Malden, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Malden, Massachusetts | |||
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Location in Massachusetts | |||
Coordinates: | |||
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Country | United States | ||
State | Massachusetts | ||
County | Middlesex County | ||
Settled | 1640 | ||
Incorporated | 1649 | ||
Government | |||
- Type | Mayor-council city | ||
- Mayor | Richard C. Howard | ||
Area | |||
- City | 5.1 sq mi (13.2 km²) | ||
- Land | 5.1 sq mi (13.1 km²) | ||
- Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km²) | ||
Elevation | 13 ft (4 m) | ||
Population (2000) | |||
- City | 56,340 | ||
- Density | 11,102.9/sq mi (4,286.9/km²) | ||
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
- Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
ZIP code | 02148 | ||
Area code(s) | 339 / 781 | ||
Website: http://www.ci.malden.ma.us/ |
Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 56,340 at the 2000 census.
Contents |
[edit] History
Malden was settled by Puritans in 1640 on land purchased in 1629 from the Pawtucket Indians. Initially a part of Charlestown, it was incorporated as a separate town in 1649. The name Malden was selected by Joseph Hills and was named after Maldon, England (from Hills family tree information). Malden, which originally included what are now the adjacent cities of Melrose (until 1850) and Everett (until 1870), was incorporated as a city in 1882.
The first code of enacted laws printed in New England was compiled here by Joseph Hills in 1648. Malden also has the reputation of being the first town to petition the colonial government to withdraw from the British Empire. Malden contains a number of historic churches.
Malden High School, in conjunction with Medford High School, has the second oldest continuous high school football rivalries in the United States, with the first "Thanksgiving Day Game" dating back to 1889.
Malden is also the site of the controversial Fells Acres child abuse case.
[edit] Geography
Malden is located at GR1 It is bordered by Melrose on the North, Everett on the south, Medford on the west, Revere on the east, and Saugus on the northeast.
(42.428549, -71.060597).According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.2 km² (5.1 mi²). 13.1 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.78%) is water. Bordered on the north by the cliffs of Middlesex Fells, Malden is drained by the Malden River.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 56,340 people, 23,009 households, and 13,575 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,290.5/km² (11,102.9/mi²). There were 23,634 housing units at an average density of 1,799.8/km² (4,657.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.09% White, 8.15% African American, 0.14% Native American, 13.99% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.10% from other races, and 3.46% from two or more races. 4.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 23,009 households out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,654, and the median income for a family was $55,557. Males had a median income of $37,741 versus $31,157 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,004. About 6.6% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Neighborhoods
Like many communities in New England, many towns and neighborhoods are organized around "Squares" which are locations of crossroads and town commons dating from the colonial and early 19th century years. Many of the neighborhoods in Malden take their name and identity from the Square they are centered around.
Malden's squares include Malden Square (formerly Converse Square, and the location of downtown Malden), Oak Grove Square (at Oak Grove T Station, Bellrock Square (at the intersections of Cross, Main and Medford Sts.), Judson Square (near Ferryway Green/School), former Suffolk Square (at Cross and Bryant Streets, and the location of a thriving Jewish community until being claimed by urban renewal in the 1960s), Maplewood Square (at Lebanon, Maplewood and and Salem Streets) and Linden Square.
Some of the neighborhoods in Malden include Faulkner (location of the former Suffolk Square) Amerige, Edgeworth, Linden, Ferryway, Forestdale and Maplewood, and Belmont Hill (located between Bellrock and Ferryway).
The Faulkner neighborhood is generally bounded by Ferry St on the west, the City of Everett on the South, Maplewood/ Maplewood St on the east and Salem Street on the north. A few of the streets north of Salem Street around Pierce St are sometimes considered part of Faulkner. In colonial times, Harvell's Mill was located here (at the intersection of Cross Street and the old B&M Railroad Tracks, between Eastern Ave and Salem Streets), just below the cliffs, on Harvell's Brook, which drained west to the Malden River. A road from South Malden (now Everett) crossed here to meet Salem Street just uphill. Formerly called Harvell's Brook Lane, it was re-named Cross Street. In the 19th century a railroad was built along Harvell's Brook, named the Saugus Branch, and the brook was channeled to become a sewage ditch called the Saugus Branch Brook. During this time industry sprouted in this area, and a large immigrant neighborhood focused around Bryant and Cross Streets took shape named Suffolk Square. In the early 20th century Saugus Branch Brook was culverted due to pollution. In the 1920s and 30s Jewish immigrants from East Boston and Chelsea, as well as the West and North Ends of Boston, began to migrate to Suffolk Square. During this time Faulkner was served by three trolley lines and two commuter rail stations by what is now the MBTA. All that remains is the Route 105 T bus line. In the 1950s out-migration by the Jewish community to northern suburbs and the decline of railroads and mill-based industry led to a condition of dilapidated and shabby housing of triple deckers and empty storefronts. Ambitious but experimental urban renewal modeled on Boston's Scolley Sqaure and West End projects leveled Suffolk Sqaure and most of the neighborhood. Controversy around redevelopment projects led to the loss of the commercial center at Suffolk Square and the replacement of dense 3-family houses with suburban-like low-income and senior public housing. Housing projects include Suffolk Manor Senior Housing, Bowdoin Apartments and Newland Street Projects. The neighborhood was once served by Lincoln Elementary, Lincoln Jr High/ Middle School and Daniel's Elementary as well at as the former Faulkner school at Peirce and Salem Streets. In the early 1990s the public housing areas of Faulkner, always a rough crime-ridden area, experienced the Crack-Cocaine dealing-based gang and gun violence experienced in many American cities. At the beginning of the 21st century a small section of Harvell's Brook was daylighted and partially restored at Roosevelt Park during the construction of the Salemwood School on the east end of the park. Parks in this neighborhood include Daniel's Park, Lincoln Commons, Roosevelt Park, South Broadway Park and Harvard St. Park.
