Magoun Square

Magoun Square is a neighborhood centered on the intersection of Broadway and Medford Streets on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is located between the neighborhoods of Ball Square and Winter Hill. It is a mixed-use urban business district, with commercial sites in the square and residential areas surrounding it. Trum Field, a park featuring baseball diamonds and basketball courts, is near Magoun Square, as are the headquarters of the Somerville Department of Public Works. Notable residents include playwright John Shea.[1]

Magoun Square in July 2012

History

Magoun Square was named after the family of John Calvin Magoun (1797–1882). Magoun was an assessor for the town of Somerville, served on the school committee as an overseer of the poor, and was a captain in the militia. His family owned a farm between Broadway and Vernon Streets and lived in the Adams-Magoun House, built circa 1783.[2][3]

Transportation
A #80 bus in Magoun Square
Site of the future Magoun Square Green Line station on Lowell Street

Magoun Square is located at the intersection of Broadway and Medford Streets, two major thoroughfares. The square is a six-way intersection, with signals for Dexter Street and a municipal parking lot as well as the two major through streets. Lowell Street meets Medford Street just south of the square at a separate light. In 2009, the city requested and received $3 million in stimulus funding to improve the safety and accessibility of the crash-prone intersection.[4] The project, which totaled $3.1 million in work, included new traffic signals, raised pedestrian islands and accessible curb cuts, bicycle racks, improved sidewalks, and street furniture.[5] The project was initially completed in 2011, though some work had to be redone in 2012.[6][7]

Two MBTA bus routes run through the square:

  • 80 Arlington Center–Lechmere station via Medford Hillside
  • 89 Clarendon Hill or Davis Square–Sullivan Square station via Broadway

An additional route follows Main Street, 400 feet (120 m) to the northeast:

  • 101 Malden Center station–Sullivan Square station via Salem Street, Main Street & Broadway

The Medford Branch of the under-construction Green Line Extension will pass near Magoun Square along the Lowell Line tracks, and two stations are planned to provide service to the area. The Magoun Square station will be located on Lowell Street 0.3 miles (0.48 km) south of the actual square, and the Ball Square will be located in Ball Square 0.4 miles (0.64 km) to the west.

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References
  1. Holder, Doug (25 November 2007). "New play has an atmosphere of Somerville minimalism". Somerville News. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  2. Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Boston: Graves & Steinbarger. 1901. p. 986.
  3. Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell (1997). Images of America: Somerville. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing. p. 17.
  4. "Somerville Stimulus Requests 2009" (PDF). City of Somerville. 8 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  5. Benson, Brian (24 September 2009). "Magoun Square improvements awarded federal stimulus funds". Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  6. Dick, Marcia (22 June 2011). "Business continues to lag in Somerville's Magoun Square". Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  7. Shelton, William C. (5 October 2012). "Magoun Square at a crossroads". Somerville Times. Retrieved 8 July 2015.

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