Everything about Waltham Massachusetts totally explained
One of the early centers of the
Industrial Revolution in northern America,
Waltham is a city in
Middlesex County,
Massachusetts,
United States. The population was 59,226 at the 2000
census. The name
Waltham means 'home in the woods'.
Waltham is home to The Sports Authority Training Center, which serves a dual role as practice facility/offices of the
Boston Celtics.
Waltham is commonly referred to as
Watch City because of its association with the watch industry. This is due to
Waltham Watch Company, which opened its factory in Waltham in 1854. It was the first company to make watches on an assembly line. It won the gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia
Centennial Exposition. Over 40 million watches, clocks and instruments were produced by
Waltham Watch Company until it closed in 1957.
Pronunciation
The name of the city is pronounced with the primary stress on the first syllable and secondary stress on the second syllable, although the name of the Waltham watch was pronounced with accent only on the first syllable. The second vowel is pronounced properly ("Wall-tham", to rhyme with tall-ham, ), and not elided into a
schwa ("Wall-thumb", IPA */ˈwɔlθəm/) as might be expected in
American English.
History
Waltham was first settled in 1634 as part of
Watertown and was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1738.
In the early 19th century,
Francis Cabot Lowell and his friends and colleagues established in Waltham the
Boston Manufacturing Company - the first integrated textile mill in the United States.
The city is home to
Gore Place, a mansion built in 1806 for former
Massachusetts Governor
Christopher Gore; The
Robert Treat Paine Estate, a residence designed in collaboration between architect
Henry Hobson Richardson and landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted for philanthropist
Robert Treat Paine, Jr. (1810-1905); and the
Lyman Estate, a estate established in 1793 by Boston merchant
Theodore Lyman.
Early in the twentieth century, Waltham was home to the
brass era automobile manufacturer
Metz.
National Register of Historic Places
Geography
Waltham is located at (42.380596, -71.235005), about 10 miles (16.09 km) north-west of downtown
Boston,
Massachusetts.
The city stretches along the
Charles River and contains several
dams. These dams were used to power textile mills and other such endeavors, accounting for its early industrial activity.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.6 square miles (35.2
km²), of which, 12.7 square miles (32.9 km²) of it's land and 0.9 square miles (2.4 km²) of it (6.69%) is water.
Adjacent towns
It is bordered to the west by
Weston and
Lincoln, to the south by
Newton, to the east by
Belmont and
Watertown, and to the north by
Lexington.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 59,226 people, 23,207 households, and 12,462 families residing in the city. The
population density was 4,663.4 people per square mile (1,800.6/km²). There were 23,880 housing units at an average density of 1,880.3/sq mi (726.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.98%
White, 4.41%
African American, 0.16%
Native American, 7.29%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 3.20% from
other races, and 1.89% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 8.49% of the population.
There were 23,207 households, of which 20.3% included children under the age of 18, 41.3% were
married couples living together, 8.9% were headed by a single mother, and 46.3% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.01.
The population of the city was divided as follows: 15.5% under 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% 65 or older. The median age was 34. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $54,010, and the median income for a family was $64,595. Males had a median income of $42,324 versus $33,931 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $26,364. 7% of the population and 3.6% of families lived below the
poverty line. 4.8% of those under 18 and 8.4% of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line.
Government
Waltham is governed by a mayor and a city council. The current mayor is Jeanette A. McCarthy. There are 15 members of the city council, each elected to two-year terms in non-partisan elections. The current president of the city council is Thomas J. Curtin.
Education
Public schools
The Waltham public school system includes eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and one senior high school. Waltham High School's sports teams used to be referred to as the Watchmen and the Crimson, before becoming known as the Hawks.
Private schools
Higher education
Waltham is home to:
Brandeis University
Bentley College
Boston University(Waltham campus)
Transportation
The city of Waltham is west of Boston, Massachusetts on the Charles River, but only about ten- to fifteen minute drive from the closest neighborhood of Boston, which is Brighton, Massachusetts
Waltham is located near several important U.S. Interstate highways. Interstate 95 (which is also Route 128) runs through the western part of the city, Interstate 90 (also the Massachusetts Turnpike) is located just to south in Newton, Massachusetts, and Route 2 runs just to the north through Lexington, Massachusetts.
Waltham is partly surrounded by Interstate 95 (I-95), also called Route 128; hence Waltham is in the heart of Boston's Route 128 High Technology Corridor.
The MBTA commuter rail has two stops in Waltham as part of the Fitchburg-Boston Line, one in Central Square Waltham across from the City Hall, and one near Brandeis University.
MBTA bus service also covers the city, notably route 70, between Central Square, Cambridge, and Cedarwood (a community in western Waltham), as well as a subsidiary route (70A) in northwest Waltham. Numerous bus lines stop at Carter Street on the south side of the Waltham Common, very close to the MBTA commuter rail station. (See WWW.MBTA.COM for specific lines, schedules etc.)
