Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Waltham

 
Dictionary: Wal·tham   (wôl'thăm', -thəm) pronunciation
Home > Library > Travel > Dictionary - Places
Today's Weather

CLOUDY
Temp: 56°F / 13°C
Full forecast below

A city of eastern Massachusetts southwest of Boston. It is a manufacturing center and the seat of Brandeis University (established 1947). Population: 59,400.

 

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Waltham
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
Waltham (wôl'thăm, -thəm), city (1990 pop. 57,878), Middlesex co., E Mass., a suburb of Boston, on the Charles River; settled c.1634, set off from Watertown 1738, inc. as a city 1884. It is an important high-technology and computer center. Electronic equipment and parts, precision instruments, medical diagnostic testing equipment, cameras, machinery, fabricated metals, and plastic products are among its varied manufactures. It was known as the seat of the Waltham Watch Company, which produced clocks and watches there from 1854 until 1954. Brandeis Univ. and Bentley College are in the city. Of note are the many colonial structures. The Charles River Museum of Industry is in Waltham, and the city is the New England headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Weather: Waltham, MA
Top
Home > Library > Travel > Weather
AccuWeather® Current Conditions for



CLOUDY		 Temperature: 56°F / 13°C
RealFeel Temperature™: 54°F / 12°C
Humidity: 46%
Winds: N 6 mph / 10 kmh
Pressure: 30.27"
Visibility: 10 mi. / 16 km

5-Day Forecast

Tuesday HI:  66°F / 18°C
LO: 39°F / 3°C
Wednesday HI:  52°F / 11°C
LO: 31°F / 0°C
Thursday HI:  54°F / 12°C
LO: 34°F / 1°C
Friday HI:  54°F / 12°C
LO: 40°F / 4°C
Saturday HI:  55°F / 12°C
LO: 43°F / 6°C
Last updated November 10, 2009 19:49 (EST)

Wikipedia: Waltham, Massachusetts
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Question book-new.svg
 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)
Waltham, Massachusetts
—  City  —
Waltham on the banks of the Charles River
Nickname(s): The Watch City
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°22′35″N 71°14′10″W / 42.37639°N 71.23611°W / 42.37639; -71.23611
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Middlesex
Settled 1634
Incorporated 1738
Government
 - Type Mayor-council city
 - Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy
Area
 - Total 13.6 sq mi (35.2 km2)
 - Land 12.7 sq mi (32.9 km2)
 - Water 0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2)
Elevation 50 ft (15 m)
Population (2007)
 - Total 59,758
 - Density 4,705.4/sq mi (1,816.4/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 02451-02454
Area code(s) 339 / 781
FIPS code 25-72600
GNIS feature ID 0612400
Website http://www.city.waltham.ma.us/

Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, billed by the Chamber of Commerce as the "birthplace of the American industrial revolution", and an early center for the labor movement. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning. The city is now a center for research and higher education, home to Brandeis University and Bentley University. The population was 59,226 at the census in 2000.

Waltham is commonly referred to as Watch City because of its association with the watch industry. Waltham Watch Company opened its factory in Waltham in 1854 and was the first company to make watches on an assembly line. It won the gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The company produced over 40 million watches, clocks and instruments before it closed in 1957.[citation needed]

Contents

Pronunciation

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

The name of the city is pronounced with the primary stress on the first syllable and a full vowel in the second syllable, /ˈwɔːlθæm/ "wall-tham", though the name of the Waltham watch was pronounced with a reduced schwa in the second syllable: /ˈwɔːlθəm/.

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 a number of large estates, including Gore Place, a mansion built in 1806 for former Massachusetts governor Christopher Gore; the Robert Treat Paine Estate, a residence designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted for philanthropist Robert Treat Paine, Jr. (1810-1905); and the Lyman Estate, a 400-acre (1.6 km2) estate built in 1793 by Boston merchant Theodore Lyman.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Waltham was home to the brass era automobile manufacturer Metz, where the first production motorcycle in the U.S. was built.

Geography

Waltham is located at 42°22′50″N 71°14′6″W / 42.38056°N 71.235°W / 42.38056; -71.235 (42.380596, -71.235005),[1] about 10 miles (16.09 km) north-west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, and approximately 3 miles north-west of Boston's Brighton neighborhood.

The city stretches along the Charles River and contains several dams. The dams were used to power textile mills and other endeavors in the early years of the 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) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.4 km²) (6.69%) is water.

Neighborhoods

Waltham has several neighborhoods or villages, including:[2]

  • Angleside
  • Banks Square
  • The Bleachery
  • Cedarwood
  • The Chemistry
  • The Highlands
  • The Island (formerly Morse Meadow Island)
  • Kendal Green (mostly in Weston)
  • Lakeview
  • The Lanes
  • Northeast
  • Piety Corner
  • Pigeon Hill
  • Prospectville (defunct in 1894, now under Cambridge Reservoir)
  • Ravenswood
  • Robert's
  • Rock Alley
  • Southside
  • Warrendale

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[3] in 2000, there were 59,226 people, 23,207 households, and 12,462 families in the city. The population density was 4,663.4/mile² (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. Guatemalans have recently surpassed Puerto Ricans as the dominant Latino population. Guatemalan businesses and establishments have sprung up in Moody Street and other parts of the city.

There were 23,207 households, of which 20.3% included those 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 age distribution is 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 was $54,010, and the median income for a family was $64,595. These figures increased to $60,434 and $79,877, respectively, according to an estimate in 2007.[4] Males had a median income of $42,324, as opposed to $33,931 for females. The per capita income 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

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

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.

The city is in Massachusetts's 7th congressional district and is currently represented in the United States House of Representatives by Edward J. Markey.

Education

Public schools

The Waltham public school system includes six elementary schools (Northeast, Fitzgerald, MacArthur, Plympton, Whittemore, Stanley), two middle schools (McDevitt, Kennedy), and one senior high school (Waltham High School).[1]

Waltham High School's sports teams had been referred to as the Watchmen and the Crimson, before they changed the name to the Hawks.

Private schools

Higher education

Waltham is home to:

Media

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

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 Supermarket on Main Street, established in 1936, was a large historic grocery store that closed in the 1990s. However, the building continues to be a supermarket, occupied by Shaw's, then Victory, and now Hannaford.
Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

Moody Street in downtown Waltham 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), Gourmet Pottery, 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.

Waltham's cultural life is enriched by the presence of two major universities and a number of arts organizations throughout the city.

The Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra, a civic symphony of the MetroWest area, began in 1985 under the direction of local musicians David J. Tierney and Harold W. McSwain, Jr. With almost 60 professional, semi-professional, and amateur musicians, the orchestra's mission is to provide the Waltham community with the opportunity to perform in and attend classical concerts of the highest quality. WPO musicians come from Waltham as well as from Boston and surrounding communities. The ensemble includes players of a wide range of ages and professions.

There are five to six concerts throughout the season, including one that features the winner of the annual Youth Concerto Competition, which provides opportunities for young musicians to perform solo works with the WPO. Annual concerts have included summer Concerts on the Common and the December Holiday Pops.

Waltham is home to the Waltham Symphony Orchestra, a high-level semi-professional civic orchestra. The 55 piece orchestra performs five concerts each season at the Kennedy Middle-school Auditorium. Its music director is French-born American conductor, Patrick Botti.

Open space in the city is protected by the Waltham Land Trust.

Points of interest

See also: List of Registered Historic Places in Waltham, Massachusetts

Notable residents

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

See also

References

  1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ^ http://www.waltham-community.org/neighborhoods.html
  3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US2539835&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US25%7C16000US2539835&_street=&_county=waltham&_cityTown=waltham&_state=04000US25&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=

Further reading

External links

v • d • e
Municipalities and communities of
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Cities
Map of Massachusetts highlighting Middlesex County.svg
Towns
CDPs
Other
villages
v • d • e

 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Boston (capital)
Topics
Regions
Counties
Cities
(See All
Municipalities)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Shopping: Waltham
Top
walthamwaltham watch
Waltham Watch
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Weather. © 2008 AccuWeather, Inc.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Waltham, Massachusetts".  Read more