Davis Square
Davis Square is a vibrant commercial and residential district located in Somerville, Massachusetts, situated just northwest of Cambridge and accessible from Boston by the MBTA Red Line. Named after former Massachusetts governor John Wesley Davis, who owned a substantial property near the area, the square has evolved over more than a century from a bustling neighborhood hub into a cultural destination recognized across the region. Its story spans periods of prosperity, mid-century decline, civic revitalization, and ongoing tensions between community identity and urban development pressures.
Name and Origins
The square takes its name from former Massachusetts governor John Wesley Davis, who owned a large house in the vicinity.[1] In its earlier decades, the square supported a range of local businesses, functioning as a core commercial node for the surrounding neighborhoods. The density of shops, services, and transit connections made Davis Square a natural gathering point for residents of Somerville and the broader metropolitan area.
The square's early commercial character was shaped by the pedestrian scale of its streets and the mix of retailers, dining establishments, and service providers that filled the storefronts along its main corridors. Davis Square had several businesses that served both local residents and visitors passing through the area.[2]
Mid-Century Decline
Davis Square, once a thriving commercial center, experienced a gradual decline in the post-World War II era. Between 1970 and 1980, the City of Somerville lost significant population and economic activity, trends that affected Davis Square alongside much of urban New England during that period.[3] The suburbanization of the American population, the expansion of automobile infrastructure, and the associated decline of pedestrian-oriented commercial districts all contributed to a period of stagnation in the square.
Throughout the 1970s, vacant storefronts multiplied and foot traffic diminished. The social and economic challenges facing Somerville during this era were not unique to the city; they reflected patterns playing out across older industrial municipalities in Massachusetts and the broader Northeast. However, the depth of the decline in Davis Square set the stage for the revitalization efforts that would follow in subsequent decades.
Revitalization and the Red Line
The arrival of the MBTA Red Line extension to Davis Square marked a turning point in the neighborhood's modern history. The new transit connection dramatically improved access to Boston and Cambridge, making the square an attractive destination for residents, workers, and visitors who did not depend on automobiles. The transit investment helped catalyze private investment in commercial and residential properties, and the square gradually regained its role as a neighborhood hub.
The revitalization that followed the Red Line's arrival brought new restaurants, bars, music venues, independent retailers, and cultural programming to the square. Somerville's Davis Square came to be dubbed one of the hottest neighborhoods in the country during the period of its resurgence, drawing attention from media outlets and urban planning observers interested in models of successful neighborhood reinvestment.[4]
Character and Culture
Davis Square developed a reputation as a lively, eclectic destination with a strong independent business culture. The square's streetscape features a mix of restaurants, coffee shops, bars, music venues, and specialty retail stores that draw visitors from across the Boston metropolitan area. Its relatively compact layout encourages foot traffic and supports the kind of casual public life associated with successful urban commercial districts.
The square has become a destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment, offering a range of experiences that reflect the diverse tastes of Somerville's population.[5] Its proximity to Tufts University and other educational institutions has contributed to a population mix that includes students, young professionals, and long-established families with deep roots in Somerville's working-class history.
The square's cultural identity has long been intertwined with its independent establishments. Businesses like the Burren, an Irish pub that has become a fixture of the Davis Square social scene, have served as anchors for community life and as symbols of the neighborhood's character. The Burren and similar establishments represent the kind of place-defining institutions that residents and civic observers point to when discussing what makes Davis Square distinctive.
Development Pressures and the Question of Change
In recent years, Davis Square has become a focal point for debates about development, displacement, and the preservation of neighborhood character that are playing out in urban districts across the United States. Proposed construction projects and changes to the physical fabric of the square have prompted questions about how communities balance growth with continuity.
A development project near the square placed the Burren and Davis Square itself at the center of a push-and-pull dynamic that is common in hip corners of American cities as they attempt to manage rapid change.[6] The question posed by observers — whether Davis Square would remain recognizably itself if its defining institutions were displaced or altered by new development — captures a tension familiar to many neighborhoods that have experienced revitalization followed by pressure from rising property values and developer interest.
The prospect of a tower or large-scale construction near the square's core raised concerns among residents and business owners about the potential loss of the scale and character that define the neighborhood experience. These debates reflect broader national conversations about how cities manage growth while preserving the qualities that make particular neighborhoods attractive to residents and visitors in the first place.
Homelessness, Drug Use, and Public Safety Concerns
In addition to development pressures, Davis Square has in recent years confronted social challenges that have altered the experience of public life in the district. The square has seen an unprecedented surge in homelessness, drug use, and violence, challenges that represent a new normal for the neighborhood and have prompted concern among residents, business owners, and city officials.[7]
These conditions reflect regional and national trends, as the opioid crisis, housing unaffordability, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic have combined to increase the visibility of homelessness in urban commercial districts. Davis Square's role as a transit hub and gathering place has made it a focal point for some of the most acute social challenges facing Somerville. The City of Somerville and community organizations have grappled with how to respond to the needs of vulnerable individuals while maintaining the safety and accessibility of the public spaces that define the square's character.
The intersection of development pressure and social strain presents Davis Square with a complex set of challenges as it moves through the mid-2020s. Long-term residents and stakeholders are engaged in ongoing conversations about what kinds of investments, policies, and community responses can best serve both the people who call the square home and the broader population that depends on it as a neighborhood center.
Davis Square as a Financial Term
Outside of its geographic context, the name "Davis Square" is also associated with a series of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were structured and marketed during the mid-2000s financial boom. These financial instruments were distinct from the Somerville neighborhood and represented a separate use of the name in the world of structured finance.
Goldman Sachs and TCW Asset Management chose the underlying mortgage securities for a product sold under the Davis Square name to Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW)'s Luxembourg unit in 2006.[8] The CDO was among a series of structured finance products that came under scrutiny following the 2007–2008 financial crisis, when the collapse of the mortgage market caused severe losses in instruments tied to residential mortgage-backed securities.
Landesbank accused Goldman of profiting unjustly from Davis Square by charging an excessively high purchase price and fees, and the dispute eventually reached the United States courts of appeals.[9] The litigation illustrated the complex legal and financial disputes that arose in the aftermath of the financial crisis as investors sought to recover losses from the structured products they had purchased.
At least eleven deals managed by TCW were among those insured by American International Group (AIG), including instruments issued under the names Davis Square and Porter Square.[10] The use of Boston and Cambridge neighborhood names for these financial products was common in the structured finance industry during the period, where CDO series were frequently named after geographic locations without any substantive connection to those places.
Transportation
Davis Square is served by the MBTA Red Line at the Davis station, which provides direct service to Harvard Square, Central Square, Kendall/MIT, Charles/MGH, and ultimately Downtown Boston and Braintree or Ashmont. The station's presence has been central to the square's modern development and its attractiveness as both a residential neighborhood and a commercial destination.
The square is also accessible by multiple MBTA bus routes and is within cycling distance of Cambridge and other parts of Somerville. The combination of transit access and the walkable character of the district's streets has made Davis Square a reference point for discussions of transit-oriented development and urbanism in the Boston metropolitan area.