There are the big ones: Central, Harvard, Inman, Kendall, Lechmere and Porter. Then the not-quite-so-big ones: Brattle, Charles, Eliot, Lafayette, Putnam and Winthrop. But did you know that the city also has dozens of honorary squares, named to honor such notable locals as Leslie L. "Bunny" Wood and Graham F. Bulger? There is also a square for King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who was born at Mt. Auburn Hospital when his dad was attending Harvard Medical School.
The Boston Globe ranked Cambridge as the state's top town for hipsters, beating out such other contenders as, uh, Swampscott and Newton. The Harvard Crimson, however, called out the Globe on its use of questionable methodologies such as counting the number of Starbucks...anathema to the true hipster, who'd never dream of patronizing any establishment with such mainstream name recognition.
While Boston may claim the Charles River as its own, in truth, its Left Bank belongs to Cambridge. An annual River Festival each June used to pay homage to the town's stretch of muddy water in typical Cantabridgian fashion, with an arts bazaar and multi-ethnic food vendors, but they went bust in 2014. The Head of the Charles Regatta, however, still brings out hordes of paddling preppies each October.
Whether or not this is an authentic interpretation of the local accent (opinions vary), the fact remains that in most circumstances, pahking (and cahs) are not allowed they-ah.
The first gay couple to have a government-recognized marriage in the U.S. tied the knot in Cambridge in 2004.
Cambridge is home to Tom and Ray Magliozzi, aka Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers. They used to give the city a shout-out in each episode of "Car Talk", their weekly radio show that was broadcast on (where else?) NPR.
The Brattle Theatre was built in 1871, but its most beloved tradition dates back to the 1950s - showing Humphrey Bogart films during Harvard's final exams week. Thus was born the "Bogie Cult", the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" of its day, with film fans so enthusiastic they'd dress in costume and recite the dialogue along with Bogart and company. Even today, the Brattle's Valentine's Day showing of "Casablanca" is a sure sell-out.
You want to see cool stuff like holograms and robots? How about geeky college memorabilia? Why all the beavers, and what, exactly is a brass rat? Find out within the hallowed halls of the MIT Museum.
One of the most popular exhibits at the Harvard Natural History Museum is The Glass Flowers Gallery. Over 3,000 models, more than 830 different plant species, and the weird thing is that they don't look at all glassy. Harvard assures us that they are, in fact, made out of the stuff, so who am I to argue?
The Harvard Cooperative Society, or Coop for short, is THE place to get all your Crimson souvenirs. Or even actual textbooks, should you be one of the chosen few.
The Longfellow House/Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site is a double-duty tourist attraction. Victorian literature fans can geek out over this former home of the great Henry Wadsworth, while Revolutionary War enthusiasts go gaga over the fact that it served as George Washington's headquarters during the Siege of Boston. (That was sometime before Longfellow moved in, for the historically/chronologically challenged.)
Mount Auburn Cemetery was established in 1831 as the nation's first "garden of graves". It's chock-full of famous dead folks including Fannie Farmer of cookbook fame, geodesic dome-meister Buckminster Fuller and noted rat trainer (and psychologist) B.F. Skinner.
Cambridge's fave celebrity twosome, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, were schoolboys together at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. They've long since departed for the browner pastures of L.A., but you can still grab a coffee regulah at the Bow Street Dunkin' Donuts that appeared in "Good Will Hunting."
The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub started off as a Lebanese restaurant complete with belly dancers, but in the '80s it somehow morphed into a live music venue that the Boston Phoenix has called "the premier place to hear indie rock." Of course, the Boston Globe also called it the "hippest night spot" in town, which means that real hipsters will now be staying away in droves. Oh well, on the bright side, maybe this means they might consider bringing back the belly dancers?
The Caribbean-themed Cambridge Carnival, held each September, is Cambridge's largest outdoor celebration. Feathery costumes, food trucks, face painting and other festivities are all featured here. The cost (free) of attending this festival is several thousand dollars less than taking an actual trip to the islands.
