Black and White Portrait Photos of North Cambridge Residents in the 1970s

North Cambridge, also known as “Area 11”, is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts bounded by Porter Square and the Fitchburg Line railroad tracks on the south, the city of Somerville on the northeast, Alewife Brook and the town of Arlington on the northwest, and the town of Belmont on the west.

The main commercial areas of North Cambridge are situated along Alewife Brook Parkway and Massachusetts Avenue. A third area, Davis Square, in Somerville, also exerts considerable influence on the North Cambridge neighborhood.

Four roads span the railroad tracks, connecting the bulk of North Cambridge with other neighborhoods of Cambridge. From east to west, these are: Mass. Ave. (route MA-2A), Walden Street, Sherman Street (grade crossing), and Alewife Brook Parkway (carrying routes MA-2, MA-16, and US-3).

This series from The Cambridge Room contains photographs that Olive Pierce took portraits of residents of the Jefferson Park Housing project in North Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1973 to 1975.

Five teenagers sitting in a fence enclosed area. In the background is the Rindge Towers Housing Project, Jefferson Park, 1973

A close up of Sawyer brothers. They are at the Francis J. McCrehan Memorial Swimming and Wading Pool, 1973

Children standing in the courtyard of the Jefferson Park Housing Project, Jefferson Park, 1973

Four children playing by the railroad tracks next to the Jefferson Park Housing Project, Jefferson Park, 1973

Two boys standing in a doorway of the Jefferson Park Housing Project, Jefferson Park, 1973

Two boys standing on railroad tracks, both are shirtless. The Jefferson Park Housing Project is visible in the background, Jefferson Park, 1973

Carfull, Jefferson Park, 1974

Close up of a boy named Rico standing against a concrete background, Jefferson Park, 1974

Seven children standing in the courtyard of the Jefferson Park Housing Project, Jefferson Park, 1974

Two children carrying boards over the railroad tracks by the Jefferson Park Housing Project, Jefferson Park, 1974

A newborn wrapped in a white blanket, lying in a baby chair, which is on top of a small oval, marble table and net to a window, Jefferson Park, 1975

Boys in doorway, Jefferson Park, 1975

Cambridge Housing Project, 1975

Three children running along a road past a bicycle wheel with spokes lying on the ground. The railroad tracks are visible in the background, Jefferson Park, 1975

Two 11 year-old boys and bike, Jefferson Park, 1975

(Photo © Olive Pierce)