Kendall Square
Encyclopedia
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, with the "square" itself at the intersection of Main Street, Broadway, Wadsworth Street, and Third Street (immediately to the east of the secondary entrance of the Kendall/MIT subway station
Kendall/MIT (MBTA station)
Kendall/MIT is a station on the rapid transit Red Line in Kendall Square at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Trains emerge from the Red Line tunnel just east of the station to cross the Charles River via the Longfellow Bridge...
). It may also refer to the broad business district that is east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
, north of MIT and south of Binney Street. The One Kendall Square complex is actually located half a mile to the west of the traditional location of Kendall Square, between Broadway and Binney Street (on the other side of which is the Kendall Square Theatre).
History
Originally a salt marsh on the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge, Kendall Square has been an important transportation hub since the construction of the West Boston Bridge in 1793, which provided the first direct wagon route from Boston to CambridgeCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. By 1810, the Broad Canal
Broad Canal
Broad Canal was a short canal in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, part of the now-vanished canal system that made Cambridge an active seaport.The canal began in 1806 when Henry Hill, Rufus Davenport, and others laid out a canal system in the land and tidal flats along the Charles River. Broad Canal...
had been dug, which would connect with a system of smaller canals in this East Cambridge seaport area.
The area became a major industrial center in the nineteenth century, and by the beginning of the twentieth century was home to distilleries, electric power plants, soap and hosiery factories, and the Kendall Boiler and Tank Company. The square was named after the company, which in turn was named after one of its owners, Edward Kendall. When the Longfellow Bridge
Longfellow Bridge
The Longfellow Bridge, also known to locals as the "Salt-and-Pepper Bridge" or the "Salt-and-Pepper-Shaker Bridge" due to the shape of its central towers, carries Route 3 and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Red Line across the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill...
replaced the West Boston Bridge in 1907, it included provisions for a future rapid-transit subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
link to Harvard Square
Harvard Square
Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...
and Boston (now the Red Line
Red Line (MBTA)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...
); the original Kendall subway station
Kendall/MIT (MBTA station)
Kendall/MIT is a station on the rapid transit Red Line in Kendall Square at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Trains emerge from the Red Line tunnel just east of the station to cross the Charles River via the Longfellow Bridge...
was opened in 1911. MIT moved to its new Cambridge campus, then located south of Kendall Square between Main Street and Massachusetts Avenue, in 1915.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the area between Kendall and the new CambridgeSide Galleria
CambridgeSide Galleria
The CambridgeSide Galleria is a mall located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that opened in 1990. The original anchor stores were Sears, Filene's and Lechmere. Lechmere closed in 1997 and it was divided into what is now Best Buy and Borders, with a portion later used by Filene's for their housewares...
transformed from an industrial area into a collection of office and research buildings, housing over 150 biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
and information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
firms as of 2011. In 1997, the industrial buildings between Third, Binney, Fifth, and Rogers Streets were declared the Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company National Register District
Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company National Register District
Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company National Register District is a historic district bounded by Third, Binney, Fifth, and Rogers Streets inCambridge, Massachusetts....
. The Kendall Square Association was formed by approximately 80 organizations in February, 2009.
Present
High-tech firms are lured by the proximity of the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT) campus on the south side of Main Street. MIT owns some of the commercial real estate in the square, and has been actively constructing space for new high-tech tenants as well as rebuilding its own facilities fronting Main Street. Nearby MIT facilities include the Stata Center
Stata Center
The Ray and Maria Stata Center or Building 32 is a academic complex designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . The building opened for initial occupancy on March 16, 2004...
and the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
, as well as many other buildings of the eastern end of the MIT campus. The MIT Press Bookstore
MIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
is a regional attraction, offering a complete selection of Press titles, plus a large selection of complementary works from other academic and trade publishers, including magazines and academic journals, for browsing and retail purchase.
Many high-tech firms are in two high-level office complex parks: One Kendall Square and Technology Square, both about half a mile west of the traditional location of Kendall Square. The Cambridge Center
Cambridge Center
Cambridge Center is a development complex located in the Kendall Square section of Cambridge, Massachusetts, along Broadway and Main streets. The project was started in 1979 and continues in progress to this day....
office development is closest to the Kendall Square intersection. The Cambridge Innovation Center a shared office space for startups and venture capital firms founded by Tim Rowe currently occupied by almost four hundred businesses from one person size up is also close by at One Broadway.
Restaurants in the area include The Friendly Toast, Tommy Doyle's Irish Pub & Restaurant, Cambridge Brewing Company and Legal Sea Foods
Legal Sea Foods
Legal Sea Foods is a Boston-based seafood restaurant group, with locations along the Eastern Seaboard. Besides Massachusetts, there are also locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, DC, as well as in Warwick, RI, Boca Raton, FL and Atlanta, GA.-History:It was...
