Newton, Massachusetts

Newton is a suburb in Middlesex County, Massachusetts west of Boston. According to the 2000 census, the population of the city was 83,829. Based on statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newton was the nation's safest city during 2003, 2004 and 2005. The designation is based on crime statistics in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft. ^*

History and culture

Newton was settled in 1630 as part of Cambridge, MA. It became a separate town known as Cambridge Village in 1688. It was renamed Newtown in 1691 and finally Newton in 1766. It became a city in 1873. Newton is known as "The Garden City." Local legend suggests this nickname stems from the fact that there there was said to be a "Rosenbloom" on every corner, making reference to the not uncommon Jewish surname and Newton's large Jewish population. (In German or Yiddish the name Rosenbloom translates to "roses bloom.")

Newton is home to Boston College, located in the city's historic village of Chestnut Hill, and Boston College Law School, located on a separate campus in Newton Centre. There are several other institutions of higher education in the city including Andover Newton Theological School, Lasell College, Hebrew College, and Mount Ida College.

The city also has two symphony orchestras, the New Philharmonia Orchestra of Massachusetts and the Newton Symphony Orchestra. The Newton Free Library possesses more than 500,000 volumes of print materials (2004), as well as art, both original and prints, sound recordings and videos: the largest collection in the Minuteman Library Network. Newton North High School and Newton South High School are the two public high schools in Newton, the Tigers and the Lions being their mascots, respectively.

The Jackson Homestead, now the Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead, is best known for its history as a stop on the Underground Railroad. It was built in 1809 as a farmhouse designed in the Federal style, and is now a museum with paintings, costumes, photographs, manuscripts, maps and historical artifacts.

Each April, the Boston Marathon runs through the city from Wellesley passing near Echo Bridge onward to Boston. Heartbreak Hill rises just past Newton City Hall where residents and visitors line the race route to cheer the runners.

The only Melkite Greek Catholic eparchy in America has its cathedral in Newton.

The Fig Newton cookie is named after the city.

Notable people from Newton

Isaac Asimov, popular science fiction author lived in Newton.
Katharine Lee Bates, author of "America the Beautiful", was a graduate of Newton High School, predecessor to Newton North High School.
Roger Berkowitz, owner of Legal Sea Foods, lives in Newton.
Thomas Bulfinch, bank clerk and author of the famous Age of Fable, was born in Newton in 1796.
Steve Carrell grew up in Newton.
Matt Damon, an actor lives in Newton.
Bette Davis, famous actress, attended Newton High School, predecessor to Newton North High School.
Jim Davis, CEO of New Balance Athletic Shoe, who is listed as #198 of Forbes Richest Americans and who is worth an estimated $1.6 billion, lives in Newton''.
Charles Stark Draper, the inventor of the aircraft internal guidance system, and founder of MIT Draper Labs, was a long-time Newton resident.
Francis P. Farquhar, president of the Sierra Club, pioneering mountain climber was born in Newton.
Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist, was born in Newton.
Julian Jaynes, psychologist, was born in Newton.
John Krasinski, actor best known for playing Jim Halpert on NBC's The Office, attended Newton South High School.
Matt LeBlanc, of the sitcom Friends, was born in Newton. He graduated from Newton North High School and worked as a lifeguard at Crystal Lake.
Jack Lemmon, Oscar-winning actor, was born in Newton.
Bill Lichtenstein, journalist and filmmaker.
Robert Morse, actor, was born in Newton.
B.J. Novak, stand-up comedian, actor, and writer.
Seiji Ozawa, retired director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, lived in Newton.
Robert Preston, he was "Professor" Harold Hill in The Music Man, born in Newton, in 1918.
Fritz Richmond, musician and recording engineer, was born in Newton.
Eli Roth, film director, producer and actor, graduated from Newton South High School
Mark Sandman, lead singer of the alternative rock band Morphine, was born in Newton.
Anne Sexton, poet and writer, was born in Newton.
Roger Sherman, the only person to have signed all four basic documents of American sovereignty: the Continental Association of 1774, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution, was born in Newton.
Francis Edgar and Freelan O. Stanley, twin brothers who invented the famous steam-powered automobile known as the Stanley Steamer. They also did some development work on the car in Newton in 1897 and later manufactured cars nearby in Watertown.
Ephraim Williams, Colonel in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War and benefactor of Williams College, was born in Newton.
Howard Zinn, radical historian and author of A People's History of the United States, lives in Newton.
Larry Bird, former Boston Celtics basketball player, lived in Newton.
The following current and former members of the Boston Red Sox live or lived in Newton:

Matt Clement (current member)

Jim Corsi (former member of the Boston Red Sox and graduate of Newton North High School, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Houston Astros)

David Ortiz (current member)

Wily Mo Pena (current member)

Jimmy Piersall (former member)

Jason Varitek (current member)

Transportation

Newton is best-known as a bedroom community for commuters to Boston, in spite of considerable commercial and manufacturing activity of its own.

It is well-served by three modes of mass transit run by the MBTA; light rail, commuter rail, and bus service. The Green Line "D" Branch, (also known as the Riverside branch) is a light rail line running through the center of the city which makes very frequent trips to downtown Boston, 30 minutes away. The commuter rail, serving the northern villages of Newton that are proximate to Waltham, offers less frequent service to Boston. It runs from every half-an-hour during peak times to every couple of hours otherwise. The northern villages are also served by hourly express buses that head to downtown Boston via the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Newton Centre, which is centered around the Newton Center MBTA Station (the T, for unknown reasons, elected to change the spelling) has been lauded as an example of transit-oriented development. See Newton Centre - A Case Study.

Newton is on the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 95 (also called Route 128). Routes 16 and 9 also pass through the city.

Location

Newton is in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, at (42.337713, -71.209936). The city is bordered by Waltham and Watertown on the north, Needham and the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston on the south, Wellesley and Weston on the west, and Brookline and the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on the east.

From Watertown to Waltham to Needham to Dedham, Newton is bounded by the Charles River. Yankee Division Highway, designated Interstate 95 but known to the locals as Route 128, follows the Charles from Waltham to Dedham, creating a de facto land barrier. The portion of Needham which lies east of 128 and west of the Charles, known as the Needham Industrial Park has become part of a Newton commercial zone and contributes to its heavy traffic, even though the tax revenue goes to Needham.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 47.1 km² (18.2 mi²). 46.7 km² (18.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.82%) is water.

Newton has not one civic center, but rather is a patchwork of 13 "villages", many boasting small "downtown" areas of their own. The 13 Villages are: Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, Newton Corner, Newton Highlands, Newton Lower Falls, Newton Upper Falls (both on the Charles River, and both once small industrial sites), Newtonville, Nonantum (also called Silver Lake), Oak Hill, Thompsonville, Waban, and West Newton. Although most of the villages have a post office, they have no legal definition and no firmly defined borders. The city is sometimes called "The Newtons". See The Thirteen Villages of Newton.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 83,829 people, 31,201 households, and 20,499 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,793.2/km² (4,643.6/mi²). There were 32,112 housing units at an average density of 686.9/km² (1,778.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.07% White, 7.68% Asian, 1.97% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.52% of the population.

There were 31,201 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $86,052, and the median income for a family was $125,289. Males had a median income of $65,565 versus $46,885 for females. The per capita income for the city was $45,708. About 2.1% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

External links

Cities in Massachusetts | Middlesex County, Massachusetts