Newton, MA Real Estate
Craig Hammer is a member of the Newton - Needham chamber of commerce.
Geography
Newton is in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The city is bordered by Waltham and Watertown on the north, Needham and the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston on the south, Wellesley and Weston on the west, and Brookline and the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on the east.
Newton, MA is bounded by the Charles River. Yankee Division Highway, designated Interstate 95 but known to the locals as Route 128, follows the Charles from Waltham to Dedham, creating a de facto land barrier. The portion of Needham which lies east of 128 and west of the Charles, known as the Needham Industrial Park has become part of a Newton commercial zone and contributes to its heavy traffic, even though the tax revenue goes to Needham.
History
Newton was settled in 1630 as part of Newetowne, which was renamed Cambridge in 1638. It was incorporated as a separate town, known as Cambridge Village, in 1688. It was renamed Newtown in 1691 and finally Newton in 1766. It became a city in 1873. Newton is also known as The Garden City.
The city has two symphony orchestras, the New Philharmonia Orchestra of Massachusetts and the Newton Symphony Orchestra. The Newton Free Library possesses more than 500,000 volumes of print materials, as well as art, both original and prints, sound recordings and videos: the largest collection in the Minuteman Library Network.
Each April on Patriots Day, the Boston Marathon is run through the city, entering from Wellesley on Washington Street where runners encounter the first of the four infamous Newton Hills. It then turns right onto Commonwealth Avenue for the long haul into Boston. There are two more hills before reaching Centre Street, and then the fourth and most infamous of of all, Heartbreak Hill, rises shortly after Centre Street. Residents and visitors line the race route along Washington Street and Commonwealth Avenue to cheer the runners.
Demographics
The racial makeup of the city was 88.07% White, 7.68% Asian, 1.97% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.52% of the population.
There were 31,201 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.
According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $101,001, and the median income for a family was $121,496. Males had a median income of $65,565 versus $46,885 for females. The per capita income for the city was $45,708. About 2.1% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Based on statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newton was the nation's safest city during 2003, 2004 and 2005, and the fourth safest city in the nation in 2006. The designation is based on crime statistics in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft.
Education
Preschools
- Beth-El Pre-School, 561 Ward St
- Cabot School, 229 Cabot St, Newtonville
- The Teddy Bear Club Preschool, 1466 Commonwealth Ave, West Newton. A bilingual nursery school which offers an international atmosphere, with French culture and a diverse student population.
- JCC Early Learning Centers, 333 Nahanton St. & 125 Wells Ave.
- The Children's Cooperative Nursery School, 848 Beacon St.
- Temple Shalom Nursery School, 175 Temple St
- Walnut PK Montessori School, 47 Walnut Park
- Auburndale Community Nursery School, 230 Central St
- Rockwell Nursery School at Lasell College [8], 70 Studio Road
Primary and secondary education
- Public: Newton Public Schools
- Newton North High School (the larger of the two) and Newton South High School are the two public high schools in Newton, the Tigers and the Lions being their mascots, respectively.
- Charles E. Brown Middle School and Oak Hill Middoe School go to Newton South while Frank A. Day Middle School and Bigelow Middle School go to Newton North.
- Private
- Fessenden School, A K-9 day and 5-9 boarding school for boys in West Newton
- Newton Country Day School, 785 Centre St
- Trinity Catholic High School, 575 Washington Street. See also: Trinity Catholic High School Website
- The Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston, A K-8 Conservative Jewish dayschool
- The Newton Montessori School 80 Crescent Ave.
Higher education
- Andover Newton Theological School, 210 Herrick Rd, Newton Centre
- Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill (The Upper and Middle campuses are in Newton, while the Lower campus is in Boston).
- Boston College Law School, Centre Street, Newton Corner.
- Hebrew College, 160 Herrick Rd, Newton Centre
- Mount Ida College, 777 Dedham St, Newton Centre
- Lasell College, 1844 Commonwealth Avenue, Auburndale
Former colleges
- Newton Junior College, operated by the Newton Public Schools, opened in 1946 to serve the needs of returning veterans who otherwise would not have been able to continue their education due to the overcrowding of colleges and universities at that time. It used the facilities of Newton High School (now Newton North High School) until its own adjacent campus was built. It closed in 1976 due to declining enrollment and increased costs. The availability of such places as UMass Boston contributed to its demise. According to the city, its former campus is now "Washington Park," a 25 unit multi-family development.
- Other former colleges include Aquinas College, Newton, Mount Alvernia College and Newton College of the Sacred Heart.
Transportation
Newton is best known as a bedroom community for commuters to Boston, in spite of considerable commercial and manufacturing activity of its own.
It is well-served by three modes of mass transit run by the MBTA; light rail, commuter rail, and bus service. The Green Line "D" Branch, (also known as the Riverside branch) is a light rail line running through the center of the city which makes very frequent trips to downtown Boston, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes away. The Green Line "B" Branch ends close to Boston College on Commonwealth Avenue. The commuter rail, serving the northern villages of Newton that are proximate to Waltham, offers less frequent service to Boston. It runs from every half-an-hour during peak times to every couple of hours otherwise. The northern villages are also served by frequent express buses that head to downtown Boston via the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Newton Centre, which is centered around the Newton Center MBTA Station has been lauded as an example of transit-oriented development. See Newton Centre - A Case Study.
The Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90), which basically follows the old Boston and Albany Railroad main line right-of-way, runs east and west through Newton, while Route 128 (Interstate 95) slices through the extreme western part of the city in the Lower Falls area. Route 30 (Commonwealth Avenue), route 16 (Watertown Street west to West Newton, where it follows Washington Street west) and route 9 (Worcester Turnpike or Boylston Street) also run east and west through the city. Another major Boston (and Brookline) street, Beacon Street, runs west from the Boston city line to Washington Street west of the hospital, where it effectively terminates. The only major north-south road route through Newton is Centre Street, which runs south from the Watertown town line to Newton Highlands, where it bears right to become Needham Street, which runs south to the Charles River and into Needham.
Residents
Click here for helpful residential links.
Click here for the calendar for Newton.