Davis Square

Davis Square is a major intersection in the northwestern section of Somerville, Massachusetts where several streets meet: Holland Street, Dover Street, Day Street, Elm Street, Highland Avenue, and College Avenue. The name is often used to refer to the West Somerville neighborhood surrounding the square as well.

Davis Square is located approximately four miles from downtown Boston, and two miles from mid-Cambridge. The square is served by the Davis Square Station, one of the stops on the MBTA Red Line. Davis abuts the Powder House Square, Magoun Square and Spring Hill neighborhoods, as well as Tufts University.

Davis Square is today a vibrant commercial, retail, nightlife and dining district. Davis fell into decline after World War II. After the Red Line was extended to Davis in the mid-1980s, however, the area began to experience a prolonged renaissance.

History

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. During the 1860s and 1870s, roads were improved and rail connections strengthened, which allowed West Somerville to urbanize.

Davis (MBTA station)

Davis Station is a transfer station serving the MBTA's rapid transit Red Line, located at Davis Square, the intersection of Holland Street, Elm Street, and College Avenue. By consequence of geography and system layout, Davis Station is one of only two rapid transit stations in Somerville, the other being Assembly on the Orange Line. It is bordered on both sides by stations that lie in Cambridge: Alewife and Porter.

Opened in 1985, Davis Station takes its name from Davis Square, which was named after 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. The station is fully handicapped accessible.

Facilities include a bus terminal for local routes, with a dedicated busway, two head houses and bicycle parking. Davis also includes connections to the Somerville Community Path and the Cambridge Linear Park.

Station layout

History

Streetcars propelled the growth of West Somerville after 1858, and regular passenger rail was not far behind. Beginning in 1870, passenger service on the Lexington and Arlington branch of the Boston and Lowell Railroad (later succeeded by the Boston and Maine Railroad) came through Davis Square, with a "West Somerville" stop in the square. A station was built in 1888. The streetcar and railroad service stimulated substantial development in the 1870s and 1880s as Davis Square quickly grew into an active commercial center. A boom in residential construction followed in the 1890s.