Search

The Foundry, a brick and timber frame industrial building, built in 1890, will be repurposed into a creative, innovative and collaborative multipurpose center. When completed, it will provide public community space and programming for art, entrepreneurship, technology and workforce education. The building will be accessible and inclusive to Cambridge residents of all ages and backgrounds, and its location on the border of Kendall Square and East Cambridge provides an ideal opportunity to connect residents to some of the world's most visible companies in life sciences, technology and innovation. The Foundry property is owned by the City of Cambridge and is being developed by the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA). Through a Request for Proposal process in 2018, the CRA selected the Foundry Consortium to act as operator and master tenant, with responsibility for managing the building, establishing and managing a programming framework, and recruiting sub-tenants. As part of the Foundry construction project, Cambridge Arts will commission an artist, team of artists, or multiple artists to create a public art project as part of the percent-for-art ordinance. A jury met and selected three finalists: Masary Studios, Elisa Hamilton, and Innovators for Purpose.

Join Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery—writer, science communicator, and plant biologist—for a discussion of her new book, When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical History. (Henry Holt, 2026). Dr. Montgomery has been recognized as one of Cell journal’s Inspiring Black Scientists in America and is the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2022 Cynthia Scott Science Writing Award, the 2022 Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award for outstanding service to plant biology, and the 2023 Hutchinson Medal from the Chicago Horticultural Society. In 2025, she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring—the nation’s highest honor for mentors. Dr. Montgomery is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Plant Biologists, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Academy of Microbiology. Dr. Montgomery is also the 2025–2026 Sally Starling Seaver Fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. She is the author of Lessons from Plants (Harvard University Press, 2021) and When Trees Testify (Henry Holt, 2026). This event is cosponsored by the Cambridge Public Library Foundation and Sustainability Cambridge. Registration is required.

Meeting Minutes of the Cambridge Historical Commission meeting held August 2nd, 2014

Just a Start (JAS) will be building two new buildings at 430-432 Rindge Avenue in North Cambridge. This two-phased project, called Rindge Commons, will create 101 affordable apartments. All units will be affordable to households earning under 80% AMI, with some being more deeply affordable. Additionally, JAS's development will provide community-wide benefits by addressing climate change mitigation and sustainability goals and enhancing the experience of pedestrians and cyclists along Alewife Brook Parkway and Rindge Avenue. The first phase, Rindge Commons North, will include 24 affordable one- and two-bedroom rental units, as well several floors of non-residential where JAS will be consolidating its training and education programs into a centralized location. The City will also be leasing space to create three Pre-Kindergarten classrooms for children between ages three and five years old, providing much needed affordable early education for Cambridge’s working families. Rindge Commons North is located just steps away from the Alewife T-Station, and shares a site with JAS’s Rindge Tower Apartments. The second phase of Rindge Commons will begin once Rindge Commons North is complete and will contain 77 affordable family-sized units.

The Inclusionary Housing Program requires developers of certain projects to provide afforadable housing units.

Guidelines adopted in October 2001 as part of the effort to help define the character of future development in Eastern Cambridge.

Guidelines to help property owners and design/building professionals create dormers that will increase the living space of an attic story while retaining the basic design integrity of the building and roof lines.

List of commissions supported by the Cambridge Historical Commission staff

The 273,000 square foot facility houses the King Open School (JK-5), Cambridge Street Upper School (Grades 6-8), Cambridge Public Schools Administration, King Open Preschool, King Open Extended Day, Community Schools, and Valente Branch Library. It is is the first Net Zero Emissions and first LEED V4 Platinum school in Massachusetts.

Children and families are invited to meet Jerry Craft, award-winning and best-selling graphic novelist of the "New Kid" series. Craft will talk about his work, answer questions from the audience and sign books. Porter Square Books will have books available for sale. This event takes place in the Lecture Hall (L2) with limited overflow seating in the Community Room. Recommended for ages 8 and up. About the Lecture The annual lecture is an initiative sponsored by the Cambridge Public Library, the Curious George Fund and the Cambridge Public Library Foundation. The series aims to bring the community together to celebrate outstanding and engaging books for young readers. About the Author Jerry Craft is The New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid, Class Act, and School Trip. New Kid is the only book in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature (2020), the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature (2019), and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer (2020). Jerry was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, and now travels the world telling kids and their families about the importance of reading.