Toscanini's signature Burnt Caramel ice cream started off as an "oops!" - the cook was melting sugar to make a standard caramel flavor, but he got to chatting with a visitor and...well, no use crying over burnt sugar. He figured what they hey, waste not, want not, so he went ahead with making the ice cream anyway, and thus was a legend born.
The Fireside Poets - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. - were the 19th century equivalent of rock stars. Today, three out of five (all but Bryant and Whittier) are resting in Cambridge's sacred soil.
The Lizard Lounge has poetry slams, open mic nights, a great beer selection, and it's in a basement. Also, there's a really cool giant lizard painted on the wall outside.
If you prefer scorpions - or giant bowls of booze - to lizards, the Hong Kong Restaurant in Harvard Square is your kind of place. The Scorpion bowl is a "secret recipe" of spirits and juices (we suspect rum, rum and more rum...and maybe some juice), and you can get it in the traditional party-size, or a smaller solo version, or even a frozen variety. And what better to accompany this alcoholic Asian-inspired extravaganza than a heaping platter of pu pu?
Grendel's Den is another basement bar catering to those who fear the light of day. It may be named after one of literature's most famous man-eating monsters, but human flesh is not on the menu. Instead, you can feast on a monstrous platter of veggie nachos topped with meatless chili.
Chill out with a stack of blueberry pancakes and a bloody Mary while you listen to live jazz at Ryles in Inman Square, Cambridge's oldest jazz club.
Celebrate the solstice at Sanders Theater. The Christmas Revels have been a beloved Cambridge tradition since 1971, although it does seem a wee bit overly optimistic to start welcoming the "return of the light" in mid December.
According to the Walk Score website, Cambridge rates a "very walkable" 87, meaning that most errands can be accomplished on foot. As if that weren't enough green-living goodness, the city is called a "biker's paradise", with a bike score of 92.
Just what is an alewife, anyway? Sounds like it's some shrieking harridan of a barmaid, but it turns out it's a kind of a fish. Also a T station. Not to mention a body of water that runs through the Alewife Brook Reservation, which is a great place to see birdies like woodcocks, ospreys, great blue herons and that not-so-rara avis, the Canada goose.
At the All Star Sandwich Bar you can order from a sandwich hall of fame including the upstate NY classic beef on a weck, a N'Awlins-style muffaletta and Miami's favorite, the Cuban. One thing they won't serve, however, is a wrap. If you want to go low carb, go somewhere else. You could always order a salad, but come on, it's a sandwich bar! Don't be that guy!
In the 19th century, Fresh Pond supplied ice that was shipped all over the world. Today it's a popular recreation area, complete with a nine-hole golf course, but whatever you do, don't pee in the pond! It's part of the city's drinking water supply.
The Plough and Stars is an iconic Irish pub that has even spawned its own literary journal, Ploughshares. Famous patrons past and present have included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Seamus Heaney, David Mamet, Philip Roth and even former Northern Ireland Social Democratic and Labour Party leader John Hume.
Passim's been a folkie hangout since back in the days of beatniks and bongos, and has hosted such crazy cats as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Joanie Mitchell. The all volunteer-staffed Nameless Coffeehouse dates back to the '60s, and has been graced by groovy dudes and dudettes like Ric Ocasek and Tracy Chapman.
In 1908, a would-be real estate entrepreneur named Francis O'Reilly tried to sell a narrow strip of land he owned to a neighbor with an adjoining, much larger property. When the neighbor wasn't interested in buying, O'Reilly decided he might as well get some use out of it (or at least block the view) by putting up a tiny little building. The 37-foot-long by 8-foot-wide O'Reilly Spite House is currently home to Annie Hall Interiors, a design firm that uses its unique office as a 3-D billboard.
What's the price of rice in China these days anyway? You can probably find out at Out of Town News, since they seem to stock just about every newspaper and magazine imaginable from all over the world. Plus there's no mistaking the kiosk; it's the most recognizable building in Harvard Square.
