Newton, Massachusetts
| [[Image:|250px | Skyline of Newton, Massachusetts]] | ||
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| Nickname: "The Garden City" | |||
| Motto: "'" | |||
| Official website: www.ci.newton.ma.us | |||
| Location | |||
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| Government | |||
| Counties | Middlesex County | ||
| Mayor | David B. Cohen (Dem) | ||
| Geographical characteristics | |||
| Area | |||
| Total | 18.2 mi² / 47.1 km² | ||
| Land | 18.0 mi² / 46.7 km² | ||
| Water | 0.2 mi² / 0.4 km² | ||
| Population | |||
| Total (2000) | 83,829 (city proper) | ||
| Metro area | {{{population_metro}}} | ||
| Density | 1,793.2/km² | ||
| Density | {{{population_density_mi2}}}/mi² | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Elevation | m | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
Newton, Massachusetts is a suburb west of Boston. It is known for its exceptional public schools and other public services. 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. [1]
Contents |
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."
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, Aquinas College, 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, was once a farmhouse in the Federal style built in Newton in 1809. It is now a museum with paintings, costumes, photographs, manuscripts, maps and historical artifacts. It was also a stop on the Underground Railroad.
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, now replaced by 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.
- Matt Clement, member of the Boston Red Sox, lives in Newton.
- Jim Corsi, Pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Houston Astros, was born in Newton on September 9, 1961.
- Matt Damon, an actor lived 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.
- Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist, was born in Newton in 1941.
- Julian Jaynes, psychologist, was born in Newton in 1920
- Matt LeBlanc, of the sitcom Friends, was born in Newton in 1967. He graduated from Newton North High School.
- Jack Lemmon, Oscar-winning actor, was born in Newton in 1925.
- Doug Mirabelli, former member of the Boston Red Sox, lives in Newton.
- Robert Morse, actor, was born in Newton in 1931.
- B.J. Novak, stand-up comedian and actor/writer.
- David Ortiz, member of the Boston Red Sox, lives in Newton.
- Seiji Ozawa, retired director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, lived in Newton.
- Fritz Richmond, musician and recording engineer was born in Newton.
- Mark Sandman, lead singer of the alternative rock band Morphine was born in Newton.
- Anne Sexton, poet and writer, was born in Newton in 1928.
- 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 in 1721.
- Julie Taymor, director of the acclaimed Broadway adaptation of The Lion King was born in Newton.
- Jason Varitek, member of the Boston Red Sox, lives in Newton.
- Ephraim Williams, Colonel in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War and benefactor of Williams College was born in Newton in 1715.
- Howard Zinn, radical historian and author of A People's History of the United States, lives in Newton.
- David Ian Salter, film editor of Finding Nemo and Toy Story 2 grew up in Newton Centre and attended Newton North High School.
- Elizabeth McCracken, author of "The Giant's House" and "Niagara Falls All Over Again" among other books, grew up in Newton and attended Newton North High School.
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 light rail line, or "Green Line, D 'Riverside' Branch", running through the center of the city, makes very frequent 30-minute length trips to downtown Boston. 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 the Pike.
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 located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, at 42°20'16" North, 71°12'36" West (42.337713, -71.209936)GR1. 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 defacto 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 is water. The total area is 0.82% 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 censusGR2 of 2000, there are 83,829 people, 31,201 households, and 20,499 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,793.2/km² (4,643.6/mi²). There are 32,112 housing units at an average density of 686.9/km² (1,778.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 2.52% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 31,201 households out of which 31.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% are married couples living together, 8.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% are non-families. 25.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.51 and the average family size is 3.04.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $86,052, and the median income for a family is $125,289. Males have a median income of $65,565 versus $46,885 for females. The per capita income for the city is $45,708. 4.3% of the population and 2.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.8% of those under the age of 18 and 5.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- City of Newton official website
- Life In Newton
- Newton Citizens (general info)
- Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce
- Newton Tab (Newspaper)
- New Philharmonia Orchestra of Massachusetts
- NewTV (local cable access)
- Newton School Committee (links to schools and school committee website)
- TripAdvisor: Traveler reviews of Newton
- The Underground Newton Transportation Site
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth
