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Welcome to Centers and Squares
As a Cambridge real estate agent, the city squares of Cambridge, Somerville and Medford and the town centers of Arlington, Watertown and Belmont, Massachusetts are my home turf. And as a lifelong New Englander who’s lived within twenty miles of Boston most of my life, I can introduce you to other nearby towns as we search for your new home. If you’re planning to sell your home in Cambridge, MA or nearby you’ll find plenty of info about the home selling process here too. Questions? Send me an email or call me at 617-504-1737.
Weatherize Your Old House – Medford Class
Is this the right insulation for an antique home? Come to this Medford presentation to find out.
Brrrr!! It’s nippy out! Wondering how to weatherize your old house? An upcoming Medford class is geared to homeowners of antique houses who want to make upgrades to save energy but don’t want to jeopardize the original character of their vintage home.
Greening the Older Home is sponsored by the Medford Historical Society.
Topics to be covered:
- Insulation
- Windows
- Lighting
- Exterior sealing
- Renewable energy options
Panelists:
- Sally Zimmerman, Preservation Specialist, Historic New England
- Rebecca Williams from the Northeast Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Christopher Skelly of the Massachusetts Historical Commission
Greening the Older Home is scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
The program will take place at the Springstep building at 98 George P. Hassett Drive (next to Medford City Hall and the Route 93 Rotary).
400 Washington St Somerville – Lofts at Ivy Place
400 Washington Street, Somerville - Ivy Place
Condo buyers looking for a true loft-style condo that’s close to Harvard will want to consider the the lofts at Ivy Place at 400 Washington St in Somerville. Built in 2001 there are 15 condos on four floors including one commercial space.
Unlike some condos that are described as lofts because the floor plan is a bit more open than a traditional layout, the condos at 400 Washington Street are true lofts. The floor plan, with the kitchen and bath at the core, allows for some privacy for the sleeping area / bedroom and owners often divide the space with bookcases and other room dividers.
Near the intersection of Beacon Street, there are shops and restaurants nearby including Dali, evoo, the Wine and Cheese Cask, Savenor’s, the Biscuit and the Kebab Factory. Harvard Yard is about half a mile down Kirkland Street (Washington Street becomes Kirkland at the Cambridge line). Union and Inman Squares are not far away.
400 Washington St. Somerville Features
- Condos range in size from 1084 to 1258 sq. ft.
- Elevator
- 9.5 ft. ceilings
- Central air conditioning
- Granite counters, stainless steel appliances with gas stove
- Hardwood floors
- Huge windows
- Gas fireplace
- In-unit laundry
- Balcony or patio
- Offstreet parking space
- Pet friendly
- Professionally managed
- Heat and hot water included in the condo fee
400 Washington St. – Recent Sales at Ivy Place
- A second floor unit with two parking spaces sold for $433,000 in 2009
- A penthouse condo with one parking space sold for $417,000 in 2009
If there are condos for sale or rent at 400 Washington Street, Somerville they’ll appear below. Click on the small photo for additional photographs and more information.
SEARCH FOR LOFTS IN SOMERVILLE
Christmas Tree Recycling
Wondering how to dispose of your Christmas tree? The best option is to recycle your tree. Here’s information about Christmas tree recycling and pickup in local towns. Timeliness is important - most towns have a short schedule for Christmas tree pickup.
Trees left for recycling must be bare – free of tinsel, not bagged, and without a stand attached.
Wreaths and garlands are wrapped in wire and cannot be left for mulch pickup. Wreaths and garlands should be disposed of with your trash.
Christmas Tree Pickup in Cambridge
Cambridge recycled over 4700 trees last year. Trees are chipped and spread as mulch in City landscaping projects.
Cambridge will pick up trees for mulching on your regular trash and recycle day from December 28th to January 8, 2010.
Somerville Christmas Tree Recycling
Somerville picks up trees for mulching during January. After January trees that are left out will be picked up as regular trash. For more information call the Somerville DPW at 617-666-3311.
Arlington Christmas Tree Pickup Schedule
Leave your Christmas tree in Arlington curbside for recycling on your regular trash day during the week of January 11 to 15, 2010.
Watertown Christmas Tree Recylcing
Xmas trees will be picked up curbside during January and chipped for recycling. Call the Watertown DPW at 617-972-6420 for more information.
Medford Christmas Tree Disposal
In Medford you can put your tree on the curb on your regular trash pickup day. Supposedly Waste Management brings trees to a compost facility.
Belmont Christmas Tree Pickup
Unfortunately in Belmont trees are left out with the trash and are not recylced.
Don’t see your Massachusetts town listed here or missed your local Christmas tree recycling pickup? Here’s a link to a local landscaping company that accepts organic materials for dropoff. I’m not sure of costs entailed - and they sell mulch too - call Landscape Express in Woburn at 781-933-3818 for more info.
