C-port Scene: Cold Reception

After a week's respite from below-freezing temps, this morning the winter freeze returned in force. Some solace can be found in some of the beautiful sites around the neighborhood when winter strikes. Today's entry in the C-port Scene series comes from Flickr user Craig Stevens (used under Creative Commons), and captures the view from Memorial Drive across the river during a similar stretch of cold last winter. Bundle up for the below-zero wind chill out there.

Contribute your photos to the series! Upload them to Flickr and tag them "Cambridgeport," and be sure you've granted permission under Creative Commons.

C-Port Scene: Wintry Mix Edition

The weather of the past week has certainly not been pretty, but it's a precursor to those moments when C-Port is at its most beautiful: the fleeting hours after a fresh snowfall, and before we get all angst-y about plowing and shoveling and parking.

This edition of the C-Port Scene series was captured by Flickr user Night Owl City over in University Park, where snow from a few years ago transformed the way we see the Simplex Wire & Cable Co. wire spool and the landscape elements.

Have interesting photos to share from the neighborhood? Make them part of this series! Upload the images to Flickr and tag them "Cambridgeport."

C-Port Scene: The Spectacular Shell Sign

Photo by Flickr user EandJsFilmCrew. Used with Creative Commons License.

This installment of the C-Port Scene doubles as a public announcement.

Everyone knows about the "Spectacular" Shell sign where Magazine meets Memorial down at the tip of C-port. But did you know it was over 75 years old? Did you know it has been on the National Register of Historic Places for over 15?

Next week, City Council will hold a public hearing to consider a proposal by the Cambridge Historic Commission to designate the sign as a Cambridge Landmark. Read the history of the sign and the bygone era of "spectacular" neon signage in the Commission's Landmark Report. The hearing details:

Wednesday, 11/18, 4:30 p.m.
Sullivan Chamber, City Hall
795 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor

C-Port Scene

The latest entry to the C-Port Scene series is this image from Flickr user Dan Fauxsmith. As you can tell by his photostream, he has a keen eye for some of the bizarre and unique things about Cambridge, which is what I love about this shot.

I mean, a lot of neighborhoods have worn out industrial buildings with sheet metal shops, but how many of them used to supply custom-built melting & atomization chambers to the labs of the world? Check out the ad below from a 1975 issue of MIT's campus rag, The Tech:

I don't know what the famous "Rector" is, and I'm not sure I want to!

C-Port Scene

From time to time, this space will feature an image from the neighborhood that shows Cambridgeport at its most historic, urban, colorful, and diverse (the reasons, at least for me, the neighborhood is home.)

Today's entry is this photo, by Jessica Sedgwik, capturing the intimate and casual interior of Baraka Cafe on Pearl Street. Come for the cozy otherworldliness... stay for the cherbat.

Contribute your images! Upload them to Flickr, and tag them cambridgeport.