including one that features the winner of the annual Youth Concerto Competition, which provides opportunities for young musicians to perform solo works with the WPO. Annual concerts have included summer Concerts on the Common and the December Holiday Pops. Waltham is home to the Waltham Symphony Orchestra, a high-level semi-professional civic orchestra. The 55 piece orchestra performs five concerts each season at the Kennedy Middle-school Auditorium. Its music director is French-born American conductor, Patrick Botti. Open space in the city is protected by the Waltham Land Trust. Waltham embraces its ethnic diversity in a number of festivals. The annual Latinos en Acción Festival celebrates the many Puerto Rican, Mexican, Peruvian, and Guatemalan residents. It is held by Latinos in Action, is a local nonprofit group that helps the Latino population register to vote, understand the laws and find scholarships. The festival includes a parade, music, food, and a beauty pageant. Waltham has in recent decades become a center for Ugandan culture, with an estimated 1500 Ugandans living in the city, leading some to call Waltham "Little Kampala". The Ugandan North America Association is headquartered in Waltham, along with St. Peters Church of Uganda Boston, as well as Karibu, a well regarded Ugandan eatery. Wilberforce Kateregga, a Ugandan immigrant to Waltham has since established Waltham College Uganda, a boarding school for over 300 orphans and children affected by AIDS. The school was named in honor of Kateregga's new home city.


Points of interest

*
Gore Place Gore Place is a historic country house, now a museum, located at 52 Gore Street, Waltham, Massachusetts. It is owned and operated by the nonprofit Gore Place Society. The estate is open to the public daily without charge; an admission fee is c ...
* Lyman Estate *
Robert Treat Paine Estate The Robert Treat Paine Estate, known as Stonehurst, is a country house set on in Waltham, Massachusetts. It was designed for philanthropist Robert Treat Paine in a collaboration between architect Henry Hobson Richardson and landscape architect ...
* Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation * Prospect Hill – third-highest point in the region (after two of the Blue Hills) *
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 ...
– Riverwalk on Moody St. * Embassy Cinema * A. Wherehouse *
Rose Art Museum The Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, US. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from the permanent col ...
*
Metropolitan State Hospital (Massachusetts) The Metropolitan State Hospital was an American public hospital for the mentally ill, on grounds that extended across parts of Waltham, Lexington, and Belmont, Massachusetts. Founded in 1927, it was at one time the largest and most modern fac ...
* Norumbega Tower * American Waltham Watch Company Historic District


Government

Waltham is governed by a mayor and a city council. The current mayor is Jeanette A. McCarthy. There are 15 members of the city council, each elected to two-year terms in non-partisan elections. The current president of the city council is Paul J. Brasco. The city is in
Massachusetts's 5th congressional district Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in eastern Massachusetts. The district is represented by Katherine Clark. Massachusetts congressional redistricting after the 2010 census has changed the borders of the distr ...
and is currently represented in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
by
Katherine Clark Katherine Marlea Clark (born July 17, 1963) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district since 2013. She has been Assistant House Democratic Leader (officially Assistant Spea ...
. Waltham is also represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by State Representative John J. Lawn and State Representative Thomas M. Stanley, and in the
Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
by Senator Michael Barrett.


Mayors of Waltham

* Jeannette A. McCarthy, 2004– * David F. Gately, 1999–2003 * William F. Stanley, 1985–1999 * Arthur Clark, 1968–1984. * Austin D. Rhodes 1959 * Paul V. Shaughnessy 1956–1958 * Henry A. Turner, 1953–1955 * Chauncey Cousens, 1949–1952 * John Devane, 1942–1948 * Arthur A. Hansen 1938–1942 * Frederick L. MacDonald 1937 * Henry W. Beal, 1922–1927 * George Raynolds Beal 1917–1922 * Eben J. Williams, 1915–1917 * Thomas K. Keans, 1913–1915 * Patrick J. Duane 1911–1913; 1930–1933 * Edward A. Walker, 1908–1911 * John L. Harvey, 1904–1908 * Murray D. Clement, 1902–1904 * Mahlon Leonard, 1901–1902 * George L. Mayberry 1898–1901 * Charles Bond 1897–1898 * Arthur Lyman 1896–1897 * Henry Milton 1895–1896 * Erskine Warden 1892–1895 * George L. Mayberry 1890–1891 * Henry N. Fisher 1887–1889 * Charles F. Stone 1886 * Byron B. Johnson (first mayor) 1884


Education


Public schools

The Waltham Public Schools system includes seven elementary schools (Northeast, Fitzgerald, MacArthur, Plympton, Whittemore, Stanley, and the Waltham Dual Language Elementary School), two middle schools (McDevitt, Kennedy), and one senior high school ( Waltham High School). Waltham High School's sports teams had been referred to as the Watchmen and the Crimson, before they changed the name to the Hawks.


