Boston & Cambridge: The Neighborhood
The Teacher Education Program is housed within Harvard's Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard University:
Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Founded in 1636, just 16 years after the arrival of the Puritans in Plymouth Bay Colony, Harvard has grown from 9 students to a student body of over 18,000 at Harvard College and ten graduate and professional schools, from the arts and sciences to politics, medicine, education and the law.
Cambridge, Massachusetts:
With over 100,000 people, Cambridge is Massachusetts' 7th largest city -- a unique urban village with many social and intellectual opportunities. Located just across the Charles River from Boston, the "University City" as it is affectionately known, is filled with bookstores, restaurants and bars, shops and museums, parks and historic sites. Cambridge is home to four world-class institutions of higher learning -- Harvard, MIT, Lesley University and Cambridge College -- that between them enroll one-quarter of Cambridge's total population and employ one out of every six residents. Boston & Cambridges of Cambridge are identified by their proximity to the five squares: Central, Inman, Harvard, Kendall, and Porter.
Central Square:
Located midway between the campuses of Harvard and MIT, just one stop from Harvard Square on the Red Line of the subway (known as the T), Central Square is an interesting mix of Boston & Cambridge and the international. The area has international restaurants from Indian to Italian, neighborhood bars to modern clubs, great places for music like the Middle East, second hand book stores, the Gap, and a local food Co-op. As the seat of local government, Central Square is also home to City Hall, the local Chamber of Commerce, and the Cambridge Business Development Center. You'll find the basic necessities here at CVS drug store, coffee from Dunkin Donuts to local cafes and Trader Joe's grocery store. And the Charles River is within easy reach for walking, jogging, biking or getting out for a row in a crew shell.
Harvard Square:
In the heart of Harvard's campus with its own Red Line stop on the T, "The Square" is home to more than thirty book stores, shops selling everything from music to beads, two major hotels, a world-famous repertory theater, and great music at the original House of Blues music club and Club Passim. From the street musicians and other performers to the proximity to the Charles River and many events on campus, there is a lot to be said for living around here. (Check out Grendel's Den for fabulous happy-hour dinners for cheap; Rock Bottom for cheap weekday eats and the only pool table in the Square; and Cambridge 1 for great ambience, excellent pizza).
Kendall Square:
Perched at the mouth of the Charles River near MIT, Kendall Square is a center of the local high-tech industry. Kendall Square is also known for its local Cinema that regularly shows first-run foreign, American independent, and sophisticated Hollywood studio films. Hip new restaurants like the Blue Room and the B-Side Lounge are interspersed with more traditional bar and grill establishments, and a pool hall, open late, caters to a diverse young crowd.
Porter Square:
Porter Square, the next stop up the Red Line from Harvard Square heading towards Somerville and Davis Square, is a quiet neighborhood close to necessities like Shaw's Supermarket, video stores, and Tag's Hardware Store in the shopping center and to great food and local music along Massachusetts Avenue. Ana's Taqueria near the Porter Square shopping center is a great place for a quick and satisfying burrito on the run and you can find everything from cheap kitchen supplies to fresh produce walking down Mass Avenue heading west from Porter Square. In the opposite direction, the stretch of Mass. Ave. heading toward Harvard Square is lined with unusual gift and clothing stores.
Inman Square:
Inman Square, out Cambridge Street at the intersection with Hampshire Street, has a great mix of students and working folks who want to be a bit off the beaten path. Without a stop on the T, the area is accessible by bus, car or a nice walk to Central Square or Harvard Square. It boasts a variety of great restaurants like the East Coast Grill, Jae's Café, Casa Portugal, and the Citygirl Caffe, coffee houses like the 1369, and bars like Ryles' Jazz Club. It's an area to consider if you want a place that has developed at its own pace and with its own identity.
Neighborhood Links
Director's Message
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Kay Merseth |
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