The City of Cambridge, Massachusetts is situated along the Charles River across from Boston, but within the Greater Boston area of Suffolk County. Named in honor of Cambridge, England, the city is most famous for the two prominent universities that call it home: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In fact, following the American Revolution, Cambridge became known as the "home of the Literati." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 101,355, though even more people commute into Cambridge to work.

Cambridge was established as the town of "Newtowne" in 1630. Newtowne was one of a number of towns founded by the 700 original Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under governor John Winthrop. The original village site was the heart of today's Harvard Square, while the town included a much larger area than the present city, with various outlying parts becoming independent towns over the years: Newton, Lexington, and Arlington among them. In 1636 Harvard College was founded by the colony to train ministers and Newtowne was chosen for its site. In 1638 the name was changed to "Cambridge" (after Cambridge, England) to reflect its status as the center for higher education in the colony. That strong work ethic and rigorous adherence to Christian values of those early Puritan settlers established a foundation for disciplined wealth-building, idealism and political participation that still holds true today.

Cambridge grew slowly as an agricultural village eight miles by road from Boston, the capital of the colony. By the American Revolution, most residents lived near the Common and Harvard College, with farms and estates comprising most of the town. Most of the inhabitants were descendants of the original Puritan colonists, but there was also a small elite of Anglicans "worthies" who were not involved in village life, made their livings from estates, investments, and trade, and lived in mansions along "the Road to Watertown" (today's Brattle Street), which is known as Tory Row. Most of these estates were confiscated after the revolution and sold to Loyalists.

In 1846, Cambridge was incorporated as the second city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its commercial center also began to shift from Harvard Square to Central Square, which became the downtown of the city. Between 1850 and 1900, Cambridge took on much of its present character — streetcar suburban development along the turnpikes, with working-class and industrial neighborhoods focused on East Cambridge, comfortable middle-class housing being built on old estates in Cambridgeport and Mid-Cambridge, and upper-class enclaves near Harvard University and on the minor hills of the city. Cambridge is known by some as the "City of Squares," as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares. Each of the squares acts as something of a neighborhood center.

The diversity of the population is striking. Residents, known as Cantabrigians, range from distinguished Harvard professors to working-class families to immigrants from around the world. This diversity contributes to the liberal atmosphere, and may be compared to Berkeley, California, in some respects. It is sometimes referred to as the "People's Republic of Cambridge" because of the city's famously liberal politics; The city, as it grows wealthier, has not lost its very liberal political culture.

Famous residents of Cambridge including Bhumibol Adulyadej (King of Thailand), actors Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Patrick Stewart and Sam Waterston, economists John Kenneth Galbraith and Robert Reich, diplomat Henry Kissinger, poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and e.e. cummings, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma

For more information on activities in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, visit:

Massachusetts Vacations - Boston and Cambridge Region
Cambridge, USA
Greater Boston Convention & Visitor Bureau

Cambridge Homes and Real Estate

Cambridge real estate includes a wide variety of homes for sale, condos for sale, estates, water access properties, active adult communities, hobby farms and executive properties. Regardless of your present home or property concerns - whether you are buying or selling a home, condo, land or other property –David Laven has the expertise to guide you through the process painlessly and profitably.

Sellers who have been in the area for a while know our reputation for knowledgeable advice, enthusiastic service, creative marketing and professional networking. We mine every source for interested buyers so you can feel at ease that your home will attract value and that it will remain in good hands.

For buyers new to the area, David Laven will provide the specialized services you deserve: a strong work ethic, personal real estate expertise to help define your needs, help with selecting and securing standard financing for your purchase, special technology, constant communication throughout the transaction, and more. Our many years living and working in the area, combined with our cumulative years of experience in real estate, means we can cover all aspects of your search, from existing homes for sale, properties for sale, lots, vacant land, new construction, 55-plus and retirement communities, investment properties, waterfront, golf and recreational properties, all the way to luxury villas, estates and executive homes.

So when you're ready to buy or sell real estate in or around Cambridge, Massachusetts, please let David Laven help you purchase the home or property of your dreams. Contact David Laven today!

Other nearby communities have similar real estate characteristics as Cambridge and may also be of interest to you in your home search. Please feel free to ask your friends about David Laven and the homes for sale, estates, historic homes and properties, waterside/riverside properties and other real estate listings for nearby communities, like Quincy, Boston, North End Boston, South End Boston, Back Bay Boston, South Boston, Downtown Boston, Beacon Hill, Milton, Randolph, Braintree, Belmont, Wellesley, Brookline, Weymouth, Hingham, Charlestown, Somerville, Suffolk County, Norfolk County, Chestnut Hill, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Dedham.

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