Magoun Square is a neighborhood centered on the intersection of Broadway and Medford Streets on the border of Medford and

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

. It is located between the neighborhoods of

Ball Square Ball Square is a neighborhood primarily in Somerville, Massachusetts, but also extending into Medford, at the intersection of Boston Avenue and Broadway, located between Powder House Square and Magoun Square. It is primarily a residential area w ...

and Winter Hill. It is a

mixed-use Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

business district, with commercial sites in the square and residential areas surrounding it. Trum Field, a park featuring

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

diamonds and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

courts, is near Magoun Square, as are the headquarters of the Somerville Department of Public Works. Notable residents include playwright

John Shea John Victor Shea III ( ; born April 14, 1949) is an American actor, film producer and stage director. His career began on Broadway theatre, Broadway where he starred in ''Yentl (play), Yentl,'' subsequently winning his first major award, the 1975 ...

History

Magoun Square was named after the family of John Calvin Magoun (1797–1882). Magoun was an assessor for the town of Somerville, served on the

school committee A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

as an overseer of the poor, and was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. His family owned a farm between Broadway and Vernon Streets and lived in the Adams-Magoun House, built circa 1783.

Transportation

Magoun Square is located at the intersection of Broadway and Medford Streets, two major thoroughfares. The square is a six-way intersection, with signals for Dexter Street and a municipal parking lot as well as the two major through streets. Lowell Street meets Medford Street just south of the square at a separate light. In 2009, the city requested and received $3 million in stimulus funding to improve the safety and accessibility of the crash-prone intersection. The project, which totaled $3.1 million in work, included new traffic signals, raised pedestrian islands and accessible curb cuts, bicycle racks, improved sidewalks, and street furniture. The project was initially completed in 2011, though some work had to be redone in 2012. Magoun Square station on the

MBTA Green Line The Green Line is a light rail system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area. It is the oldest MBTA subway line, and with tunnel sections dating from 1897, the oldest subway ...

is located on Lowell Street south of the actual square, while

Ball Square station Ball Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Ball Square in Somerville and Medford, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the ...

is located in

west of Magoun Square.

MBTA bus The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates List of MBTA bus routes, 170 bus routes in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance (defined as ) for all residents ...

routes and run through the square, while route follows Main Street to the northeast.

References

External links

Neighborhood profile by City of Somerville
{{coord, 42.397361, -71.104395, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Squares in Somerville, Massachusetts Neighborhoods in Somerville, Massachusetts Medford, Massachusetts