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72-500: The Fitchburg Cutoff (also called the Freight Cutoff ) was a rail line running 2.8 miles (4.5 km) from Brighton Street (Hills Crossing station) in Belmont, Massachusetts , to Somerville Junction in Somerville, Massachusetts . It was constructed in two segments in 1870 and 1881 to connect the Lexington Branch and Massachusetts Central Railroad to the Boston and Lowell Railroad . Passenger service lasted until 1927. Freight service ended in 1979–80 to allow construction of

144-478: A dry township (alcohol is now legal to purchase in Belmont). The town was named after Bellmont , the 200-acre (0.8 km ) estate of the largest donor to its creation, John Perkins Cushing , after which Cushing Square is named. After Cushing's estate nearly burned to the ground, it was converted to a Belmont Public Library branch. The easternmost section of the town, including the western portion of Fresh Pond ,

216-672: A " Mormon enclave" due to the location of the Boston Massachusetts Temple of the LDS Church at the highest elevation in the town. The prominent gold statue of the Angel Moroni atop the Temple was originally designed by Cyrus Dallin in nearby Arlington, Massachusetts . The executive branch of the town government consists of a three-person Select Board elected by the residents. The Select Board appoints

288-618: A Town Administrator who is in charge of daily operations. The legislative branch is a representative town meeting , with eight districts each electing 36 representatives, plus ex-officio members and a Town Moderator to run the annual meeting. Belmont is part of the 24th Middlesex District (for the Massachusetts House of Representatives ), the 2nd Middlesex and Suffolk District (for the Massachusetts Senate ), and Massachusetts's 5th congressional district (for

360-420: A central plaza linking the two station entrance buildings, built on the old railroad right-of-way. This plaza replaced a poorly defined open area containing at-grade parking spaces and debris. The plaza was designed to serve as the center of Davis Square, a gathering place and center for activities, including outdoor entertainment. The plaza and the station were both eligible for state percent-for-art moneys through

432-681: A dozen food and entertainment establishments dating from before the Red Line still extant in 2012, including the Somerville Theatre , The Rosebud , McKinnon's Meat Market, and a candlepin bowling alley. The Somerville Theatre shows movies, live performances, and has a satellite gallery of the Museum of Bad Art . The Public Radio International show, Living on Earth is recorded in its studios in Davis Square. For five years,

504-484: A female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01. In 2010, 20% of the residents of Belmont were born outside of the United States. In 2000 this percentage was 15%. Belmont has been referred to as

576-571: A fire that led to an accumulation of toxic wastewater. The chemicals released were trichloroethylene and dichloromethane , both of which have been shown to cause cancer. These chemicals are released into the air so it is difficult to trace them and to determine the source, as there are also several other industries in the area that release the same pollutants. In a typical year, Belmont, Massachusetts temperatures fall below 50 °F (10 °C) for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation in Belmont

648-503: A gold medal and named it the 100th best public high school in the United States and the second best in the state of Massachusetts (after Boston Latin School ). Belmont Hill School is a private, non-sectarian high school, grades 7–12. Belmont Day School is a private, non-sectarian Pre-K–8 school. There are several smaller private schools. The Belmont Citizen-Herald is a weekly newspaper covering Belmont, and published on Thursdays, and

720-619: A later project. The Alewife Linear Park connects Alewife MBTA station with the Minuteman Bikeway , a 10-mile bicycle path that leads to Bedford . As Somerville continues to evolve, Davis Square was clearly the vanguard of revitalization and change. In the past three decades, Davis has become a vibrant regional center for retail, nightlife, dining and more. Davis Square is a prime business location with over 200 businesses including healthcare and high-tech corporations, national non-profits, and media offices. Boston Magazine notes half

792-636: A neighborhood once known as affordable and working-class. It now contains some of the priciest homes in Somerville and is significantly more expensive than the average for eastern Massachusetts. Davis Square is served by the Red Line , extended from Harvard to Alewife via Porter and Davis in the 1980s, with the Davis station opening on December 8, 1984. Additionally, Davis Square connects to several MBTA bus lines leading to nearby towns. As part of

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864-412: A portion of Davis Square as an urban renewal district. Property acquisition, clearance, infrastructure upgrades, and development took place within the boundaries of this district. The district was later developed as a 100,000 square foot office and retail complex, including public open space and a parking garage that serves patrons and employees of local businesses. In 1997, Davis Square was listed by