The Amerige neighborhood is the northwest section of the city. It contains the Fellsmere Pond and Amerige Park. The Beebe School is located in the Amerige neighborhood. The Fells Acre incident occurred here.
The Edgeworth neighborhood is the southwest section of the city. It contains Devir Park, Pearl St. Park, and Callahan Park. The city’s football stadium, MacDonald Stadium is in Edgeworth. Schools in Edgeworth are the Immaculate Conception and the former Emerson grammar school.
Ferryway is the south central section of the city. It contains the Ferryway School and Newman Park.
Forestdale is the north central section of the city and it contains the Forestdale School and park. It also has the largest park in Malden, Pine Banks Park, and the largest cemetery, Forestdale Cemetery. Parts of Forest street follows and old Indian path.
Linden is the southeast section of the city. It contains the Linden School and Hunting Field.
Maplewood is located between the Forestdale and Linden neighborhoods. It contains Roosevelt Park, Trafton Park, and South Broadway Park. Schools in Maplewood are the Salemwood School and the Malden Catholic High School.
[edit] Transportation
The city is served by the Orange Line subway that connects it to downtown Boston. The city's subway stops are Malden Center and Oak Grove. The MBTA's commuter rail also has one stop in the city (Malden Center) and can stop at Oak Grove if necessary. Bus service to all adjacent communities is also available. During the last few years, Orange Line service has been unavailable evenings and many weekends. At those times, signal system repairs closed off the northern portion of the Orange Line while the MBTA staff redirected commuters to use replacement bus service.
Route 28, Route 60 and Route 99 run through Malden. Route 16, U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 93 are a short distance outside the city's borders.
[edit] Recreation
Approximately 30 park sites throughout the city provide a variety of recreational facilities including tennis courts, basketball courts, playgrounds and ballfields. Other sites include a 400-meter synthetic running track at Macdonald Stadium; 56 acres (23 ha) of the Middlesex Fells Reservation; the 25 acre (10 ha) Fellsmere Pond; a DCR-owned and operated swimming pool; a 30,000 square feet (2,800 m²) fieldhouse built under the new school rebuilding plan; and Pine Banks Park, operated by a Board of Trustees with equal representation by the cities of Malden and Melrose.
[edit] Literary references
Life in early 20th century Malden is the subject of the memoir Linden on the Saugus Branch by writer Elliot Paul. The name Linden refers to the eastern-most section of Malden that borders Revere. Linden was formerly served by the Saugus Branch of the B&M Railroad that ran from Everett to West Lynn via Malden and Saugus. While train service was terminated a long time ago, the tracks remain in place.
In contemporary literature, Malden became a setpiece for Stephen King's zombie thriller Cell (novel).
Malden's Suffolk Square is the setting for the 2003 novel "Sin of Omission" by David Evans Katz (link: www.sinofomission.com). In the novel, Malden is thinly disguised as "Middlesex."
[edit] Notable residents
- Jack Albertson, entertainer
- Ed Ames, actor
- The Ames Brothers, singers
- Walter Brennan, actor
- Robert C. Burgess, Superintendent, Pine Banks Park, Conservationist
- Augustus C. Carey, inventor, representative of the Know Nothing Movement at the General Court of MA
- George R. Carey, civil engineer and surveyor, inventor of an early system of television (1877)
- Gary Cherone, musician (Extreme, Van Halen)
- "Lord" Timothy Dexter
- Erle Stanley Gardner, author of the Perry Mason mysteries
- Norman Greenbaum, singer/songwriter
- Harold Gomberg, principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic from 1943 through 1977
- Adoniram Judson, missionary
- Keith Knight, cartoonist and hip-hop artist
- Ellis F. Lawrence, architect
- Frank Stella, painter
- John Volpe, Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Ambassador to Italy
- Michael Wigglesworth, Puritan minister and author
- David S. Liederman, State Legislator and National Advocate for Children
- Fred A. Leuchter, featured in Errol Morris's documentary Mr. Death
- Dana Rosenblatt, boxer
- Elliot Paul, writer
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- City of Malden, Massachusetts Official Website
- Malden Public Library
- Malden Observer, Local Newspaper
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA