Cambridge, MA is a city in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. It was named in honor of Cambridge, England. Cambridge is most famous for the two prominent universities that call it home: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 101,355. It is the fifth most populous city in the state.

Cambridge is a county seat of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, along with Lowell. Though the county government was abolished in 1997, it still exists as a geographical and political region. The employees of Middlesex County courts, jails, registries, and other county agencies now work directly for the state.

[edit] About the city

Cambridge City Hall

Cambridge is noted for its diverse population, both racially and economically. Residents, known as Cantabrigians, range from affluent MIT and Harvard professors to working-class families to immigrants. The first legal applications in America for same-sex marriage licenses were issued at Cambridge's City Hall.^[1]

The city and its universities, particularly Harvard, have strong leftist traditions, with some (typically outside the city) even referring to the city as the PRC, or the "People's Republic of Cambridge" and Harvard as the Kremlin on the Charles. Cambridge is also known as "Boston's Left Bank" (although it is not part of the city of Boston).

Cambridge has also been called the "City of Squares" by some, as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares. Because most streets were laid out centuries ago, few of these squares resemble a geometric square in any way—Harvard Square is in fact formed by two converging curved streets. Each of the squares acts as something of a neighborhood center. These include:

• Kendall Square, formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third Street. Just over the Longfellow Bridge from Boston, at the eastern end of the MIT campus. It is served by an MBTA Red Line station. Most of Cambridge's large office towers are located here, giving the area somewhat of an office park feel. A flourishing biotech industry has grown up around here. The "One Kendall Square" complex is nearby, but—confusingly—not actually in Kendall Square.
• Central Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. This is perhaps the closest thing Cambridge has to a downtown, and is well-known for its wide variety of ethnic restaurants. Even as recently as the late 1990s it was rather run-down; it underwent a controversial gentrification in recent years (in conjunction with the development of the nearby University Park at MIT), and continues to grow more expensive. It is served by a Red Line station. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street, and Main Street, is considered a part of the Central Square area. Cambridgeport is south of Central Square along Magazine Street and Brookline Street.

Harvard Square

• Harvard Square, formed by the junction of Mass. Avenue, Brattle Street, and JFK Street. This is the site of Harvard University, the oldest university in the United States and is a major Cambridge shopping area (although not as exclusively so as in years past). It is served by a Red Line station. A short distance away from the square lies the Cambridge Common, while the neighborhood north of Harvard but east of Mass Ave is known as Agassiz in honor of the famed scientist Louis Agassiz.
• Porter Square, about a mile north on Mass. Ave from Harvard Square, formed by the junction of Mass. Ave and Somerville Ave, and including part of the city of Somerville. It is served by the Porter Square station which includes a Red Line stop and a Fitchburg Line commuter rail stop in the same building.
• Inman Square, at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in Mid-Cambridge. The most "funky" and "unique" of the squares, Inman Square is home to many diverse restaurants, bars and boutiques. Ryles Jazz Club and the S&S restaurant are two legends of Inman Square. The funky street scene still holds some urban flair but was dressed up recently with Victorian street lights, benches and bus-stops. A new community park was installed and is a favorite place to enjoy some takeout food from the nearby restaurants and ice cream parlor.
• Lechmere Square, at the junction of Cambridge and First streets, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall. Perhaps best known as the eastern terminus of the MBTA Green Line subway.

The residential neighborhoods (map) in Cambridge border, but are not defined by the squares. These include:

• East Cambridge (Area 1) is bordered on the north by the Somerville border, on the east by the Charles River, on the south by Broadway and Main Street, then on the west by railroad tracks.
• MIT Campus (Area 2) is bordered on the north by Broadway and on the south and east by the Charles River, then on the west by railroad tracks.
• Wellington-Harrington (Area 3) bordered on the north by the Somerville border and on the south and west by Hampshire Street, then on the east by railroad tracks.
• Area 4 is bordered on the north by Hampshire Street and on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, then on the west by Prospect Street and on the east by railroad tracks. Residents of Area 4 often refer to their neighborhood as simply "Port", and refer to the area of Cambridgeport and riverside as "Coast". "Port" is often associated with the number 44 and the slogan "Port Life 44" refers to the area's number.
• Cambridgeport (Area 5) is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue and on the south by the Charles River, then on the west by River Street and on the east by railroad tracks.
• Mid Cambridge (Area 6) is bordered on the north by Kirkland and Hampshire Streets and the Somerville border and on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, then on the west by Peabody Street and on the east by Prospect Street.
• Riverside (Area 7) this area, sometimes refferred to as "Coast" is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue and on the south by the Charles River, then on the west by JFK Street and on the east by River Street.
• Agassiz (Harvard North) (Area 8) is bordered on the north by the Somerville border and on the south and east by Kirkland Street, then on the west by Massachusetts Avenue.
• Radcliffe/Avon Hill/Neighborhood 9 (Area 9) is bordered on the north by railroad tracks and on the south by Concord Avenue, then on the west by railroad tracks and Massachusetts Avenue. The Avon Hill sub-neighorhood consists of the higher elevations bounded by Upland Road, Raymond Street, Linnaean Street and Mass Ave.
• Brattle area/West Cambridge (Area 10) is bordered on the north by Concord Avenue and Garden Street and on the south by the Charles River and the Watertown border, then on the west by the east shore of Fresh Pond and the Collins Branch Library and on the east by JFK Street. It includes the sub-neignborhoods of Brattle Street and Huron Village.
• North Cambridge (Area 11) is bordered on the north by the Arlington border and partially the Somerville border and on the south by the railroad tracks, then on the west by the Belmont border and on the east by the Somerville border.
• Cambridge Highlands (Area 12) is bordered on the north and east by railroad tracks and on the south by the north shore of the Fresh Pond, then on the west by the Belmont border.
• Strawberry Hill (Area 13) is bordered on the north by the south shore of Fresh Pond and on the south by the Watertown border, then on the west by the Belmont border and on the east by railroad tracks.

At the western edge of Cambridge, Mount Auburn Cemetery is well known as the first garden cemetery, for its distinguished inhabitants, for its superb landscaping (the oldest planned landscape in the country), and as a first-rate arboretum.

Although one often sees references to the "Boston/Cambridge area" in print, Cambridge prefers to retain its own unique and legally-separate identity.

Today Cambridge has 53 single family homes for sale as compared to last month's number of 46 and last year's number 66. This represents a slight build-up in inventory. The average days on market for a single family today in Cambridge is 124 days. Last June the median price of a single was $950,000 whereas, today it is $880,000--a huge drop in price over the year but up for the second straight month. (Last month $810,000)

Cambridge offers 315 condominiums for sale, the second straight month of increase, up by 29 from last month. Inventory was selling faster than it was coming on for two straight months. That has changed and is not good news for sellers. The average days on market for a condo today is 125 days, down from last month's 133 and up from last year's 99. The median price for a condo today in Cambridge saw a slight uptick to $440,000 from $420,000 last month and equal with last year's.

Today there are only 32 multi family properties for sale. This is the same number for the second straight month and less than last year (51). The average days on market is down, at 99. The median price of a multi today has dropped $30,000 from last month to $769,000, a $90,000 (10%) decrease from last year's $859,000.

Inventory in all sectors has stopped dropping and has built slightly for the second straight month. Days on market are down a little across the board. The single family, if you can afford it, is still a great deal over last year's prices.

The Cambridge condo prices are steady. The median price is not to far off from last year's price. The volume of inventory is still a worry as is the fact that between Somerville and Cambridge there are 4000 new condos in development. What will this do to value? Multi family dwellings may be the best value in Cambridge MA real estate right now.