LIST OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES: (return to top of page)

CHC Publications: All the following publications, including those out of print, are available for reference at our office and at public and school libraries.

1. Cambridge Historical Commission. All in the Same Boat: Twentieth-Century Stories of East Cambridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The newest of the Commission's oral history publications, All in the Same Boat is a collection of more than 125 oral histories that explore the tightly knit neighborhood of East Cambridge from the perspective of its residents. ($22.00, for sale at the Commission and local bookstores)
   
2. Cambridge Historical Commission. Crossroads: Stories of Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1912-2000. Second in the series of three Cambridge oral history books. Sarah Boyer conducted over 100 interviews which, together with more than 200 historic and family photographs, provide a much-needed historical record and richly detailed look at an area once considered Cambridge's true downtown. ($18.95, for sale at the Commission and local bookstores)
   
3. Cambridge Historical Commission.  Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge.  Published in 5 volumes: Cambridgeport (available for $17.95), East Cambridge (Out of Print), Mid Cambridge (Out of Print), Northwest Cambridge (Out of Print), and Old Cambridge (Out of Print, but a completely new edition is being prepared for publication).  This series includes detailed information on the architectural history and development of Cambridge neighborhoods.  East Cambridge and Northwest Cambridge also contain material on social history; for example, Irish immigration is discussed in East Cambridge; Northwest Cambridge examines brick-making.
   
4. Cambridge Historical Commission.  A Photographic History of Cambridge.  A collection of historical photographs, with explanatory text, many of which were donated by Cambridge families. (Out of Print).
   
5. In Our Own Words: Stories of North Cambridge, 1900 – 1960, as told to Sarah Boyer. The book celebrates the lives of the late U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas "Tip" O’Neill and his friends and neighbors in their North Cambridge neighborhood. It is richly illustrated with over 150 photographs from North Cambridge families and historical images from the Commission and other historical organizations. (Out of Print)
   
6. Charles Sullivan, Eileen Woodford and the Staff of the Cambridge Historical Commission. Maintaining Your Old House in Cambridge. An invaluable illustrated guide for owners or tenants who live in a Cambridge house built before 1930. The book offers straightforward, practical advice on repairing and maintaining the home without sacrificing its stylistic integrity. ($8.00, for sale at the Commission).
   
7. Cambridge Historical Commission.  Cambridge City Hall, 1890 - 1990.  A brief illustrated history of Cambridge City Hall and noted benefactor Frederick Law Rindge. ($2.95, for sale at the Commission).
   
8. Cambridge Historical Commission.  Painting Historic Exteriors: Colors, Application, and Regulation.  Guide written to help homeowners and those who work in historic preservation achieve appropriate exterior paint color schemes for buildings of different periods and styles.  Painting Historic Exteriors  contains 80 pages with illustrations and tables and comes shrink-wrapped and 3-hole punched ready to be inserted in a binder. ($8.00, for sale at the Commission).

Maps and Atlases:

1. 1830 Hale’s Map of Cambridge - shows buildings, topographical features. May be photocopied; 8x10 prints are available.
   
2. 1854 Walling Map of Cambridge - shows buildings, property lines, topographical features. Original in color. May be photocopied or full-size, blue-line prints may be purchased for $5.00.
   
3. 1873 Hopkins Atlas - shows buildings, building material, ownership, property lines. Original in color. This atlas may not be photocopied due to its size, age and fragility. (Note: the 1873 atlas can be viewed online at wardmaps.com and also via ancestry.com).
   
4. (Note: the 1885/88 Sanborn Atlas of Boston/Cambridge is online at the Harvard Map Collection, http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/#hmc ).
   
5. 1886 Hopkins Atlas - shows buildings, building material, ownership, property lines. Original in color. This atlas may not be photocopied due to its size, age and fragility.
   
6. 1894, 1903, 1916, 1930 Bromley atlases - show buildings, building material, ownership, property lines. Original are in color. These atlases may not be photocopied due to their size, age and fragility. (Note: the 1916 and 1930 atlases can be viewed online at wardmaps.com and also via ancestry.com).
   
