Cambridge Common facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cambridge Common Historic District
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View of the Cambridge Common, ca. 1808-09, with Harvard College on the left and Christ Church on the right.
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Roughly SE of Waterhouse St., bordered by Garden St. and Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 8.5 acres (3.4 ha) |
| Built | 1770 |
| Sculptor | Anne Whitney, et. al. |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Federal |
| MPS | Cambridge MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 87000499 |
| Added to NRHP | January 26, 1987 |
Cambridge Common is a public park and National Historic Landmark in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near Harvard Square and borders on several parts of Harvard University. 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.
Legend has it that George Washington took command of the Continental Army 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 as part of protests for Civil Rights or against the Vietnam War.
Matt Damon recalled how Ben Affleck 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. Nearby is a trio of bronze cannons, a plaque for Henry Knox, and another for Tadeusz Kościuszko.
In the northeast corner is the Statue of John Bridge, also known as The Puritan, by Thomas Ridgeway Gould.
Slightly southeast of the center of the Common is a memorial to the American Civil War with a statue of Abraham Lincoln 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, dedicated on July 23, 1997 by then President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and unveiled to an audience of 3,000 people. The Memorial sculpture was created by Maurice Harron, a sculptor from Derry, Northern Ireland. There is a similar memorial in downtown Boston.
Gallery
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A modern view of the common
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Cambridge Common
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Civil War Memorial
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The Great Hunger in Ireland Memorial
Images for kids
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Cambridge Common in 2022
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