CENTRAL SQUARE (CAMBRIDGE)

'Central Square' is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area. Harvard Square is to the northwest along Massachusetts Avenue, Inman Square is to the north along Prospect Street and Kendall Square is to the east along Main Street.
Several Cambridge neighborhoods meet at Central Square. On the east, Area 4 lies on the north side of Massachusetts Avenue (aka "Mass Ave.") and Cambridgeport on the south side between Massachusetts Avenue and the Charles River. Both of these neighborhoods were once known as The Port or Old Port region of Cambridge. The area to the west and northwest of Central Square is known as Mid-Cambridge.
Central Square is the seat of government in Cambridge - Cambridge City Hall, the Cambridge Police Department (which recently announced plans to move into a new building at 125 Sixth Street, near Kendall Square) and the main branch of the Cambridge Post Office are located in this area.
Central Square is known for its wide variety of ethnic restaurants, bars and live music venues. It is gentrifying rapidly, and a number of upscale restaurants have opened in the Square. Pharmaceutical companies that have moved research and office operations into the Square to take advantage of the proximity to MIT and Boston medical resources. Many of these companies have relocated to University Park at MIT, formerly an area of rundown industrial buildings and vacant lots, now redeveloped as a mix of office, retail and residential buildings.
Central Square is also the original home of actor Ben Affleck and, since 1927, the Necco Wafer factory, which recently relocated to Revere, Massachusetts. The old Necco company factory building in Cambridge is now used for labs by Novartis.
Central Square is accessible by the MBTA Red Line subway branch by the station named Central. The intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Brookline in front of The Middle East in Central Square is named in honor of the late indie rock musician Mark Sandman, who often played there.
Central Square serves as the commercial center for the surrounding neighborhoods of Cambridgeport, Riverside, Mid Cambridge, Area 4 and MIT.

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Famous people who have lived in Central Square

External link

Famous people who have lived in Central Square

★ Ben Affleck, actor

★ Ken Brown, filmmaker

★ Lisa Crafts, animator

★ Matt Damon, actor

★ Vernon Grant, cartoonist

★ John Forbes Nash, mathematician

External link

★ Photos of Central Square World's Fair