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Often called the true birthplace of the industrial revolution, Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,226 at the 2000 census. The city is 10 miles west of Boston, Massachusetts on the Charles River. Waltham is partly surrounded by Interstate 95 (I-95). 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.

Waltham is home to Brandeis University, Bentley College, and The Sports Authority Training Center, which serves a dual role as practice facility/offices of the Boston Celtics.

Waltham is commonly referred to as Watch City because of its association with the watch industry. This is due to Waltham Watch Company, which opened its factory in Waltham in 1854. The American Waltham Watch Company, AWWCo Inc, was one of the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution. It was the first company to make watches on an assembly line. It won the gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Over 40 million watches, clocks and instruments were produced by Waltham Watch Company until it closed in 1957. A search engine to retrieve information on vintage U.S. made Waltham watches by serial number is available at the Waltham Memorial.

The name of the city is pronounced with the primary stress on the first syllable and secondary stress on the second syllable, although the name of the Waltham watch was pronounced with accent only on the first syllable. The second vowel is pronounced properly ("Wall-tham", to rhyme with tall-ham, IPA ), and not elided into a schwa ("Wall-thumb", IPA ) as might be expected in American English.

History

Waltham was first settled in 1634 and was officially incorporated in 1738. The city is home to Gore Place, a mansion built in 1806 for former Massachusetts Governor Christopher Gore; The Robert Treat Paine Estate, a residence designed in collaboration between 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 estate established in 1793 by Boston merchant Theodore Lyman.

Geography

Waltham is located at (42.380596, -71.235005), about 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Boston, Massachusetts.

The city stretches along the Charles River and contains several waterfalls. These waterfalls were used to power textile mills and other such endeavors, accounting for its early industrial activity.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.2 km² (13.6 mi²). 32.9 km² (12.7 mi²) of it is land and 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (6.69%) is water.

Waltham is located near several important U.S. Interstate highways. Interstate 95 (which is also Route 128) runs through the western part of the city, Interstate 90 (also the Massachusetts Turnpike) is located just to south in Newton, Massachusetts, and Route 2 runs just to the north through Lexington, Massachusetts.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 59,226 people, 23,207 households, and 12,462 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,800.6/km² (4,663.4/mi²). There were 23,880 housing units at an average density of 726.0/km² (1,880.3/mi²). 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.

There were 23,207 households out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 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 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.5% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,010, and the median income for a family was $64,595. Males had a median income of $42,324 versus $33,931 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,364. 7% of the population and 3.6% of families were below the poverty line. 4.8% of those under the age of 18 and 8.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Culture

Waltham is some distance from Boston proper and the surrounding cities, and maintains a distinctly different flavor. A number of high-tech companies have taken advantage of the lower cost of real estate to set up shop in the ring of office parks that dot the highway exits in Waltham, and swank restaurants and business-class hotels have sprung up to serve their needs.

Downtown Waltham's Moody Street 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), and the Embassy Cinema. Moody Street's booming night-life, convenience to the commuter rail and lower rents have attracted younger professionals to Waltham in growing numbers in recent years. Moody St. is also referred to as "Restaurant Row".

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.

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

Waltham includes Gann Academy, Brandeis University and Bentley College

Notable Waltham community members

Points of interest

External links

Cities in Massachusetts | Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Waltham (Massachusetts) | Waltham (Massachusetts)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Waltham, Massachusetts".

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