Last June, the commission received a donation of newspaper clipping files from The Boston Globe clipping library. Although The Globe was clipped from around 1900 until it went electronic in 1977, the clippings in this collection date from around the 1920s with some items dating into the 2000s.
During the time when the clippings library was active, groups of clippings were organized by subject into single or multiple envelopes depending on the breadth of information on a given topic.
Envelopes can include stories of community interest to crime investigations, and originated not only from the Boston Globe, but from other newspapers and publications including the Boston Herald and the Transcript.
Some envelopes even included photographs once published in the newspaper, many depicting prominent Cambridge architecture or buildings that no longer exist.
The newspaper clippings have now been processed and a finding aid will soon be available to researchers on our website. Each title has been transcribed into a spreadsheet, and ordered via separate tabs for quick searching and topic browsing.
A selection of clippings regarding a new bridge over Broad Canal, 1928.
The next step in the Globe clippings collection will be to cross-index relevant clippings about buildings, social clubs, and other pertinent addresses with our architectural inventory files to facilitate an even more comprehensive history of Cambridge.
We look forward to welcoming patrons interested in researching this collection! To make a research appointment, contact our archivist, Emily at egonzalez@cambridgema.gov or stop by the CHC during our research hours: Mon: 4:00-7:00pm and Tue-Thur: 9:30-11:30am & 2:00-4:00pm.
