Union Square Somerville

Thinking about moving to Union Square in Somerville MA? Here’s the scoop on the neighborhood – location, history, amenities, transportation, real estate and more.

Union Square – Location

Union Square, Somerville MA is located at the southeastern end of Somerville. A hub of sorts, in Union Square you’re close to many Cambridge and Somerville neighborhoods: head down Washington Street in one direction and you’ll come to Harvard Square in Cambridge, down Summer Street to Davis Square, take Webster to Prospect Street and you’ll come to Inman Square, Somerville Ave leads right to Porter Square, drive up Walnut Street to Broadway and East Somerville, or down Washington Street in the other direction to Charlestown. The Museum of Science and Boston aren’t far away.

Union Square Somerville History

Union Square was Somerville’s earliest commercial district. Early trade routes passed through the Square and a tavern was built here as early as 1770. Union Square industries developed over the years included claypits, a ropewalk, slaughterhouses, brickyards, and carriage factories.

Union Square’s commercial district expanded when the first passenger railroad station opened in the Square in 1835. In the 1850s horsecar service to Harvard Square was established and later electric streetcars ferried passengers through Union Square.

Union Square Amenities

Union Square has an active Main Streets group working on neighborhood development and ArtsUnion has been bringing arts-oriented events and projects to the neighborhood for the last five years. A farmers’ market is open on Saturdays from June to October in Union Square. An annual “Fluff Festival” is held in September to celebrate the 1917 invention of Marshmallow Fluff in Union Square.

Somerville Avenue and the heart of Union Square have been under construction for months. Things have been looking a little rough but the end is in sight and the Square is shaping up.

Without a subway stop Union Square has been slower than other squares to develop a critical mass of restaurants, shops, etc. But that is changing.

A walk around Union Square will reveal a number of cafes, restaurants, and interesting and unique shops and stores. Hub Comics is here and Grand, a boutique offering modern furnishings and gifts, opened a few years ago. Union Square has become a destination spot for its ethnic markets and specialty shops.

Popular restaurants, pubs and cafes include Bloc 11, owned by the proprietors of Diesel Cafe in Davis Square, the Independent Bar and Restaurant, and the Neighborhood Restaurant where a line often forms in the summer for breakfasts served under the grape arbor.

Union Square Transportation

Union Square continues to be a transportation hub but at the moment the public transportation options are limited to buses. That should change in the next few years when the long awaited Green Line T extension brings a T stop to Union Square.

In the meantime there are plenty of buses that go through Union Square:

CT2 bus – goes from Sullivan Station, an Orange Line stop, to Ruggles Station in Boston via the Longwood Medical area
85 bus – goes from Spring Hill to Kendall / MIT
86 bus – goes from Sullivan Station to Cleveland Circle in Brighton via Harvard Square
87 bus – goes from the Lechmere Green Line stop to Arlington Center via Davis Square
88 bus – goes from the Arlington line through Teele Square and Davis Square to Lechmere
91 bus – goes from Sullivan Station to Central Square via Inman Square