Private schools

*
Chapel Hill – Chauncy Hall School Chapel Hill – Chauncy Hall School (CH-CH) is an independent, college-preparatory day and boarding school for grades 8 through PG located on a 42-acre campus in Waltham, Massachusetts and founded in 1828. CH-CH is accredited by the New England A ...
* Gann Academy – The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston * Our Lady's Academy (formally Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted School) (Pre-K through 8) * Saint Jude School (Pre-K through 8) closed in 2019


Higher education

Waltham is home to: *
Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...
*
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
* Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University which closed in 2014.


Media

Waltham is home to the ''Waltham News Tribune'' (formerly '' The Daily News Tribune''), a weekly paper which is published each Thursday, year-round owned by Gatehouse Media. The ''
Waltham Patch Waltham may refer to: Business * Waltham Watch Company, American watch manufacturer, pioneer in the industrialisation of the manufacturing of watch movements * The Waltham system, industrial efficiency system Music * Waltham (band), American rock ...
'' covers the local, daily news and invites locals to post their own blogs, events and opinion online only. In 2018, Waltham writer Jessica Lucci was chosen as the "Mayor" of Waltham Patch. WCAC-TV is the cable access and provides opportunities for community members to learn how to create their own local-interest television programming. Waltham news sometimes appears in ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
s GlobeWest section, as well. Waltham was formerly the home of classical radio station WCRB (99.5 FM), which relocated to the WGBH studios in Brighton in 2006. Brandeis University runs a low-power station, WBRS (100.1 FM).


Infrastructure


Transportation

Waltham is close to several U.S. interstate highways. Interstate 95, multiplexed with
Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 128 ...
, runs through the western part of the city. Exits in Waltham are 26, 27, and 28. Interstate 90, which is also the
Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...
, is just to the south in
Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
. Due to its proximity to the center of the
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...
metropolitan area, a number of state highways are within a few miles. The MBTA commuter rail has two stops in Waltham as part of the Fitchburg-Boston Line: one in Central Square Waltham across from the City Hall and one near Brandeis University. MBTA bus service also covers the city, including routes 61, 70, 170, 505, 553, 554, 556 and 558. The Charles River runs through Waltham, and bike and walking paths cover most of the south bank, as well as part of the north bank from Prospect Street to Moody Street. Some commuters ride the path to offices in Cambridge and Boston.


Fire department

The city of Waltham is protected by the 166 full-time, paid firefighters of the city of Waltham Fire Department (WFD). Established in 1816, the Waltham Fire Department is currently organized into three divisions of operations: fire suppression, fire prevention, and training.


Emergency Medical Services

Armstrong Ambulance Service currently provides 24/7 Advanced Life Support emergency medical services to the City of Waltham.


