Cambridge Common
MA - Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02163, USA
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PARK
VISITOR INFORMATION
Free public common with no admission ticket; follow posted city rules for any restricted areas or events.
This is a public city common, free and always open. There is usually some on-site parking, though specific details are not published. It sees heavy pedestrian and cyclist traffic.
SITE FEATURES
Exhibits & Artifacts
Summer tourism and major holiday periods may add demand (New England regional inference). Site-specific monthly peak unconfirmed.
May-June or September-October for Common and memorial walks in generally milder weather. Check local park conditions and events; nearby university visitor access is separate.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
4
George Washington
Nathanael Greene
Henry Knox
Charles Lee
About Cambridge Common
In the colonial period, Cambridge Common served as a pasture on which animals grazed. It was also used as a military training ground. It originally extended from what is now Linnaean Street in the north all the way south to Harvard Square between Massachusetts Avenue and Garden Street. Public executions took place in the northern portion of this space, known as Gallows Hill, located today west of Massachusetts Avenue around Lancaster Street.
A publicly cared for urban common preserving open lawns, mature trees, paths, playgrounds, and memorials near Harvard Square. Although the historic military landscape has evolved substantially, the park remains recognizable civic open space and contains monuments commemorating the Revolution and Cambridge’s colonial history.
History happened here at Cambridge Common
George Washington took command of the force of Patriot soldiers camped on Cambridge Common on July 3, 1775, which is now considered the birthplace of the Continental Army. On January 24, 1776, Henry Knox arrived with an artillery train captured from Fort Ticonderoga, which allowed Washington to force the British Army to evacuate Boston. Most of the Loyalist estates in Cambridge were confiscated after the Revolutionary War.
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
cambridgema.gov: https://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/cambridgehistory
cambridgema.gov: https://www.cambridgema.gov/historic/researchaids/faqpage
Cambridge's official history describes the Common and surrounding town during the 1775–1776 siege period. The Historical Commission confirms that Washington took command in Cambridge on July 3, 1775, but says there is no documentary evidence that the ceremony occurred under the Washington Elm. The Common's later commemorative marker should be distinguished from that traditional story and from Washington's nearby headquarters house.
Accessed 2026-09-30