936-757: A route. The 1962 North Terminal Area Study called for the Main Line (now the Orange Line ) to be relocated along the B&;M Western Route . It was to have a branch via the Southern Division to Woburn or Arlington (the latter also using the cutoff). The 1966 Program for Mass Transportation , and subsequent reports by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), largely followed the routes laid out by

1008-404: A stone arch bridge , elevated embankment, and station building were constructed such that the track runs over the road. At Waverley, the grade was lowered so that the tracks ran under Trapelo Road, though the platform did not have an enclosed structure there. A second historic railroad station building exists in Belmont, though it is not obvious. The one-room Wellington Hill Station was built in

1080-550: A stone dust surface was added in the 1990s. Construction of the paved Fitchburg Cutoff Path took place from September 2010 to August 2013, with a new bridge built over a stormwater management wetland at Alewife. The planned Belmont Community Path will extend west through Belmont parallel to the Fitchburg Line, connecting with existing sections of the Mass Central Rail Trail . In 1985–86, an access road

1152-548: Is a complex, busy six-point intersection, which was radically configured as part of the plan. Until the reconfiguration, two major, pedestrian-unfriendly streets bisected the square; crosswalks, sidewalks, curb extensions and refuge islands were added to enhance pedestrian capacity, circulation and safety. Additionally, several freight trains had run right through the square each day on the Boston and Maine Railroad, forcing traffic to back up for long periods of time. The MBTA developed

1224-483: Is a western suburb of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area . As of the 2020 U.S. census , its population was 27,295, an increase of 10.4% from 2010. Belmont was established on March 18, 1859, by former citizens of, and on land from the bordering towns of, Watertown , to the south; Waltham , to the west; and Arlington , then known as West Cambridge, to the north. The founders desired

1296-564: Is available online, as well. The Citizen-Herald was formed in 1988 by merging the Belmont Citizen (founded in 1920) and the Belmont Herald (founded in 1930). The Boston Globe and Boston.com publish a Belmont Your Town website that provides local news and information. The Belmontonian is an independently operated hyper-local news website. Belmont Patch also provides online local news. The Belmont Media Center (BMC)

1368-661: Is one public middle school, located near the High School, the Belmont Middle School. There is one public high school , the Belmont High School . Belmont High is noted for its college placement, strong athletics, academics, music, and theater arts; a typical class size of about 320 students. Belmont High regularly feeds 5-10 students into Harvard University on an average given year. As of 2009 , U.S. News & World Report gave Belmont High School

1440-663: Is served by the Davis Square Station , one of the stops on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)'s Red Line . Davis abuts the Powder House Square , Ball Square and Spring Hill neighborhoods, as well as Tufts University . Davis Square is today a vibrant commercial, retail, nightlife and dining district. Businesses in Davis range from stores to restaurants to even a martial arts school. Davis fell into decline after World War II . After

1512-642: Is typically 45.2 inches per year (high in the US) and snow covers the ground 52 days per year, or 14.2% of the year (high for the US). The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days, or 7% of the year. As of 2020 , there were 27,295 residents of the Town of Belmont, and in 2021 there were 17,640 registered voters. In 2020, the racial make up of the town was 69.6% White , 1.9% Black or African American , 0.05% Native American , 18.5% Asian , and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of

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1584-596: The Utne Reader as one of the fifteen "hippest places to live" in the United States . This reputation has continued; in 2016, real estate company Cushman & Wakefield rated Davis Square as one of "Top 100 Cool Streets" in North America, giving it a score of "Prime Hipness". In 2005, The Boston Globe reported the first million dollar condo sale in Davis Square, which marked a major shift for

1656-699: The Arts on the Line program. One percent of the cost of constructing the new station entrances was used to commission several figurative sculptures including the Davis Square statues . The city of Somerville and the Task Force initiated many other projects to accompany the Red Line extension and Davis Square improvements. Property redevelopment activities included a storefront and facade improvement grant program, financing for building renovations, and designation of

1728-558: The Belmont Community Path , a rail trail across Belmont, using the abandoned Central Massachusetts Railroad right-of-way along the existing Fitchburg Line tracks. When completed this trail will be part of the Mass Central Rail Trail . Belmont remains a primarily residential suburb, with little population growth since the 1950s. It is best known for the mansion-filled Belmont Hill neighborhood, although most residents live in more densely settled, low-lying areas around

1800-490: The Belmont High School and the Clay Pit Pond is a lasting example of environmental planning. With the introduction of automobiles and highways , Belmont continued its transition to a commuter-based suburb throughout the 20th century. The John Birch Society was headquartered in Belmont from its founding in 1958 until its relocation to Appleton, Wisconsin , in 1989. The building at 395 Concord Avenue later became

1872-834: The Mass Central Rail Trail . The line was 2.8 miles (4.5 km) long, running approximately east–west. The west end connected to the Central Massachusetts Branch at Hill Crossing station at Brighton Street in Belmont , parallel to the Fitchburg Division main line (now the MBTA Fitchburg Line ). It crossed the Lexington Branch (after 1927) at grade in West Cambridge and crossed under Alewife Brook Parkway , with

1944-479: The Red Line was extended to Davis in 1984, however, the area began to experience a prolonged renaissance. Davis Square was officially designated as a square by the City of Somerville in 1883. It was named for Person Davis (1819-1894), a grain dealer who moved to the area in 1850 and built his estate near the intersection of Elm, Grove and Morrison Streets. Davis was both a Somerville selectman and alderman. During

2016-486: The Red Line Northwest Extension in the mid-1970s included a station at Davis Square , with the rapid transit tunnel running under a segment of the cutoff from Davis Square to east of Alewife station . In April 1980, the west half of the cutoff was abandoned to allow for construction of the extension. The eastern portion was used to haul dirt removed from the tunnel for reuse around the region; it

2088-670: The Red Line Northwest Extension ; the line was abandoned in three sections in 1979, 1983, and 2007. All of the right-of-way , except a short section near Alewife station , has been reused for three connecting rail trails : the Fitchburg Cutoff Path from Brighton Street to Alewife station, the Alewife Linear Park from Alewife to Massachusetts Avenue, and the Somerville Community Path east of Massachusetts Avenue. The paths are part of

2160-492: The United States Census Bureau , the town has an area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km ), of which 4.7 square miles (12.1 km ) is land and less than 0.1 square miles (0.1 km ), or 1.06%, is water. Belmont is bordered by Cambridge on the east, Arlington on the north, Lexington on the northwest, Waltham on the west, and Watertown on the south. In 2002, Middlesex County

2232-683: The United States House of Representatives ). Belmont is served by the Belmont Public Schools , governed by an independently elected school committee. There are four public elementary schools in Belmont: the Mary Lee Burbank, Daniel Butler, Winn Brook, and Roger Wellington schools. The Mary Lee Burbank School was founded in 1931. Two other public elementary schools, Payson Park and Kendall, were closed in

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2304-659: The 0.4-mile (0.64 km) Cambridge/Somerville border–Davis Square segment of the Alewife Linear Park becoming part of the Community Path. Therefore today, the Alewife Linear Park is between the southwest corner of Russell Field to the Somerville/Cambridge border. The Minuteman Bikeway opened in 1993, connecting to the existing trail at Alewife station. The crossing of Massachusetts Avenue, which originally zig-zagged using existing crosswalks,

2376-749: The 1840s as a private school, not far from its current location in Belmont Center. It was then used by the Fitchburg Railroad from 1852 to 1879. When the railroad decided to replace the station with a larger structure, the building was moved to the Underwood Estate and used as a summer house. In 1974, the station was donated to the Belmont Historical Society. It was restored and moved to its current location in 1980. As of 2024, plans are underway to construct

2448-628: The 1860s and 1870s, roads were improved and rail connections strengthened, which allowed West Somerville to urbanize. After the Civil War, between 1870 and 1910, people increasingly chose to live in West Somerville where subdivided land was plentiful for new homes, both modest and substantial, and the commute to Boston for employment was convenient thanks to rail connections. By 1857 horse car railway lines were extended along Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard Square to Arlington , and in 1863

2520-553: The 1870s and 1880s as Davis Square quickly grew into an active commercial center. A boom in residential construction followed in the 1890s. Brick paving was introduced in Davis Square in 1900 and the area continued to be a vibrant commercial and transportation center until post-World War II, with the exodus to the suburbs and the decline of urban centers throughout the nation. In 1914, the Somerville Theater opened, hosting silent films as well as burlesque shows. In 1927,

2592-730: The 1930s called for rapid transit use of the cutoff; some called for it to be connected to the East Boston Tunnel (now the Blue Line ) rather than the Tremont Street subway (now the Green Line ). The 1945 and 1947 reports by the state Coolidge Commission called for extensions from Lechmere to Woburn over the Southern Division, and Harvard to Arlington over the Lexington Branch; the cutoff was not proposed as