Media
Waltham is home to a daily newspaper, the Daily News Tribune
. WCAC-TV provides local-interest television programming. Waltham news sometimes appears in the Boston Globe's GlobeWest section, as well.
Culture
Waltham is some distance from Boston proper and the surrounding cities, and maintains a distinctly different flavor. A number of high-tech companies have taken advantage of the lower cost of real estate to set up shop in the ring of office parks that dot the highway exits in Waltham, and swank restaurants and business-class hotels have sprung up to serve their needs.
Downtown Waltham's Moody Street offers its own brand of entertainment with a colorful assortment of shops, restaurants, and bars, including the Watch City Brewing Co., The Skellig, Jake's Dixie Roadhouse, The Lincoln (L), and the Embassy Cinema. Moody Street's booming nightlife, convenience to the commuter rail and lower rents have attracted younger professionals to Waltham in growing numbers in recent years. Moody Street is also referred to as "Restaurant Row" because of the number, variety and quality of its restaurants.
For over 25 years, the Waltham Arts Council has sponsored "Concerts On Waltham Common", featuring a different musical act each week of the summer, free of charge to attendees. "Concerts On Waltham Common" was created and organized by Stephen Kilgore until his death in 2004.
Open space in the city is protected by the Waltham Land Trust.
Points of interest
Gore Place
Lyman Estate
Robert Treat Paine Estate
Charles River Museum of Industry
Waverly Oaks - great for walking dogs
Prospect Hill - second highest point in the region after Blue Hills
Charles River - Riverwalk on Moody St.
Embassy Theater
A. Wherehouse
Notable residents
Keith Aucoin -- Current forward on the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes who starred at Norwich University, where he graduated in 2001 as the school's all-time leading scorer in ice hockey, was named U.S. College Hockey Online National Player of the Year in 1998-1999, helped Norwich win the NCAA Division III National Championship in 1999-2000 and was named ECAC East Player of the Year and First-Team All-American; Waltham native
John A. Bailey –- Inventor of the drink through container lid and injection molding pioneer. Waltham native
F. Lee Bailey -- lawyer
Gerard V. Beaudoin, Jr. -- Jazz guitarist. Has recorded with Duke Robillard, J. Geils and David Grisman. Waltham native and current resident.
Annie Payson Call -- author.
Arthur A. Carey -- co-founder of Sea Scouting in the United States.
Gerald Green -- Boston Celtics Guard/Forward. 2005 First Round Draft Pick. Winner of the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
C.D. Howe -- WWII and Postwar Canadian politician; Waltham native
Jeff Lazaro -- Former Boston Bruins forward notched 14 goals and 23 assists in 3-year NHL career with the Bruins and Ottawa Senators; 1986 Waltham High School graduate
Noelle LeBlanc -- lead singer/guitarist of Island/Def Jam Records' hard rock/power pop quartet Damone; Waltham native and current resident
John Lynch -- Current Governor of New Hampshire; Waltham native, attended Waltham public schools
Tony Massarotti -- Boston Herald sportswriter, book author and part-time co-host on Sportsradio WEEI 850AM in Boston graduate of Waltham High School
Mark Blount -- Former Boston Celtic
Walter McCarty -- Former Boston Celtic
Shawn McEachern -- Boston Bruins forward has tallied 254 goals and 317 assists during 13-year NHL career with the Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators and Atlanta Thrashers; Waltham native
Pat Metheny -- jazz guitar player was a former resident
Paul Pierce -- Boston Celtics captain who is a 6-time NBA All-Star as a guard/forward
Ida Annah Ryan -- First woman to earn a masters degree in architecture (from M.I.T.)
Carroll Spinney -- voice of "Big Bird" and "Oscar the Grouch" on Sesame Street.
Fred Smerlas -- 5-time NFL Pro-Bowl selection during 14-year career as a nose tackle with Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and New England Patriots, currently a part-time co-host on Sportsradio WEEI 850AM in Boston; 1975 Waltham High School graduate, native and former resident
Antoine Walker -- 3-time NBA All-Star forward currently with the Minnesota Timberwolves, was captain of the Boston Celtics and has also played with the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat; former resident
Jeanne Meserve -- Television announcer on CNN, formerly on ABC, former resident
Robert Meserve -- former American Bar Association President, announced ABA's disbarment of Richard M Nixon, former resident, father of Jeanne Meserve, now deceased.
Frank Pino member of the band Waltham and star of MTV's reality show "Made"
Delonte West -- Former Boston Celtic and current Cleavland CavalierFurther Information
Get more info on 'Waltham Massachusetts'.
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