Seniors Stop In Cambridge

Cambridge, in the Boston metropolitan area, has a population right at 110,000. Senior travelers will find Cambridge  directly north of the city of Boston, across the Charles River. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Cambridge is home to two of the world’s most prominent universities, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Cambridge has also been home to Radcliffe College, once one of the leading colleges for women in the United States before it merged with Harvard. I spent a summer at Harvard studying the films of Jean Renoir. Spent a lot of time on Harvard Square, a favorite haunt of the students of Harvard.

Cambridge has been called the “City of Squares” by some, as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares. Each of the squares acts as a neighborhood center.

Seniors Find History Surrounds Cambridge

There are plenty of Cambridge historic sites and museums for seniors to visit that give insight into the exciting history of this beautiful city. Many of the churches in Cambridge are historical. Harvard University is made up of numerous historical buildings. Austin Hall at Harvard University dates to 1882 and is one of the most visited historical buildings in Cambridge. I well recall walking in the Main Library and seeing an original Gutenberg Bible on display under glass.

The site for what would become Cambridge was chosen in December 1630, because it was located safely upriver from Boston Harbor, which made it easily defensible from attacks by enemy ships. Thomas Dudley, his daughter Anne Bradstreet, and her husband Simon, were among the first settlers of the town.

The first houses were built in the spring of 1631. The settlement was initially referred to as “the newe towne”. Official Massachusetts records show the name as Newe Towne by 1632 and a single word Newtowne by 1638. Manufacturing was an important part of the economy in the late 19th and early 20th century, but educational institutions are the city’s biggest employers today.

 Cemeteries and Museums Draw Senior Visitors

TripAdvisor suggests that senior visitors head for Mt. Auburn Cemetery first, then on to Harvard. There’s no better way to learn the history of Cambridge than visiting the museums in the city: Busch-Reisinger Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge Arts Council Gallery and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Seniors, as you cross the St.Charles Bridge on your way over to Cambridge, be on the lookout for students who are skulling on the river. This spot is where they shoot off the 4th of July fireworks from barges as the Boston Pops plays nearby.

Enjoy Cambridge and all that the fine city has to offer visitors. -jeb