Seniors Stop In Somerville

 Somerville is a city that senior travelers will find in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, two miles northwest of Boston with a population of around 79,000.  Somerville, an industrial city that lies adjacent to Cambridge, is the most densely populated city in New England.

In 2006, the town was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe. In 1972, in 2009, and again in 2015, the city received the All-America City Award. Somerville has a good number of squares that are centers for business and entertainment, as well as a number of other neighborhoods.

The original choice for the city’s new name, after breaking away from Charlestown, was Walford, after the first settler of Charlestown, Thomas Walford. However, this name was not adopted by the separation committee.

Charles Miller, a member of this committee, proposed the name “Somerville”, which was ultimately chosen. It was not derived from any one person’s name, and a report commissioned by the Somerville Historical Society found that Somerville was a “purely fanciful name.”

Seniors Find A City Of Squares

Once part of neighboring Charlestown, Somerville became incorporated as a separate town in 1842 and in 1872 the town was incorporated as a city.

The ensuing years saw the city’s population grow in leaps and bounds, aided by the establishment of streetcar lines and a burgeoning prominence of heavy industry which took root in the city.

Like its neighbor Cambridge, Somerville is defined by its city squares, which mark the neighborhood boundaries and also house unique centers of business and entertainment. Among these are Davis Square, Ball Square, Union Square, Teele Square, and Magoun Square.

TripAdvisor has 27 things not to be missed in Somerville, beginning with Davis Square, a ‘fun, funky and energetic square”. Somerville, a thriving arts community, hosts a series of arts-related events throughout the year. ArtBeat finds artists and patrons converging on Davis Square to celebrate one of the area’s largest arts festivals. And the Illuminations Tour, an annual trolley tour of holiday light displays.

 Seniors Enjoy Somerville’s Museum

The Somerville Museum chronicles Somerville’s roots with historical exhibits and artistic displays. Senior visitors enjoy city parks, main streets, shops, neighborhoods and many sites that make this New England town unique.

Due to Somerville’s close proximity to various institutions of higher education, the city has a constant influx of college students and young professionals who reside in sections near Cambridge where Harvard University, Lesley University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located and near Tufts University, which straddles the Somerville-Medford city line.

Seniors visit the Longfellow House, the former home of the famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Museum of Science, Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and the Busch-Reisinger Museum.

The “Official City Homepage” offers senior visitors information on the city. So when you are in the Boston area, make it a point to check out Somerville. -jeb