Around Town

Our History: Watertown Artist Ellen Robbins, Famous for Paintings of Flowers

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Ellen Robbins painting in her studio (from a photograph by J. Appleton Brown)

This article is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Joyce Kelly, Board member of the Historical Society of Watertown. Joyce writes articles for the newsletter and is the newsletter editor. This was published in our January 2009 newsletter, “The Town Crier.”

ELLEN ROBBINS (1828 – 1905) – A WATERTOWN ARTIST

Watertown residents may be surprised to discover the many prominent people who called Watertown their home. Ellen Robbins (1828 – 1905) was a well-known 19th century watercolorist who was born, grew up and lived in Watertown most of her life. Ms Robbins specialized in natural subjects, especially flowers. She had a lucrative career selling her paintings and teaching students in Boston. She also painted on china.

Around Town

OP-ED: MBTA Law Part 4 – Possible Strategies for Watertown to Meet the Mandate

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Linda ScottThe Elan Union Market apartment building on Arsenal Street.

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

These scenarios are meant to mitigate some of the stress put on Watertown by the MBTA Law. One or more of these added to some thoughtful re-zoning, for me, seems ideal. Please note that because of Watertown’s overall housing density and availability to transit, there are even more options than I’m listing. In fact, there are enough to account for the entire 1,701 units plus 200 housing units more! Here are just two of these scenarios.

Around Town

Community Foundations Awards $12,000 in Watertown Youth Sports Grants

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:

For the third year, the Watertown Community Foundation has provided financial support to Watertown’s youth sports leagues so any child can play a league sport, regardless of ability to pay. With support from The Bilezikian Family Foundation, NESN, and Arsenal Yards, more leagues applied for and received funding to help more kids.

Sports

Watertown Grad Named Rookie of the Year in Region by D3Hoops.com

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Hamilton College AthleticsWatertown grad and current Hamilton College player Taylor Lambo was named D3Hoops.com’s Region 1 Rookie of the Year.

The following announcement came from Hamilton College Athletics:

Hamilton College women’s basketball forward Taylor Lambo ’26 (Watertown, Mass./Watertown HS) was selected the 2023 Rookie of the Year in Region 1 by D3hoops.com earlier this month when the NCAA Division III basketball website announced its all-region teams.

Around Town

OP-ED: MBTA Communities Law Part 3 – Our Current Watertown Square Housing Situation

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Watertown Square

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

First, Let’s Nerd Out a Bit:

A study was commissioned by Watertown to set a dollar amount to charge non-residential projects in the City. This was to off-set some of the costs of these projects to Watertown, and the aim was to put this money towards affordable housing in the City. This money is called a “linkage fee.” Part of this 2022 study was to project housing needs for Watertown. Here’s what that report (called the “Watertown Commercial Development and Housing Nexus Study”) says: