Rare Vintage Photos of the Residents of North Cambridge in the 1970s

North Cambridge is a neighborhood in the northern part of the city, surrounded by Somerville, Arlington, and Belmont. Porter Square is a major transit hub with Red Line, commuter rail, and bus stops at the southeast corner of the neighborhood. There are several shopping, office, and residential options on Massachusetts Avenue, stretching from Porter Square to the Arlington border. On the neighborhood’s western edge are the MBTA Alewife Red Line station and an adjacent office/industrial area along Cambridge Park Drive.

Olive Pierce took these photographs of Jefferson Park Housing project residents in North Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1973 to 1975 for The Cambridge Room.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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#7 Carfull, Jefferson Park, 1974

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

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

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

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#11 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

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#12 Boys in doorway, Jefferson Park, 1975

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#13 Cambridge Housing Project, 1975

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#14 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

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

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