Porter Square
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Porter Square is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts in the USA, located around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue, between Harvard and Davis Squares. The Porter Square station is one of the stops on the Red Line, and of the Commuter Rail, both part of the MBTA. The station is approximately 200 yards from the border with Somerville, so "Porter Square" inhabitants include residents of both cities.
Porter Square was named for the now-vanished Porter House Hotel, operated by Zachariah B. Porter, who also left his name to the hotel's specialty, the cut of steak now known as the porterhouse. The square, formerly surrounded by cattle yards that used the Porter rail head to transport their beef through the US, was an important center for commerce and light industry as early as the late 18th century, though it began a period of gradual decline during the Great Depression as residents began moving to more rural areas. This decline was reversed in 1984 when the Red Line was extended from Harvard through Porter and Davis Square to its present terminus at Alewife, a project that also left Porter with its most visible landmark, Susumu Shingu's 46-foot stainless steel kinetic sculpture entitled "Gift of the Wind."
Porter Square is home to Toad which features a live band every night and boasts some of the Boston area's most renowned talent in its small neighborhood venue. Another prominent feature of the Porter Square skyline is the tower on the Art Deco-style Porter Exchange building, which was a Sears & Roebuck Department Store from 1928 to 1985. In 1991, Lesley University began leasing classroom space there, and in 1994 it bought the building. Porter Exchange now contains many (mostly Japanese) small shops and restaurants, Lesley facilities (including a bookstore, art and dance studios, and classrooms), and a Bally Total Fitness gym.
The square's strip mall, the Porter Square Shopping Center, contains a Shaw's (formerly Star Market), CVS/pharmacy, an independent bookstore called Porter Square Books, and a parking lot known for its strict two-hours-or-you're-towed policy.
Restaurants in the area include Anna's Taqueria, Tacos Lupita (Salvadorean), Bluefin (Japanese), Sugar & Spice (Thai), Christopher's (American), and Elephant Walk (Cambodian).
Porter Square is widely considered a more "utilitarian" location than its neighbors to the north (Davis Square, voted one of America's 15 hippest places by the Utne Reader in 1997) and the south (Harvard Square, the commercial center of Cambridge), lacking their personality and "sense of place." From 2004 to mid 2006 the square and surrounding area underwent extensive construction to improve access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and mass transit users, improve drainage and stormwater conditions. This improved the streetscape, has created public areas for people to dine and mingle and has lead to significantly improved commerce.
[edit] External links
- Citysquares.com - Your Neighborhood, Online... Website for Porter Square and other unique neighborhoods of Boston.
- Description of Porter Square design project from Cambridge community development site
- Article about Porter Exchange building in Lesley University magazine
- 1987 Porter Exchange renovation as briefly described by architecture firm
- Boston Squares page about Porter Square
- Porter Square Flickr Group Photo Pool
