Cambridge Common
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Cambridge Common is a public park and National Historic Landmark 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, ...
, United States. It is located near
Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busi ...
and borders on several parts of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. The north end of the park has a large playground. The park is maintained by the Cambridge Department of Public Works.


History

In the colonial period, Cambridge Common served as a pasture on which animals grazed. It was also used as a military training ground. It originally extended from what is now Linnaean Street in the north all the way south to Harvard Square between Massachusetts Avenue and Garden Street. Public executions took place in the northern portion of this space, known as Gallows Hill, located today west of Massachusetts Avenue around Lancaster Street. Executed at this site on September 22, 1755, were two enslaved people, Mark and Phillis, who were both accused and convicted of poisoning their master, John Codman of Charlestown. Phillis was burned at the stake, and Mark was killed by hanging on gallows some ten yards away from the stake. His body was subsequently exhibited publicly for decades in Charlestown, such that even
Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...
remembered passing by its site while on his famous ride. Phillis was later described by a newspaper as "the last recorded victim" of this punishment in New England. Legend has it that George Washington took command of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
in a ceremony underneath the Washington Elm. Yet historical research suggests no such ceremony took place. The current space was not enclosed until 1830. Barracks were constructed on the common during World War I as the Navy Department built structures for its Radio School on the grounds. Cambridge Common has long been a site for public gatherings in which groups met before marching to
Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beacon ...
as part of protests for Civil Rights or against the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
recalled how
Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...
helped him in a fight during a football game on the Common in the mid-1980s.


Monuments and memorials

A commemorative plaque marks the location of the Washington Elm, a tree under which legend claims Washington stood as he first assumed command of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
. Nearby is a trio of
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
cannons, a plaque for
Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
, and another for
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...
. In the northeast corner is the
Statue of John Bridge The John Bridge Monument (also known as ''The Puritan''), in the northeast corner of the Cambridge Common in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was given by Samuel James Bridge in honor of his ancestor John Bridge (15781665) and sculpted by Thomas R. Gou ...
, also known as ''The Puritan'', by
Thomas Ridgeway Gould Thomas Ridgeway Gould (November 5, 1818 – November 26, 1881) was an American neoclassical sculptor active in Boston and Florence. Biography Gould was born in Boston on November 5, 1818. He was at first a merchant with his brother in the dry ...
. Slightly southeast of the center of the Common is a memorial to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
with a statue of
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
in a covered area near the base of the memorial. On top of the memorial is a statue of a soldier. Cambridge Common is also the site of an
Irish Famine Memorial The Irish Famine Memorial, also known as the Irish Famine Monument, is installed in Cambridge Common, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The monument was designed by Maurice Harrow, and dedicated by Ireland President Mary Robinson ...
, dedicated on July 23, 1997, by then
President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
,
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
, and unveiled to an audience of 3,000 people. The Memorial sculpture was created by
Maurice Harron Maurice Harron (born 1946) is a sculptor from Derry, Northern Ireland. Harron was educated at St Columb's College. At the Ulster College of Art and Design in Belfast, he studied sculpture. Much of his work is public art sculpture and he has ...
, a sculptor from
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
, Northern Ireland. There is a similar memorial in 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 ...
.


Gallery

Image:Cannons on the Common - Cambridge, MA.jpg, A modern view of the common File:USA-Cambridge Common0.jpg, Cambridge Common Image:Civil War Memorial on Cambridge Common, Cambridge MA, USA.jpg, Civil War Memorial Image:Memorial to the Great Hunger in Ireland, Cambridge Common, Cambridge MA.jpg, The Great Hunger in Ireland Memorial


See also

*
Cambridge Common Historic District The Cambridge Common Historic District is a historic district encompassing one of the oldest parts of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is centered on the Cambridge Common, which was a center of civic activity in Cambridge after its founding in 163 ...
*
Statue of John Bridge The John Bridge Monument (also known as ''The Puritan''), in the northeast corner of the Cambridge Common in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was given by Samuel James Bridge in honor of his ancestor John Bridge (15781665) and sculpted by Thomas R. Gou ...
*
Common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...
* Washington Gate


References


Cambridge Common Irish Famine Memorial
(archived 2007) {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Harvard Square Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts Parks in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Cambridge, Massachusetts Urban public parks