On a sunny Sunday afternoon this week, nine year-old Jake J. Dannecker and his cousins are busily selling cups of lemonade outside of his large Brattle Street home.

The landscape in Dannecker's neighborhood has changed little since the building of the beautiful colonial homes which line its shady streets.

During colonial times Brattle Street was known as "Tory Row." Some of the most wealthy Loyalist aristocrats resided in mansions on this street, just blocks from Harvard Square.

Today, Brattle is still richly steeped in the history of a colonial past. The neighborhood serves as the gateway to West Cambridge, which remains relatively unexplored by members of the Harvard community.

"There's a lot more to West Cambridge than Harvard Square," says Warren M. Little '55, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Society.

With the exception of those involved in extracurricular programs like FUP and PBH, Harvard students and faculty know "next to nothing" about the history of West Cambridge, Little says.

But even those who have no knowledge of Cambridge history may enjoy strolling up Brattle St. just a few blocks, where they can explore the houses of a by-gone era and may be purchase some lemonade from a future entrepreneur.

History and Geography

One of the most prominent figures in the history of West Cambridge is poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. According to historical documents, Longfellow wrote the majority of his poems while living at 105 Brattle St., Known today as the "Longfellow House," a national historic site.

Most of the other houses along the block display little blue signs on the front lawn, compliments of the Harvard Historical Commission, which ensure that nobody will change the color or appearance of the homes.

A few blocks from the Longfellow House and one block from the Charles River, on Elmwood Ave., is the "Lowell House." Built in 1760, the mansion was the home of Governor Elbridge Gerry, who signed the Declaration of Independence and served as U.S. Vice-President from 1813 to 1814.

Today, the estate is known as "Elmwood" and is the residence of Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine.

Despite the predominance of historic estates, the buildings along the Brattle were not all erected during revolutionary times.

"Brattle also has a lot of interesting architecture" from many different periods, Little says.

Brattle St., beginning in Brattle Square, runs about a mile and a half to Mount Auburn Cemetery, the nation's oldest rural garden cemetery.