The city billed as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution is pulling out all the stops when it comes to celebrating its 125th birthday.
For that landmark anniversary, the city is spreading out its Historic Waltham Days celebration throughout July.
Incorporated in 1884, Waltham will celebrate 125 years of being a city on July 16.
On that day, Mayor Jeannette McCarthy will give tours of City Hall and offer interesting tales about the building and its history. She also plans to attend different talks and lectures during the monthlong series of events.
Historic Waltham Days will have plenty to keep people busy, the mayor said.
"Between the historic sites, the museum, and our restaurants ... it's a good place to stay home and revisit and rediscover Waltham," McCarthy said. "Because of the economy, some people can't go away on vacation this year, so I think the timing of this works well."
Waltham was settled in 1634 and was part of Watertown until it broke away in 1738.
"We were a mill town because of the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill," said Waltham Museum Director Al Arena. "Then the Waltham Watch Factory moved in 1854. In 1884, we changed to a city and instead of calling us a mill town they started calling us the Watch City."
Thom Roach, director of publicity and programming for Gore Place, is a member of the committee that helps organize Historic Waltham Days.
"This year in particular everyone collaborated in a nice way and scheduled these things so there's not really any conflicts," he said.
From discussions about teas and trolley tours to an ice cream social and a live performance by family-friendly rock duo Harry and the Potters, Historic Waltham Inc. has organized eclectic entertainment for the whole family.
This year 15 organizations, including local churches, museums and businesses, will put on 33 events.
For the first time this year, there will be a restaurant week, from July 12-18, to showcase different foods and drinks. The event is organized by City Councilor at large Sarafina "Sally" Collura.
PDF: Historic Waltham Days Schedule
So far she's recruited about 22 restaurants, including The Chateau, Naked Fish and Biagio Ristorante & Bar.
"The only thing I've asked is they come up with a special menu, a special offering and a special pricing and I suggested that they use 1884, when we were incorporated as a city, as $18.84, and that pricing could include the whole meal. "
Other restaurants are offering Waltham-specific drink specials, Collura said.
"Solea (on Moody Street) has a special drink they'll be serving called 'Moody Blues,' " she said. "And every restaurant will have a colorful poster to show they are participating in it."
Diane LeBlanc, regional administrator for the National Archives and Records Administration on Trapelo Road, said that on July 7 the archives will offer free tours that will be open to public at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m.
The 2 p.m. workshop on census records is the most popular, LeBlanc said.
"It's a great orientation for someone trying to trace their family history," she said. "Folks can simply do the tour or they can combine the workshop and the tour."
To celebrate the city's industrial past, the Waltham Museum staff has invited Metz car owners to park their cars in front of the museum on Lexington Street on July 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Metz cars were manufactured in Waltham during the early 1900s.
Arena said he expects a minimum of 10 cars to be on display.
"Some people are driving down from Acton, Newburyport and Cape Cod," he said. "The museum also has six cars."
For more information on Historic Waltham Days visit www.historicwaltham.org.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jgilbrid@cnc.com.