Notable people

* Luther Atwood, chemist in the oil industry * Keith Aucoin, hockey forward for New York Islanders * F. Lee Bailey, lawyer *
Nathaniel Prentice Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, ...
, Union General in the Civil War, 24th Governor of Massachusetts, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives * Anya Battaglino, professional hockey player in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) *
Mackenzy Bernadeau Mackenzy Bernadeau (born January 3, 1986) is a former American football guard. He was drafted with the 250th pick by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Bentley University. Early year ...
, guard for NFL's
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
*
Suzanne Brockmann Suzanne Brockmann (born 1960) is an American romantic fiction writer. She lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband, Ed Gaffney, and their two children, Melanie and Jason T. Gaffney. She has also written works under the name Anne Brock. ...
, author * Nellie Marie Burns (–1897), actor and poet *
Annie Payson Call Annie Payson Call (1853–1940) was a Waltham author. She wrote several books and published articles in ''Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first publish ...
, author * Rob Chiarelli, multiple
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
winner * JP Dellacamera, play-by-play commentator of Major League Soccer for ABC and ESPN * Ryan Gallant, professional skateboarder * Alan Griffin, professional basketball player for the
Newfoundland Growlers The Newfoundland Growlers are a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team began play in the 2018–19 ECHL season and have home games at Mary Brown's Centre. They are member ...
of the Canadian Elite Basketball League * James N. Hallock, scientist, known for his work on the
Columbia Accident Investigation Board The ''Columbia'' Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was an internal commission convened by NASA to investigate the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' during STS-107 upon atmospheric re-entry on February 1, 2003. The panel determin ...
* John Peabody Harrington, ethnologist and linguist * Sophie Chantal Hart, professor at Wellesley College * Lorenza Haynes (1820–1899), librarian, minister, school founder, suffragist, writer *
Clarence Hobart Clarence Hobart (June 27, 1870 – August 2, 1930) was a tennis player from the United States. He was a six-time champion at the U.S. National Championships, winning three titles in men's doubles in 1890, 1893 and 1894 and three others in mix ...
, six-time national doubles champion in
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
; born in Waltham * Abbie Hoffman, born in Worcester, MA; author, radical political activist, founder of the
Youth International Party The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded o ...
*
C. D. Howe Clarence Decatur Howe, (15 January 1886 – 31 December 1960) was an American-born Canadian engineer, businessman and Liberal Party politician. Howe served as a cabinet minister in the governments of prime ministers William Lyon Mackenzie ...
, WWII and postwar Canadian politician; Waltham native * Gail Huff, television reporter for WCVB-TV, wife of Scott Brown, former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts * Deena (Drossin) Kastor, Olympic bronze medal-winning marathon runner * Pauline R. Kezer,
Secretary of the State of Connecticut The secretary of the State of Connecticut is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Connecticut. (The definite article is part of the legal job title.) It is an elected position in the state government and has a term length of four ...
(1991–1995); born and raised in Waltham * John Leary, Major League Baseball first baseman and catcher for the St. Louis Browns * Jeff Lazaro, former
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
forward * Samuel Livermore, United States Senator from New Hampshire * Mel Lyman, musician, filmmaker, writer and founder of the Fort Hill Community * John Lynch, Governor of New Hampshire *
Shawn McEachern Shawn Kenneth McEachern (born February 28, 1969) is an American ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He is the current head boys' varsity ice hockey coach at The Rivers School, an independent 6–12 school in Weston, Massa ...
,
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
forward * Paul Moody, Inventor, developer of cotton loom; namesake of Moody St. in downtown Waltham * Angelo Mosca, former
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
player and professional wrestler * Richard Thomas Nolan, Episcopal Church Canon, writer, philosophy and religion professor,
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
advocate *
Dave Pino Dave Pino is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the songwriter/guitarist and co-founder of the bands Damone and Waltham. Life and career Pino was born in 1977 to immigrant parents in Massachusetts. In 1999, his band ...
, member of the band Powerman 5000 * Ida Annah Ryan, first woman to earn a master's degree in architecture (from M.I.T.) *
Evelyn Sears Evelyn Georgianna Sears (March 9, 1875 – November 10, 1966) was an American tennis player at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1907, she won the U.S. National Championship women's singles title, after beating Carrie Neely 6–3, 6–2 in ...
, U.S. Open tennis champion * Fred Smerlas, NFL defensive lineman with Buffalo Bills,
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, and New England Patriots *
Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (December 26, 1933 – December 8, 2019) was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on ''Sesame Street'' from its inception in 1969 until 2018. ...
, puppeteer; performed the roles of
Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...
and Oscar the Grouch on ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
'' * Mary Watson Whitney, astronomer, Vassar professor of astronomy, Vassar observatory director *
Bob Weston Bob Weston (born 1965) is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason AnkenyAnkeny, Jason. " Bob Weston: Overview from Allmusic.com declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over th ...
, American bass guitarist and music producer, known for his work in the minimalist rock band
Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...
* Chris Wilson, guitarist for the Flaming Groovies and
The Barracudas The Barracudas are an English surf rock band formed in late 1978. The band's original line-up consisted of Jeremy Gluck (vocals), Robin Wills (guitar and vocals), Starkie Phillips (bass and vocals) and Adam Phillips (drums). Before the band reco ...
*
Gordon S. Wood Gordon Stewart Wood (born November 27, 1933) is an American historian and professor at Brown University. He is a recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' (1992). His book ''The Creation o ...
, recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History * Franz Wright, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet *
Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...
, author of '' Autobiography of a Yogi'' built his first ashram in America here


See also

*
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...
* Mayor-council government * New Covenant Church of Cambridge *
Norumbega Norumbega, or Nurembega, is a legendary settlement in northeastern North America which was featured on many early maps from the 16th century until European colonization of the region. It was alleged that the houses had pillars of gold and the inh ...
* List of mill towns in Massachusetts


References


Further reading

* Barry, Ephraim L.
''City of Waltham, Massachusetts.''
1887. * Federal Writers' Project
"Waltham,"
in ''Massachusetts: a Guide to its Places and People.'' Federal Writers' Project, 1937. * Eaton, Percival R.
"Works of the Watch City,"
''New England Magazine,'' May 1906. * Gitelman, Howard M., ''Workingmen of Waltham: Mobility in American Urban Development, 1850–1890.'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1974). * Hurd, D. Hamilton
"Waltham,"
in ''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.'' W. Lewis and Co., 1890. * Starbuck, Alexander. "Waltham," in Samuel Adams Drake (ed.), ''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.'' vol. 2, pp. 407–433.1879–80. * Toomey, Daniel P.
"Waltham,"
in ''Massachusetts of Today.'' Boston: Columbia Publishing Co., 1892.
"Waltham,"
in ''Anthony's Standard Business Directory and Reference Book of Woburn, Winchester, Arlington, Lexington, Belmont, Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Massachusetts.'' Anthony Publishing Co., 1898.
''Directory of...Waltham and Watertown.''
W.A. Greenough & Co., 1887.


External links

*
Waltham Historical Society
* * {{authority control Cities in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1634 Cities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts 1634 establishments in Massachusetts