2664-455: The 1970s and 1980s, respectively. The former closed after being destroyed by fire, the latter closed due to population shifts and was converted to an arts center, which was later also destroyed by fire. There is one public upper elementary school, the Winthrop L. Chenery Upper Elementary School, which was rebuilt on the same location after an electrical fire damaged the auditorium in 1995. There

2736-407: The B&L. In 1870, the B&L built a cutoff from Lake Street to Somerville Junction to connect the newly acquired branch to its mainline. (Early plans called for the cutoff to connect to the B&L further north at Willow Bridge station .) Service began on December 1, 1870. In January 1876, William Robinson installed one of the first test applications of his track circuit signaling system on

2808-487: The B&M acquired the Fitchburg Railroad as its Fitchburg Division. The city of Somerville proposed to eliminate the five grade crossings on the cutoff within its borders, including the pair of College Avenue and Holland Street at Davis Square, in the early 1900s. Most grade crossings on the Fitchburg Division mainline were eliminated over the next decade, but those on the cutoff were not. On January 31, 1915,

2880-538: The Cambridge–Dorchester Line – now the Red Line – north from Harvard station was not considered likely.) The Report on Improved Transportation Facilities , published by the Boston Division of Metropolitan Planning in 1926, proposed extension from Lechmere to North Cambridge via the Southern Division and the 1870-built cutoff. Among the potential further extensions in the report was extension of

2952-810: The Central Mass tracks were removed between Hill's Crossing and Clematis Brook (Waltham), and rail traffic was rerouted over the Fitchburg line. Presently, the MBTA operates the Fitchburg Line through Belmont as part of its MBTA commuter rail service. Passenger service on the line terminates at Wachusett station in Fitchburg . The station stops at Belmont Center and Waverley were once level crossings , and pedestrian and vehicle traffic had to cross directly over rails on public roads. In 1907,

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3024-595: The Coolidge Commission. Green Line service would be extended from Lechmere over the Southern Division, and Red Line service from Harvard (with various routings proposed to reach the Lexington Branch); the cutoff was not proposed for conversion. The B&M replaced the Somerville yard with smaller yards elsewhere in the system in the 1970s, ending regular use of the cutoff by "as many as two-dozen mile-long freight trains daily". The route chosen for

3096-575: The Davis Square Plan, the old Boston and Maine Railroad right-of-way was converted into a mixed-use path known as the Somerville Community Path . Most of the remaining railroad right-of-way between Davis Square and the Red Line's northern terminus at Alewife was redeveloped and landscaped as a linear park or bicycle/pedestrian pathway. A public park was constructed directly behind the Holland Street MBTA head house as part of

3168-481: The Davis Square Task Force to act as a citizen advisory committee on community revitalization plans. By the early 1980s, grassroots ideas about new civic spaces, new job and housing opportunities and safe walking connections to surrounding neighborhoods became part of the discussion around the Davis Square train station. With input from the Davis Square Task Force, the city made the Red Line station

3240-543: The Hill. There are three major commercial centers in the town: Belmont Center in the center, Cushing Square in the south, and Waverley Square in the west. Town Hall and other civic buildings are in Belmont Center. Large tracts of land from former farms and greenhouse estates form public or publicly accessible areas such as Rock Meadow, Habitat, portions of the McLean Hospital tract and various town fields. According to

3312-488: The Jimmy Tingle Off-Broadway Theater boasted a variety of nationally and regionally known acts, both comedic and musical, including Jimmy Tingle himself, but closed at the end of October 2007. Davis Square is host to several popular festivals and events throughout the year. The Somerville Arts Council's popular ArtBeat festival takes place here every year on the third weekend of July, while

3384-726: The MC was succeeded by the Central Massachusetts Railroad and service resumed in 1885. The B&L, which controlled the Central Massachusetts, was acquired by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1887. The B&L became the Southern Division mainline, while the Central Massachusetts became a branchline. The original Willow Avenue and Somerville Highlands stations were replaced by a new Somerville Highlands station at Highland Road around 1887. In 1900,

3456-544: The North Cambridge line to Bedford via the Lexington Branch. In 1935, the city requested that the line be grade-separated as part of a Works Progress Administration -funded grade crossing elimination program. A proposal that year by a citizen's group called for a rapid transit extension to North Cambridge. A new highway was to run from the Northern Artery over the tracks at street level, then adjacent to

