Cambridge Historical Commission

Cambridge Historical Commission The Cambridge Historical Commission (CHC) is a department of the City of Cambridge municipal government. The City's homepage is www.cambridgema.gov.

The Cambridge Historical Commission was established in 1963 to administer the city’s historic districts, to survey Cambridge’s architecture and publish its findings, and to research and mark historic sites. Commission staff now administer two historic and four neighborhood conservation districts, as well as local landmarks, and properties covered by preservation easements. The Commission also revi

ews demolition permit applications for all structures over fifty years old. The Commission maintains a public archive of the city’s architectural and social history; staff members present informational and educational programs to local schools, organizations, and community groups. Preservation grants and institutional preservation grants are offered to low- and moderate-income home-owners and to non-profit institutions; technical assistance on preservation issues is provided; historic paint color consultations are available; and an active publication program is maintained. As a department of the City of Cambridge municipal government, the CHC abides by the City's Social Media Policy, www.cambridgema.gov/socialmedia.

Some houses and buildings in Cambridge are not as they appear, and it can be fun to dive into their history! The brick r...
06/05/2026

Some houses and buildings in Cambridge are not as they appear, and it can be fun to dive into their history!

The brick residence at 180-182 Pearl Street in Cambridgeport was originally built c.1850 as a two-story industrial building that was part of the greater C. L. Jones & Co.’s Soap Manufactory. The building was likely originally just a two-story brick structure with flat roof, that according to historic maps, served as the company’s repair shop. The business eventually closed, and by the early 20th century, the industrial lot was subdivided for residential development. Including Pearl Terrace (later renamed Speridakis Terrace).

The sole surviving building of the C. L. Jones & Co. Soap Company was converted to a residence, where a wood-frame gable roof was added along with a bay window. Additionally, a brick store in the front yard was constructed. By the late 20th century, the demand for the corner store dropped and later owners converted the storefront into usable interior space, preserving this unique vestige of Cambridgeport history.

As we are gearing up for our annual Cambridge Preservation Awards ceremony next Thursday, we wanted to look back at a pa...
06/04/2026

As we are gearing up for our annual Cambridge Preservation Awards ceremony next Thursday, we wanted to look back at a past winner and owners who never gave up on this Victorian house.

The residence at 34 Buckingham Street was built in 1882 by Albert Stevens, a prominent local builder, as an income-generating rental property while he and his family lived across the street. The Stick/Queen Anne style residence was rented by Ms. Jane E. Chapman, a widow of Dummer Rogers Chapman, a Boston merchant. Ms. Chapman lived in this home with her two daughters, Jane and Emily, who both continued to reside here following their mother’s death in 1900. The Chapman sisters engaged with local causes and were active members of the Cambridge Plant Club.

The Stevens-Chapman House has listed for sale in 2019 and in 2020, a devastating fire resulted in the death of the resident-owner and injuries to three Cambridge firefighters when the roof partially collapsed on them. The new owners worked with their architects and builders put much care and attention to restore and reconstruct original details including the gable-end truss-work, varied shingle and clapboard siding patterns, exact reproduction of the original front doors, all atop a new foundation. The owners consulted with CHC staff on historically appropriate paint colors and consulted with our architectural survey files to understand the significance and architecture of the residence, which they would make their home. The property was granted a Cambridge Preservation Award in 2024.

Project Team: Edrick vanBeuzekom with Aaron Fuller & Keith Giamportone, architects; Nick Stamos, Fresh Start Construction; Elizabeth Gourley Design.

Dedication Plaque Ceremony — Old Burying Ground, CambridgeToday, a dedication plaque ceremony was held at the Old Buryin...
06/01/2026

Dedication Plaque Ceremony — Old Burying Ground, Cambridge

Today, a dedication plaque ceremony was held at the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge honoring Ann Re*****on Ellery, as part of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence's ongoing Wives of the Signers project. The project aims "to discover more about our grandmothers and highlight their role as wives of the Signers. These women suffered the prolonged absences of their husbands, the burden of running households, the loss of children, epidemics of smallpox and dysentery, the enemy at their door, and tremendous fear." Click here to learn more about this program: https://www.dsdi1776.com/a-call-to-remember-the-ladies/.

