- Lechmere Square
Lechmere Square (pronounced "leech-meer") is located at the intersection of Cambridge St. and First St. in East
Cambridge, Massachusetts . It was originally named for the Colonial-era landowner Richard Lechmere, a Loyalist who returned toEngland at the beginning of theAmerican Revolution . His lands were later seized by the new American government. The shoreline is shown as "Lechmere's Point" on Revolutionary War maps, and was the landing point for British troops en route to theBattles of Lexington and Concord . [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/patriotsday/maps/]The area was developed by land speculator Andrew Craigie in the early 1800s. Later, a store (
Lechmere ) was founded in the area and named for it. The store expanded into a regional chain, which was purchased byMontgomery Ward in1994 and closed in1997 asMontgomery Ward filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy .The area is now best known for the
CambridgeSide Galleria , one of the few full-fledged interior shopping malls within the city limits ofBoston, Massachusetts and Cambridge, which is on the site of the originalLechmere store (and, when built, incorporated a newly-built Lechmere Sales store as one of its anchor tenants). In years past, Lechmere Square was a manufacturing center producing candy, furniture and caskets.Lechmere Square and the surrounding East Cambridge are currently undergoing a revival of sorts. The area's factories have been or are being converted into office buildings and condominiums. Several large-scale development projects were begun in 2004 and 2005. The results of these projects are yet to be seen. It does appear, however, that East Cambridge and Lechmere Square are undergoing a
gentrification process similar to what has been seen in other areas of Cambridge.Lechmere Square is served by the MBTA's Lechmere station. Many MBTA bus lines also stop here. Lechmere is the northern terminus of the Green Line's "E" Branch, and is an above-ground stop. Service to Lechmere and nearby Science Park was interrupted from June,
2004 untilNovember 12 ,2005 for replacement of theCauseway Street Elevated with a tunnel underNorth Station [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/11/lechmere_science_park_stations_reopen/] . The historicconcrete Lechmere Viaduct across theCharles River remains. Planning is ongoing to move Lechmere station across Monsignor OBrien Highway, where it will serve the new North Point development and facilitate a Green Line extension to the north.The
Charles River ,Lechmere Canal , andMemorial Drive are nearby. Lechmere is also located close to the Museum of Science.References
* Cambridge Historical Commission, [http://www.cambridgema.gov/~Historic/cambridgehistory.html "History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA"] . Retrieved May 29, 2005.
* Discount Store News (1994), [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n4_v33/ai_14852440 "Montgomery Ward buys Lechmere; continues growth through acquisition"] . Retrieved May 29, 2005.
* Boston Business Journal (1997), [http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/1997/08/11/editorial2.html "Lechmere: Joining the ghosts of retailers past"] . Retrieved May 29, 2005.
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