7. 1900 Sanborn Atlas, updated to 1933 - shows buildings, building material, ownership (of some properties), property lines, use, hazardous structures or manufacturing materials. Original in two volumes and in color. This atlas may not be photocopied due to its size and fragility. The atlas is protected by copyright laws and regulations for The Sanborn Map Company, (914) 738-1649.
   Link to scanned copy online at the Harvard Map Collection, 1900 Sanborn atlas
   
8. 1934 Sanborn Atlas, updated to 1955 - shows buildings, building material, ownership (of some properties), property lines, use, hazardous structures or manufacturing materials. Original in color. This atlas may not be photocopied due to its size and fragility. The atlas is protected by copyright laws and regulations for The Sanborn Map Company, (914) 738-1649.
   
9. 1962, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1996, 1997 Sanborn Atlases - shows buildings, building material, ownership (of some properties), property lines, use, hazardous structures or manufacturing materials. Originals are in black and white. These atlases may be photocopied for research purposes only. The atlases are protected by copyright laws and regulations for The Sanborn Map Company, (914) 738-1649.

Documentary Sources:

1. Cambridge Building Department, Building Permits, 1886-1937. Index is arranged by owner's last name.
   
2. Cambridge City Directories, 1848-1874 and scattered later years.  - Alphabetical listing of Cambridge residents; entries include name (for a couple, wife’s name included in later years; other individuals in family listed separately after approx. age 18); profession/job; place/address of business/work; home address.  After c.1905, reverse directories (listings by address) included.  Also include business listings and advertisements
   
3. Cambridge City Engineer, House Books, 1875-1932 - Surveyed, measured foundation plans
   
4. Cambridge Historical Commission architectural inventory  - Includes a photograph, date, and architectural evaluation of all 13,000 Cambridge structures.  Files also may include historical photographs, newspaper articles, deed research, building permit information, and biographical information on past and/or present owners.
   
5. Cambridge Historical Commission photo collections  -  The Commission collects and copies photographs for its collections. The collection currently includes and estimated 26,000 images, including extant Cambridge buildings. Also collections of street scenes, subway construction, industrial complexes, and right of way valuations. N.B. The majority of photos are arranged by address, not subject.
   Collection Hightlight:  Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) photo collection.  The Commission holds approximately 1,000 glass negatives taken by the Boston Elevated Railway between 1899 and 1912. While these primarily document the construction of the Cambridge Subway in 1909-1912, others depict the residences of the company's president, Gen. William A. Bancroft, on Putnam Avenue and Ware Street (1900); conversion of the New England Glass Company's factory on the Miller's River in East Cambridge into a power station (1902); and construction of the East Cambridge viaduct in 1907-1912. Related holdings include about 200 cyanotypes made from negatives not in the CHC collection and about 3,000 film negatives, some not yet catalogued, depicting subway and surface operations in Cambridge taken by the BERy, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from 1935-1970.
   
6. National Register of Historic Places inventory forms for Cambridge properties  -  Useful, basic information on buildings or groups of buildings on the Register.

Other Resources:

1. Cambridge Street Names. Ongoing research findings about the origin of street names in the city.
   
2. Cambridge Historical Society. Proceedings.  Bound copies of lectures presented to the Cambridge Historical Society on a wide range of topics, from biographical sketches to personal reminiscences to in-depth historical studies.
   
3. Christopher Hail's Cambridge Buildings and Architects database is now online at Harvard's website. Search by street address, or by owner/builder's name. This is an excellent resource that has recently been adapted for online use. Be sure to check it out.
   
4. Link to the Harvard Square Library.  A website that provides the full text of Rev. Abiel Holmes' History of Cambridge (1801) and a history of the First Parish church in Harvard Square.
   
5. Other primary and secondary sources,  including information on: Cambridge churches, universities, industries, and city departments; biographical material on prominent Cantabrigians and past and present architects; Cambridge African-American history; Cambridge Sentinel   newspaper collection; the F.H. Rindge Papers; and some town and city documents.