Cambridge Center for Adult Education

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education (CCAE), a non-profit corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been teaching adult education courses at 42 Brattle Street since taking over the building from the Cambridge Social Union in 1938.^[2]

PredecessorCambridge Social Union, founded 1871, incorporated 1876 ^[1]

Formation1938; independent in 1941 ^[1]

Location42 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Region served

New England

Quick facts Predecessor, Formation ...

Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Cambridge Center for Adult Education, William Brattle House at 42 Brattle Street near Harvard Square (2025)
Predecessor	Cambridge Social Union, founded 1871, incorporated 1876 ^[1]
Formation	1938; independent in 1941 ^[1]
Location	42 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Region served	New England
Website	ccae.org

The CCAE is housed in two historic buildings, the William Brattle House (1727) at 42 Brattle Street and the Dexter Pratt House (1808) at 54 Brattle Street.^[3]

History

The Cambridge Social Union (CSU), founded in 1871 and formally incorporated in 1876, taught classes for adults in the former Brattle house which it had moved into in 1889 after purchasing it. The courses included literacy classes and general classes taught by Harvard College and Radcliffe College students and faculty.^[4]^[5]^[1]

CSU withstood the financial troubles of the First World War and the Great Depression. However, a 1937 feasibility study showed that the organization was in trouble.^[6] In 1938, in conjunction with the Boston Center for Adult Education, the Cambridge Social Union became the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. It offered evening courses to local residents and in 1941 became an independently run organization.^[1]

References

[1]
Kleespies, Gavin W. (Executive Director, Cambridge Historical Society); MacDonald, Katie, "The Cambridge Center for Adult Education Est. 1871" Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, Harvard Square Business Association archives
[2]
Beth Daley (1988-11-06). "Cambridge Adult Ed Swings at 50". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved 2011-01-17. Before the center was founded in 1938, the building at 42 Brattle St. in Cambridge was home to the Cambridge Social Union. The union, incorporated in 1876, also held some literary and self-help classes. But it was not until the Cambridge Center bought the building from the union that the philosophy of adult education took firm hold in the Boston area.
[3]
"The Cambridge Center for Adult Education: Who we are". Cambridge Center for Adult Education. Retrieved 2011-01-17. First incorporated as the Cambridge Social Union in April 1876, then in 1938, we officially became the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. In 1889 the Social Union purchased and moved into the House of William Brattle at 42 Brattle Street, which was built in 1727. In late 1972 the Cambridge Center acquired the Blacksmith House (the former Window Shop) property. Blacksmith House includes the Dexter Pratt House, built in 1811, where Longfellow observed the Village Blacksmith at work under the Spreading Chestnut Tree in 1839. Both houses are being preserved by the Center as living museums and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
[4]
"Cambridge Social Union", The Harvard Crimson, Monday, October 09, 1899
[5]
David Wildman (2001-03-01). "Their Way with Words". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2011-01-17. Another significant incubator for budding local writers, both as teachers and students, is the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Harvard Square. Founded in 1876 as the Cambridge Social Union, it became the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in 1938 and has sponsored classes in writing and hundreds of other activities from hip-hop dance to calligraphy ever since.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
[6]
"Cambridge Social Union / Cambridge Center for Adult Education Collection" Archived 2010-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, Cambridge Historical Commission, 831 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139

42°22′25.3″N 71°7′17.6″W

Cambridge Center for Adult Education

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