The Port Painters — North of Central Square, south of Hampshire Street

The neighborhood runs from Massachusetts Avenue north to Hampshire Street, between Prospect Street and the railroad tracks. The 1950 census split old Cambridgeport into Areas 4 and 5, and residents kept calling the northern half the Port until the city made the name official in 2015. The city's 2023 snapshot counts 2,828 housing units on 191 acres, about 34 people per acre, with about 52% of the land residential and 26% commercial.

Census figures for two tracts inside the neighborhood show the shape of the housing. In the tract around Windsor Street, 62.1% of units were built before 1940 and 35.2% are in three- and four-unit buildings. In the tract around Harding Street, 59.2% predate 1940, 63.8% are in buildings of two to four units, and fewer than one in five occupied units is owner-occupied. Newtowne Court, federally funded public housing, opened in 1938 and its extension, Washington Elms, in 1940.

Two city findings matter for anyone maintaining a building here. The Port has a history of flooding and sewer backups, and the city is building underground storage tanks to reduce it; the first began working in May 2021, but the city says large storms can still flood the area. And the 2021 Resilient Cambridge Plan mapped 84% of the neighborhood as heat islands, areas hotter than their surroundings, often because of low tree cover and paved surfaces.

Basements and low first floors

City flood materials single out properties with basement spaces and first levels at a lower elevation. Before painting a finished basement or the bottom courses of siding, check for moisture; paint over damp masonry or wood will blister.

Several owners, one building

In a two- to four-unit building that has become condos, the exterior and hallways are often common areas under the association's control. Ask the board early about its approval process and any certificate of insurance it requires, so neither holds up the start date.

Paint on sun-baked walls

Where shade is scarce, south- and west-facing walls take long hours of direct sun. Paint applied in full sun on a hot afternoon can dry too fast to level, so those sides are best done in the morning or on cooler days.

Old layers under new paint

With about 60% of units in both sampled tracts built before 1940, stairwells, door casings and porch rails can carry lead paint. Prep should follow lead-safe practices.