It’s really too bad that some towns don’t turn Christmas trees into compost. Some Boy Scout troops are starting tree pickup projects where, for a small donation, Scouts will come by and pick up trees for recycling. If you can’t get your town on board with turning trees into mulch perhaps a project by the Boy Scouts would be well received.
4 Trowbridge Place, Cambridge – Harvard Square Condos
4 Trowbridge Place - Cambridge Condos Near Harvard Square
4 Trowbridge Place, Cambridge – Harvard Square Condos
Cambridge real estate buyers looking for a condo close to Harvard Square that is reasonably priced (by Cambridge standards!) will want to check out Trowbridge Place.
4-8 Trowbridge Place was built in 1970. There are 28 condos on six floors, and a penthouse unit on the 7th floor. There are studios and one, two and three-bedroom condos in the building.
Trowbridge Place is very close to Harvard Square and just steps from the newly renovated and expanded Cambridge Public Library. A number of units are rented and the location commands a very good rent. A few years ago the building underwent a large capital improvements project.
4 Trowbridge Place Features
- Elevator building
- Parking
- Upper units have a balcony
- Walls of windows
- Some units have a fireplace
- Storage
- Condo fee includes heat and hot water
Recent Sales of 4 Trowbridge Place Condos
- A 4th floor, two-bedroom in need of updating sold for $334,000 in 2008
- Another 4th floor two-bedroom condo sold for $358,000 in 2008
- In 2009 two adjacent units on one deed, three bedrooms and 1100 sq.ft. in all, sold for $476,500
If condos are currently available for sale or rent at 4 Trowbridge Place, they’ll appear below. Click on the small photo for additional photographs and more information.
SEARCH FOR CAMBRIDGE CONDOS FOR SALE
Jingle Bells – Medford’s Christmas Carol
I thought this would be a simple Christmas post about Jingle Bells and its Medford origins. Turns out it’s a much more interesting story than I knew.
Jingle Bells was written by James Pierpont and describes the sleigh races held on Pleasant Street between Medford Square and Malden. Peirpont was born in Boston in 1822, son of the Reverend John Pierpont, a Unitarian minister, ardent abolitionist and noted poet.
Sleigh racing in the 1800s - theme of Jingle Bells
Turns out Pierpont was, from an early age, a bit of wild man, called a “19th century scalawag” in a Dec. 21, 1997 Boston Globe article who “had a woman in every port”. He ran away to sea aboard The Shark at the age of 14. Back on the East Coast he married Millicent Cowee in the 1840s and with his wife and two children moved to Medford when his father became minister of the Unitarian Church in Medford in 1849.
James left the family behind and joined the Gold Rush in San Francisco shortly thereafter. Failing to find success he returned to Medford.
Back in Medford, Pierpont is said to have composed Jingle Bells while playing the piano at a Medford boarding house, the Seccomb House, by the intersection of High and Forest Streets.
In 1853, James’ brother John, Jr. accepted a position as minister of the Savannah, Georgia Unitarian Church. Again leaving his wife and children with his parents, James moved to Savannah and became the organist and music director in his brother’s church. In 1857 Jingle Bells, initially called “One Horse Open Sleigh”, was published, leading Savannah to attempt to lay claim to the song in recent years.
Back in Medford, Pierpont’s wife died of TB. The following year he married Eliza Purse of Savannah, whom descendants suggest he had been living with prior to his wife’s death and who gave birth to a child shortly after their marriage. Pierpont’s two children from his first marriage remained with their grandparents.
Jingle Bells
When the Civil War broke out Pierpont’s father, 76 at the time, volunteered to serve with the Union Army, eventually accepting a position with the Treasury Department instead. For his 80th birthday celebration, Rev. Pierpont recieved tributes from fellow poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Oliver Wendell Holmes.
The Savannah Unitarian Church was closed since its abolitionist leanings were not popular in the South. While James’ brother returned to the North, James, son and brother of abolitionists, enlisted with the Confederate Army serving two years and writing several Confederate battle songs.
A few other fun facts about the family - J. Pierpont Morgan, the Wall Street financier whose library became New York’s Pierpont Morgan Library, was the son of James’s sister Juliet. James’ daughter from his first marriage, Mary, married Theodore Barnum, a cousin of circus promoter P.T. Barnum. One of his ancestors, for whom I imagine he’s named, James Pierpont was a founder of Yale and his daughter married theologian Jonathan Edwards. Yowza – it’s quite the family tree!
James Pierpont died in 1893 and is buried in Savannah with a Confederate marker at his grave.
But back to Jingle Bells.
Turns out Jingle Bells is not the simple holiday ditty that we think it is.