Ann Re*****on was born on February 18, 1724, in Cambridge, MA, and was described by her contemporaries as a highly educated and accomplished young woman. At twenty-five, she married William Ellery of Rhode Island, a Harvard graduate, in 1749. The couple settled in Rhode Island and had seven children: Elizabeth, Lucy, Ann, William (who died at age two), Almay, William, and Edmund.

Ann died on September 7, 1764, at the age of thirty-nine — more than two decades before her husband signed the Declaration of Independence. She was buried near her family at the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge, where today's ceremony was held.

Her tombstone reads:

To the Memory of

ANN ELLERY

Consort of William Ellery

of Newport Rhode Island Mercht

and Daughter

of the late Judge RE*****ON

In every Relation of Life

She exhibited a becoming Behaviour

was

Sensible & Quick of Apprehension

Sprightly & agreable in Conversation

Hospitable Charitable Sincere & Pious

Dies Sept. 7th 1764 Aetat 39.

The commercial building at 955 Mass Ave was constructed in 1970-71 as designed by firm Hugh Stubbins and Associates for ...
05/28/2026

The commercial building at 955 Mass Ave was constructed in 1970-71 as designed by firm Hugh Stubbins and Associates for the American Science and Engineering Company.

After studying under Walter Gropius at the Harvard GSD, Stubbins began his career designing single-family residences. He soon expanded his portfolio with larger commissions for universities like Brandeis and Harvard as well as iconic skyscrapers including the Federal Reserve Bank Tower in Downtown Boston and the Citicorp Center in Manhattan.

This aerial image of the American Science and Engineering Company building was capured by Carleton Patriquin on May 9, 1981.

The Dudley & Borland Card Collection contains nearly 3,000 handwritten property cards and 900 photos documenting Cambrid...
05/27/2026

The Dudley & Borland Card Collection contains nearly 3,000 handwritten property cards and 900 photos documenting Cambridge homes from 1927–1979. Here, we have a property card for 140 Upland Road. This card and others like it within the collection reveal everything from room layouts and mortgages to landscaping notes and school proximity. Also included are over 900 photos that document houses and neighborhoods around Cambridge, like the second image that depicts 101 Washington Ave circa 1955. The Cambridge Historical Commission acquired the Dudley & Borland Card Collection in 2021 through the generosity of long-time Cambridge real estate broker Robert (Bob) Crocker, then-owner of the company’s final iteration, Dudley & Borland Ellis & Andrews.

Click the link below to read our latest blog post and learn more about the history of Dudley & Borland and how, together with records of the Ellis & Andrews firm, they create a century‑long window into Cambridge’s real estate history and the people who shaped it. https://cambridgehistoricalcommission.blog/2026/05/27/introducing-the-dudley-borland-card-collection/

Beginning in 1879, until her death in 1911, Sara Chapman Bull lived in Cambridge, first at “Elmwood” (the Oliver-Gerry-L...
05/26/2026

Beginning in 1879, until her death in 1911, Sara Chapman Bull lived in Cambridge, first at “Elmwood” (the Oliver-Gerry-Lowell House), and from 1889 until her death at 168 Brattle Street. A number of facts about her should pique our interest:

• At age 20, she was married in a semi-secret ceremony in Norway to a 60-year-old renowned Norwegian concert violinist Ole Bull.
• She was an early adherent and supporter of Swami Vivekananda, who introduced the Indian philosophy of Vedanta to the West.
• She initiated and funded the Cambridge Conferences, a series of seminars at her home which drew important secular and religious lecturers.

Click here to read our latest blog post, "An Intrepid Lady of Brattle Street: Sara Chapman Bull": https://cambridgehistoricalcommission.blog/2026/05/26/an-intrepid-lady-of-brattle-street-sara-chapman-bull/. This piece was written by Cambridge resident Ted Hansen, a community volunteer and former President of the Cambridge Historical Society (now History Cambridge).

Image: Portrait of Sara Chapman Bull, ca. 1900

For last week’s Feature Friday, we highlighted an ornate terra cotta medallion on the side of a building, and today, we ...
05/22/2026

For last week’s Feature Friday, we highlighted an ornate terra cotta medallion on the side of a building, and today, we are highlighting the mystery building, the Cambridge YMCA!

