Cambridge's one entry in the Green Book

By adamg on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 9:24am

UPDATE: Turns out there were two Cambridge listings, but one was under North Cambridge for some reason.

The Cambridge Historical Commission recounts the history of Bennett House in Porter Square, the one "tourist home" in Cambridge listed in the Green Book, which was a guide for black tourists in the Jim Crow era of lodgings that were open to them long before it became the name of a movie.

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Cambridge

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History

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Comments

Interesting story

By Bob Leponge on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 10:33am.

Little bits of otherwise forgotten local vernacular history with a tie-in to something people are talking about, in this case a major film. I vote for more like this!

Charlie's on Columbus Ave

By Anon on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 12:45pm.

Charlie's was in the Green Book and is still open for business. It was also the first place where I heard mention of the Green Book.

Another entry in Cambridge

By Charles Bahne on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 1:15pm.

Interesting story about Mrs. Bennett — thanks to the Historical Commission for posting it!

The 1956 edition of the Green Book (and perhaps others) also lists a Mrs. L. G. Hill Tourist Home at 39 Hubbard Avenue. For some reason the city is listed as North Cambridge, under N, rather than Cambridge under C.

Among the places listed in Boston and Roxbury are several restaurants, including Slade's, Charlie's, and Estelle's.

Great catch! We'll make sure

By Emily G. on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 6:24pm.

Great catch! We'll make sure to update the blog post.

Emily, Archivist (CHC)