Cambridge Common Historic District

Cambridge Common is the remnant of common land set aside for grazing in 1631, and the surrounding historic district covers about 33 acres of streets, churches, houses and early Harvard buildings. The Common hosted annual colonial elections, drew crowds to George Whitefield's sermons in 1740, and served as the main camp of Washington's Continental Army in 1775-76. In 1830 it was fenced and planted as a public park, and later gained monuments, cannon and a Washington Elm scion. Nearby landmarks include Christ Church (1760, Peter Harrison), the Old Burying Ground (1635), First Church, Unitarian (1833, Isaiah Rogers), the Federal house at 1 Garden Street, the Waterhouse house at 7 Waterhouse Street, and Harvard's Massachusetts, Harvard and Stoughton Halls. Together they show roughly 340 years of change from open field to enclosed park in a dense setting, and the area has been a local historic district since 1963.