, popular locations for business gatherings. A food plaza on the first floor of the Marriott Hotel, and food trucks parked in lots near the corner of Main and Vassar Streets (weekdays lunch only), sell fast food at low prices, with a variety of cuisines (Asian, Italian, Mexican, etc.) to choose from.
Several hotels are located in Kendall Square, including the Boston Marriott Cambridge, the Cambridge Residence Inn, and the Kendall Hotel. Several more hotels are located within walking distance. There have also been several large condominium developments.
Notable local entities
- Akamai TechnologiesAkamai TechnologiesAkamai Technologies, Inc. is an Internet content delivery network headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.The company was founded in 1998 by then-MIT graduate student Daniel M. Lewin, and MIT Applied Mathematics professor Tom Leighton...
- AmgenAmgenAmgen Inc. is an international biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Located in the Conejo Valley, Amgen is the world's largest independent biotech firm. The company employs approximately 17,000 staff members. Its products include Epogen, Aranesp, Enbrel, Kineret,...
- Art Technology GroupArt Technology GroupArt Technology Group was an independent Internet technology company specializing in eCommerce software and on-demand optimization applications until its acquisition by Oracle on January 5, 2011...
- AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
- Biogen IdecBiogen IdecBiogen Idec, Inc. is a biotechnology company specializing in drugs for neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer. The company was formed in 2003 by the merger of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen Inc. and San Diego, California-based IDEC Pharmaceuticals...
- Bitstream Inc.Bitstream Inc.Bitstream Inc. is a type foundry that produces digital typefaces . Founded in 1981 by Matthew Carter and Mike Parker among others, it claims to be the oldest such company...
- Broad InstituteBroad InstituteThe Broad Institute is a genomic medicine research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Although it is independently governed and supported as a 501 nonprofit research organization, the institute is formally affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard...
- Cambridge Innovation Center
- Computer Sciences Corp.
- Charles Stark Draper LaboratoryCharles Stark Draper LaboratoryDraper Laboratory is an American not-for-profit research and development organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Draper focuses on the design, development, and deployment of advanced technology solutions to problems in national security, space exploration, health care and energy.Originally...
("Draper Lab") - Equity ResidentialEquity ResidentialEquity Residential is a member of the S&P 500, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust based in Chicago, IL. The company owns or has an interest in more than 550 apartment communities in 23 states and the District of Columbia...
(Third Square Apartments) - EMC CorporationEMC CorporationEMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...
- Endeca Technologies
- Forrester ResearchForrester ResearchForrester Research is an independent technology and market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology's impact on business and consumers. Forrester Research has five research centers in the US: Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York, New York; San Francisco, California;...
- GenzymeGenzymeGenzyme Corporation is a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis. Before its acquisition, Genzyme was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2010, Genzyme was the world’s third-largest biotechnology company, employing more than 11,000 people around the world...
- GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
- HubSpotHubSpotHubSpot is a venture-funded marketing software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its customer base grew from over 1,400 in July 2009 to over 3,600 in November 2010, mainly in the USA.-History:...
- IRBNet
- ITA SoftwareITA SoftwareITA Software is a travel industry software company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by computer scientists from the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in 1996. On July 1, 2010 ITA agreed to be acquired by Google. On April 8th, 2011 the US Department of Justice approved the...
- John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems CenterJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems CenterThe John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center or simply Volpe Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a center of transportation and logistics expertise, operating under the United States Department of Transportation....
- Kendall Square Business Association
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
- MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
- The MIT Press
- The MIT Press BookstoreMIT PressThe MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
- Moshe SafdieMoshe SafdieMoshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
and Associates, Inc. - NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
- NovellNovellNovell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
- NovartisNovartisNovartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
- PegasystemsPegasystemsPegasystems Inc. is a provider of Business Process Management software solutions and a Business rules Platform based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-History:Pegasystems was founded in 1983 by Alan Trefler...
- SchlumbergerSchlumbergerSchlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
- SermoSermoSermo is an online community for physicians founded in 2006 by Daniel Palestrant. Open to only M.D.s and D.O.s in the United States, Sermo is a place for physicians to post observations and questions about clinical issues and hear other doctors' opinions....
- Verizon
- Vertex PharmaceuticalsVertex PharmaceuticalsVertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company with activities spanning the length of the pharmaceutical product pipeline, from target identification through to clinical trials and marketing. Most of its activity has been in collaboration with much larger pharmaceutical firms, though some of its...
- VMwareVMwareVMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
- World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web ConsortiumThe World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
- Yahoo
Resident diplomatic missions
BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Consulate-General – 1 Memorial Drive, 15th Floor