Agassiz Real Estate
Agassiz is a triangular neighborhood located in Cambridge between Porter Square and Harvard Square. The area is also known as “Harvard North” or “Area 8.” The neighborhood comprises a large chunk of Harvard University, including the law school, as well as the Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology. Lesley University also maintains a strong presence in the neighborhood. The area’s 5,200 residents congregate along a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue lined with small shops, eateries, and other housewares stores. Academic buildings are interspersed with gracious Victorian wood-frame homes. Agassiz is also home to a number of different condominium styles, including the more classic brick buildings, multi-families that have converted space to condos and newly built townhouses. The area’s tree-lined streets are eminently walkable and public transit options are located in both Harvard and Porter Square. Read more about Agassiz real estate.
Agassiz Homes & Condos For Sale
More About Agassiz Real Estate
Agassiz Location
Agassiz is bounded by Porter Square on the north; the Somerville border on the northeast; Kirkland Street, Cambridge Street, and Quincy Street to the south; and Massachusetts Avenue to the west. The neighborhood is served by the Red Line MBTA stops at both Harvard and Porter Squares. The commuter rail stops in Porter Square while buses run up and down Mass Avenue during rush hour.
Agassiz History
Development of the neighborhood accelerated in the mid-1800s once the railroad stop at Porter Square opened in the 1840s. The elegant examples of Victorian architecture were built during the late 1880s while apartment buildings and three-family homes arrived in the early 1900s. The neighborhood draws its name from Professor Louis Agassiz, a professor of natural history who helped Harvard grow from a small college that trained clergymen to a full-fledged university. Agassiz founded the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard in 1860 and established a private school for girls along with his wife in their home on Quincy Street. In 1882, Mrs. Agassiz helped establish the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women, which later evolved into Radcliffe College.
