The Cambridge Center for Adult Edcuation

Since 1938, The Cambridge Center has consistently offered the most diverse menu of courses to adults in Cambridge and surrounding areas.

• We are a non-profit.
• We are self-supporting, relying on tuition income and contributions.
• We are here to give people the opportunity to explore their interests and nurture their talents and potential.

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 famous 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.