3528-403: The Somerville Horse Railroad Company connected Union Square with West Somerville via extended tracks along Somerville Avenue. Passenger rail arrived in 1870, when the Lexington and Arlington branch of the Boston and Lowell Railroad (later succeeded by the Boston and Maine Railroad ) routed steam rail service through Davis Square. These public improvements stimulated substantial development in

3600-410: The West Somerville station building was moved west of Holland Street at the request of the mayor to improve conditions in Davis Square . In 1926–27, the B&M built two new sections of track in North Cambridge; these allowed the Lexington Branch and the Central Massachusetts Branch to use the Fitchburg mainline east of Alewife Brook Parkway . On April 24, 1927, passenger service from the two branches

3672-399: The cornerstone for downtown redevelopment. The goal was to strengthen commercial interests while preserving the residential character of the neighborhood. The 1982 Davis Square Action plan set forth the framework that led to the Somerville Community Path , the Harvard Vanguard office building, Buena Vista parking garage and Ciampa Manor senior housing building. At the heart of Davis Square

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3744-428: The headquarters of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), which is expanding and renovating its facility as of 2019 . Belmont was once served by two railroads, the Fitchburg Railroad and the Central Massachusetts Railroad , both of which later became part of the Boston & Maine Railroad system. Originally the two railroads each had their own separate trackage through town, but in 1952

3816-501: The late 1970s thanks largely to two entities: the Somerville Office of Planning and Community Development, and the Davis Square Task Force. Their efforts culminated in the Davis Square Action Plan, which was adopted in 1982. In the meantime, local officials and citizen groups petitioned the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to create a Red Line subway stop in Somerville at Davis Square. The MBTA agreed and in 1977 business owners and other local residents and officials formed

3888-584: The line between Elm Street and North Avenue. On June 14, 1876, Pedro II of Brazil , who was touring the United States, travelled to Elm Street station to view the system. The western section was built in 1881 by the Massachusetts Central Railroad (MC) (which paralleled the Fitchburg Railroad west of Brighton Street) to connect to the B&L for access to Boston. It connected to the existing Lexington Branch cutoff near Jackson Street, west of North Cambridge station, and had no stations between Hills Crossing and North Cambridge. Service began on October 1, 1881. By 1883

3960-402: The line were North Cambridge (also called North Cambridge Junction and North Avenue) at Massachusetts Avenue , West Somerville (Elm Street) at Davis Square, and Somerville Highlands at Highland Road. The B&L acquired control of the Lexington and Arlington Railroad (Lexington Branch) in 1869, and purchased it in 1870, to prevent it from building to Lowell and thus becoming a competitor to

4032-440: The neighboring town of Arlington . Despite the small size of the town, Belmont has 5 signed exits on Route 2. Nearby major highways include I-95 / MA-Route 128 , Route 16 , Route 3 , and Route 20 . Belmont is served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 's Fitchburg Commuter Rail line, and its bus and trackless trolley lines. Two MBTA Commuter Rail rail stations, Waverley and Belmont Center , are located in

4104-430: The population. Pending the release of the 2020 Census results, in 2010 6.3% of the population were under the age of five, 24.6% were under the age of eighteen, and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older; 53% were female. The median household income was $ 114,141. The 2000 census listed 9,732 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 8.8% had

4176-453: The pre-1927 connection to the Lexington Branch near Jackson Street. The line crossed Massachusetts Avenue and other streets at grade, then continued into Somerville, where it ran at grade through Davis Square with crossings of Holland Street and College Avenue. It crossed additional streets at grade, then passed under Lowell Street and joined the Southern Division (now the Lowell Line ) at Somerville Junction . After 1887, passenger stations on

4248-472: The town are Concord Avenue, which bisects the town from east to west; Common Street and Pleasant Street (Route 60) which travel north-south through Belmont; and Trapelo Road and Belmont Street, which run along the southern edge of the town. Belmont is served directly by two state route designated highways. Running close to the middle of town is Route 60 , locally known as Pleasant Street. On the northern border, Route 2 generally outlines Belmont's boundary with

4320-423: The town. Belmont is roughly 16 minutes away from the rail line 's terminus at North Station , Boston. Nearby in Cambridge lies Alewife Station , the western terminus of the Red Line ; providing a connection to Boston and the entire metropolitan rapid transit system. McLean Hospital , a psychiatric hospital and research center located in Belmont. It is the setting of the novel Girl, Interrupted , which

4392-436: The tracks on the lowered cutoff to connect to the existing Mohawk Trail expressway at Alewife Brook Parkway. Neither project was built, and the grade crossings were not eliminated; crashes and stalled freight trains continued to be a problem. Even decades after regular passenger service ended on the line, it was occasionally used as a detour route when the Fitchburg Route mainline was blocked in Somerville. Various proposals in

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4464-635: The trains that had brought many people to Davis Square were re-routed. This also contributed to Davis Square's decline in the middle part of the 20th century. Factories shut, businesses failed and residents began to move out to the suburbs. As a result, Davis Square lost many of its tenants and became home to "burn-out storefronts" and "bars where motorcycle gangs hung out." According to a planning study completed in 1980, Davis Square suffered from "a lack of competitiveness among merchants, traffic congestion, inadequate parking and an increasingly deteriorated physical environment." The situation began to turn around in

4536-417: The turn of the 20th century, when trolley service was introduced and roads were improved, making it more attractive as a residential area, most notably for the building of large estates. Belmont's population grew by over 70 percent during the 1920s. Other commercial enterprises in Belmont included clay mining and waste management. The reclamation of a large dump and quarry off Concord Avenue into sites for

4608-520: Was abandoned in 1983 except for a short section serving an industrial customer at Somervile Junction. That segment was abandoned in 2007. As part of the Red Line extension, the Alewife Linear Park rail trail was constructed from Alewife to Davis, opening in 1985. At that time, the Park was 1.3-mile (2.1 km). Except for a short section near Alewife station, it follows the former railroad route. The Somerville Community Path opened 0.6 miles (0.97 km) from Davis Square to Cedar Street in 1992, with

4680-430: Was annexed by Cambridge in 1880. The annexation was the result of a dispute over a slaughterhouse licensed in 1878 and situated next to Fresh Pond; Cambridge wished to protect Fresh Pond (part of its water supply network ) by removing neighboring buildings. Before its incorporation, Belmont was an agrarian town, with several large farms servicing Boston for produce and livestock. It remained largely agrarian until

4752-445: Was constructed from the Alewife station garage to the Route 2 / Alewife Brook Parkway intersection, following the cutoff alignment for about 750 feet (230 m). The Alewife Linear Park runs as a sidewalk along the access road for most of that length. [REDACTED] Media related to Fitchburg Cutoff at Wikimedia Commons Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. It

4824-461: Was founded in 2005 as a local non-profit, public-educational & government access TV station mandated to provide and make available to Belmont residents a variety of media production & editing classes, locally produced TV programming, and video/TV equipment, studios and facilities. In 2017, BMC programs are available to Belmont subscribers of Comcast and Verizon , and BMC also carries live programming. and on-demand programs Major roads in

4896-409: Was made into a 1999 movie . Due to its proximity to Harvard and MIT universities, amongst others, Belmont has had several Nobel Prize winners in residence at one time or another. Notable past and present residents include people in the following categories: Davis Square Davis Square is located approximately four miles from downtown Boston , and two miles from mid- Cambridge . The square

4968-481: Was ranked in the worst 10% of polluted counties in the United States in terms of air and water pollution. Two companies that ranked in the top 10 for polluters in the county were Polaroid Corporation in Waltham and the Cambridge Plating Company in Belmont, which is several hundred feet from Belmont High School. The Environmental Protection Agency fined Cambridge Plating Company, now operated by Purecoat North LLC, in 2002 following various violations and in 2004 after

5040-441: Was rebuilt with heavier rails to handle heavy freights headed to and from the new Somerville freight yard. In late 1927, an additional main track was built on the Southern Division from Somerville Junction to the yard to reduce the incidence of stopped freight trains blocking crossings on the cutoff. In the 1920s, the cutoff was considered the most likely route for rapid transit service to Somerville and North Cambridge. (Extension of

5112-427: Was rerouted over these new sections and the Fitchburg mainline; North Cambridge, West Somerville, and Somerville Highlands stations were closed. Although residents were opposed to the closures, the B&M wished to avoid the grade crossings on the line, which had seen 70 crashes in the previous six years. The old line from Brighton Street to Somerville Junction became the freight-only Freight Cutoff (Fitchburg Cutoff); it

5184-719: Was signalized as a direct crossing in 2011. A 0.3-mile (0.48 km) extension of the Community Path to Lowell Street opened in 2015; it was further extended along the Lowell Line in 2023, known as the Somerville Community Path Extension, as part of the Green Line Extension project. The 0.8-mile (1.3 km) segment west of Alewife station through the Alewife Brook Reservation was used as an unpaved trail;

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