Organized in 1883, the Cambridge Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was established as “a home for young men...as [it] is the only public place of social and moral resort, open seven days a week to offset the 106 saloons and places of evil resort in the City”. The local organization first occupied an existing wooden building in Central Square before acquiring a site opposite Cambridge City Hall in the 1890s. Leadership began a fundraising effort and $90,000 was raised for a new building, with plans supplied by reputed architectural firm of Hartwell, Richardson & Driver, who designed the building in the Romanesque style with walls of brick with terra cotta trim. Originally built in 1896, the building provided all the amenities of a men’s social club including overnight lodging, a theater, indoor track and locker rooms, lacking only a private bar. Beyond the sports and leisure aspect, the building also provided educational opportunities to immigrants who sought lessons in English and civics.

As programming grew, the building would double in size in 1910 when the Y hired the local firm of Newhall & Blevins to add a side addition and adding a full fifth story with rooftop open loggia above which also served as a sleeping porch. The architects also worked with the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company to add an elaborate, three-story entry portal to the facade with the rounded medallions on the first-floor addition, all with detailed depictions of animals, florals, and religious iconography. Sadly, many of the exterior embellishments were removed in the late 1950s including the removal of the entire rooftop loggia, as part of a major renovation to the building giving us the building we largely see today. Beyond the terracotta medallions, other features from the 1910 design remain including the leaded and stained-glass windows and terra cotta detailing around the fifth floor.

What’s a building you’d like to learn more about in Cambridge or a feature you’d like to see highlighted?

Calling all Cambridge residents: are you looking to become more involved in your neighborhood? Cambridge City Manager, Y...
05/21/2026

Calling all Cambridge residents: are you looking to become more involved in your neighborhood? Cambridge City Manager, Yi-An Huang, is seeking to fill vacancies for members and alternate members for the following Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation District (NCD) Commissions: Avon Hill, Half Crown-Marsh, and Mid Cambridge. Applications due Monday, June 22, 2026. Homeowners and renters alike are welcome to apply!

Neighborhood Conservation District designation recognizes the particular design qualities of distinctive neighborhoods and encourages their protection and maintenance for the benefit of the entire city. We hope you will consider applying to become an NCD commissioner and work with the community to foster wider public knowledge and appreciation of these neighborhoods.

Click here for more information: https://cambridgehistoricalcommission.blog/2026/05/21/members-sought-for-three-cambridge-neighborhood-conservation-district-commissions-2/

In 1852, book bindery operators Charles Little and James Brown leased a large parcel of land west of Blackstone Street, ...
05/20/2026

In 1852, book bindery operators Charles Little and James Brown leased a large parcel of land west of Blackstone Street, along the Charles River, to Henry O. Houghton and Company, Printers. Houghton moved his presses from Re*****on Street to a small brick building (originally the Cambridge Almshouse) at the new location, which he dubbed the Riverside Press. In 1867 Little, Brown & Co. sold the Riverside Press to Houghton, founder of publishing firm Houghton, Mifflin & Co., which operated until 1970. Several new buildings were erected as the company grew, and by 1890 employment at the Press had increased to 600.

The Riverside Press Collection at the CHC contains photographs related to the architecture, equipment, and employees of the press buildings from the 1890s to the 1950s. Subjects in this collection include architectural views of the Riverside Press structures, interior scenes, machinery, and construction of new buildings. These images were collected by Suzanne R. Weinberg and transferred to the CHC from M.I.T. Historical Collections in 1980.

Click here to view more images from this collection: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cambridgehistoricalcommission/albums/

Images:
Photograph of the Riverside Press building, c. 1910
Photograph of the first automatic fed cylinder press at Riverside, c. 1910
Construction view of bindery building addition, 11 Oct 1946
Riverside Press employee sewing bindings, ca. 1940

What could be thought of as an ordinary house at 91–93 Windsor St held nearly two centuries of history — from its 1836 c...
05/19/2026

What could be thought of as an ordinary house at 91–93 Windsor St held nearly two centuries of history — from its 1836 construction by grocery merchant Josiah W. Cooke to its long stewardship by Irish immigrant Richard Beckett and his family. After the home was demolished in 1941, the corner became the beloved Newtowne Variety, a neighborhood staple until 2016. Today, the storefront sits empty, but the stories of the people who lived, worked, and built community there remain a part of The Port’s past.

Click the link below to learn the history of 91-93 Windsor Street in our latest blog written by volunteer Kathleen M. Fox.

https://cambridgehistoricalcommission.blog/2026/05/19/the-story-of-an-ordinary-house/

Address

831 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Fl
Cambridge, MA
02139

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Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 12pm

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+16173494683

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