The Boston Herald, in a Dec. 24, 2001 article described Jingle Bells as “pre-Civil War rock ‘n roll. In its seldom heard original form, it’s about having a flashy vehicle, driving it too fast and using it to pick up girls.”
Not what you thought, huh?
Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh
Through the fields we go laughing all the way.
Bells on bob tail ring making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight.
(Chorus)
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, O
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
A day or two ago I thought I’d take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank, misfortune seemed his lot,
He got into a drifted bank and there we got upsot.
(Chorus)
A day or two ago, the story I must tell
I went out on the snow and on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by in a one-horse open sleigh
He laughed at me as I there sprawling laid but quickly drove away.
(Chorus)
Now the ground is white, go it while you’re young,
Take the girls along and sing this sleighing song.
Just bet a bob-tailed bay, two-forty as his speed.
Hitch him to an open sleigh and crack! You’ll take the lead.
(Chorus)
Sources:
Boston Globe, December 21, 1997. “A New Tune on ‘Jingle Bells’ Composer Medford’s Pierpont was 19th Century Scalawag.”
Boston Herald, December 24, 2001. “Jingle Bell Shock: Both Medford and Savannah, Ga. Stake Claims to ‘Racy’ Holiday Song.”
Cincinnati Post, December 23, 2003. “Birthplace of Jingle Bells Is Debated.”
91 Sherman St – Cambridge Townhouses
91 Sherman St – Cambridge Townhouses. The more that Cambridge streets are lined with blocky new 3-4 story condo buildings, the more you can appreciate the design of the townhomes at 91 Sherman Street in North Cambridge.
Townhouses at 91 Sherman Street, Cambridge
Two free-standing townhouses abut Sherman Street and are an attractive part of the streetscape. The unobtrusive entry to the complex’s underground garage is between them. The larger building that houses the other six townhouses in the complex, Sarah Court, is tucked behind, abutting Danahy Park.
Townhouses at 91 Sherman St next to Danahy Park
Built in 1988, this eight-unit complex is next to the 50 acre Danahy Park. An Italian restaurant, Gran Gusto (highly recommended!) is across the street and the popular Jose’s Mexican Restaurant is just down the street. Porter Square and Huron Village are close by.
91 Sherman St Townhouse Features
- 2 – 4 bedrooms
- 1.5 – 2.5 baths
- Private outdoor space and / or decks
- Garage parking
- Fireplace
- In-unit laundry
- Central air conditioning
91 Sherman Street, Cambridge – Recent Sales
The most recent sales at the complex were in 2007 when:
- One of the freestanding townhouses sold for $655,000
- A three-bedroom townhouse in the rear building sold for $620,000
If condos are listed for sale or rent at 91 Sherman Street they’ll appear below. Click on the small photo for additional photos and more info.
SEARCH FOR CAMBRIDGE TOWNHOMES FOR SALE
345 Harvard Street – Condos In Cambridge
345 Harvard St Condos
345 Harvard Street, Cambridge, MA. In 2006 this 24-unit apartment building was given a super stylish renovation much to the delight of Cambridge real estate buyers.
The building is in mid-Cambridge, not far from Harvard Square and Central Square.
It’s always fun to see how these 1960s and ’70s brick buildings can be transformed and it’s really great when developers get it right. The details really make the difference between ho hum and fabulous.
Most of the condos in the building are two bedrooms with 1.5 baths though are a couple of smaller units and a couple that are substantially larger.
Condos at 345 Harvard St. Features
- Renovated kitchen and baths
- Hardwood floors
- Balcony
- Lots of windows
- Covered parking with some units
- Bike Storage
- Pet friendly
- Heat and hot water included with the condo fee
Recent Sales at 345 Harvard Street
The most recent sale of a two bedroom with a parking space closed for $435,000 in October 2009.
If condos are listed for rent or sale at 345 Harvard Street they’ll appear below. Click on the small photo for additional photographs and more information.
SEARCH FOR CONDOS FOR SALE IN CAMBRIDGE
Cambridge Snow Hotline
With snow in the forecast it’s time to remind everybody about one of my favorite Cambridge services – the Snow Hotline.
Cambridge homeowners are required to shovel the sidewalks in front of their properties. Even if you weren’t liable for a $50 per day fine it’s simply the neighborly thing to do!
Cambridge ordinances require that property owners must remove snow from all sidewalks within 12 hours after snow stops falling in the daytime or by 1 pm when snow has fallen during the night. Ice must be removed or melted within six hours of the time ice forms.
Nothing is more aggravating than navigating an icy, snowy stretch where a homeowner or business has left the sidewalk unshoveled.
So turn ‘em in!
The phone hotline and the online form are both anonymous.
The Cambridge snow hotline is 617-349-4903. Or you can report an uncleared Cambridge sidewalk online.
Photo by TheeErin
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