Lechmere Square ( ) is located at the intersection of Cambridge Street and First Street in East Cambridge , Massachusetts. It was originally named for the Colonial-era landowner Richard Lechmere, a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

who returned to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the beginning of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. His lands were later seized by the new American government. The shoreline is shown as "Lechmere's Point" on Revolutionary War maps, and was the landing point for British troops en route to the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

. The area was developed by land speculator

Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie (1754–1819) is best known for serving as the first Apothecary General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The one-time owner of the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Craigi ...

in the early 19th century. Later, a store was founded in the area and named for it. The Lechmere store expanded into a regional chain, which was closed in 1997 as then-parent company

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". ...

filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. The area is now best known for the CambridgeSide mall, one of the few full-fledged interior shopping malls within the city limits of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and Cambridge, which is on the site of the original Lechmere store (and, when built, incorporated a newly built Lechmere Sales store as one of its anchor tenants). In years past, Lechmere Square was a manufacturing center producing candy, furniture, and caskets. Lechmere Square and the surrounding East Cambridge are currently undergoing a revival of sorts. The area's factories have been or are being converted into office buildings and condominiums. Several large-scale development projects were begun in 2004 and 2005, and as a result East Cambridge and Lechmere Square have undergone a

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

process similar to what has been seen in other areas of Cambridge. Lechmere Square is served by

Lechmere station Lechmere station ( ) is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line (MBTA), Green Line light rail station in Lechmere Square in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is located on the east side of Massachusetts Route 28, Monsign ...

of the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

(MBTA). The former surface-level station closed in May 2020 for construction of the

Green Line Extension The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line (MBTA), Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville, Massachusetts, Somerville and Medford, Massac ...

; a replacement elevated station opened on March 21, 2022. The

Charles River The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...

, Lechmere Canal, and Memorial Drive are nearby. Lechmere is also located close to the Museum of Science.

References

* Cambridge Historical Commission
"History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA"
Retrieved May 27, 2014. * Discount Store News (1994)
"Montgomery Ward buys Lechmere; continues growth through acquisition"
Retrieved May 27, 2014. * Boston Business Journal (1997)

Retrieved May 29, 2005. {{Reflist Squares in Cambridge, Massachusetts