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Archive for the 'Area Info' Category
Amelia Earhart’s House In Medford
Did you know that Amelia Earhart lived in Medford Mass? With the movie, “Amelia”, starring Hilary Swank as Earhart and Richard Gere as Earhart’s husband, opening this weekend I figured it was a good time to check out the home where the famous aviatrix lived.
Amelia Earhart’s House In Medford
Amelia Earhart's Home In Medford Mass
The Earhart women, Amelia, her sister Muriel, and their mother Amy, moved to Medford in 1924 following their mother’s divorce. They moved to this hip roofed shingled house at 76 Brooks Street in West Medford.
As the monument in front of the Amelia Earhart home notes, Amelia lived here with her mother and sister for several years. She subsequently lived at Denison House, a settlement house in Boston where she worked as a social worker. She married George Putnam, played by Richard Gere in the movie, on February 7, 1931.
Monument In Front Of The Earhart House On Brooks Street
Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic – first as a passenger in 1928 and then as a pilot in a solo flight in 1932. She was only the second person to fly solo across the Atlantic, five years after Charles Lindbergh’s flight.
Amelia’s mother died several months after her daughter’s disappearance in 1937 during her ill fated round-the-world flight. Her sister, Muriel Morrissey, lived a long life in Medford where she was a public school teacher. Muriel died in Medford in 1998 at the age of 98. George Putnam died in 1950 at the age of 62.
Here’s another local tie-in with a recent movie: Julia Child’s House In Cambridge
New Cambridge Hotel on Mass Ave
New Hotel On Mass Ave Under Construction
New Cambridge Hotel Wondered what that new building under construction near Harvard Square is? So did I. Turns out it will be a new 32-room boutique hotel – Veritas at Harvard Square. It’s at the corner of Mass Ave and Remington Street at 1131 Massachusetts Avenue.
The development team includes two brothers who developed the Marina Bay complex in Quincy.
It’s interesting to see how the hotel-to-be mimics the bow front brick building next door. The new hotel replaces a green, three story bow front building that fronted Mass Ave and an auto repair shop on Remington. That property sold for $2,500,000 in 2007.
Looks like Cambridge may be getting several boutique hotels soon. There’s another planned for the Kaya site (formerly home to the Averof restaurant which I always remembered as the place that had belly dancing) in Porter Square. There’s also a proposal for a small hotel at the intersection of Beacon Street and Oxford Street on the gas station site at 369 Beacon Street.
National Historic Landmarks in Cambridge
In honor of Ken Burns’ magnificent series on our National Parks this week I thought I’d take a look at the National Parks Service’s 18 National Historic Landmarks in Cambridge MA. Who knew there so many? Not me.
Theodore W. Richard House - National Historic Landmark - Richards was the first American scientist to win the Nobel Prize for chemistry
What is a National Historic Landmark?
According to the NPS’ website an NHL is:
“National Historic Landmarks are buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that have been determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be nationally significant in American history and culture.”
In Cambridge 12 of the landmarks are houses, four are buildings at Harvard, one is a church, and another an office building. The NPS considers Mount Auburn Cemetery to be in Watertown but we can claim it as our 19th Cambridge landmark.
National Historic Landmarks in Cambridge
Many of the sites are private homes to this day. Others are now used for public purposes or are university owned. In many cases there’s no plaque announcing the property’s status so a number of these were really a surprise for me.
- Maria Baldwin House, 196 Prospect Street
- George D. Birkhoff House, 22 Craigie Street
- Percy W. Bridgman House, 10 Buckingham Place
- Reginald A. Daly House, 23 Hawthorn Street
- William M. Davis House, 17 Francis Street
- Elmwood, 33 Elmwood Avenue
- Margaret Fuller House, 71 Cherry Street
- Asa Gray House, 88 Garden Street – this one’s for sale
- Oliver Hastings House, 101 Brattle Street
- Longfellow House, 105 Brattle Street
- Theodore W. Richards House, 15 Follen Street
- Mary Fisk Stoughton House, 90 Brattle Street
- Christ Church, 0 Garden Street
- Arthur D. Little Inc Building, 30 Memorial Drive
- Massachusetts Hall, Memorial Hall, Sever Hall, and University Hall at Harvard University
The next time you take a walk around town take a second look at some of these local treasures.
Inman Square Fire Station Mural
Cambridge is full of wonderful murals and the large mural above the fire station in Inman Square is hard to miss.
Even so, I have to confess to not really looking carefully at it until I took a tour of Inman Square led by Krystyna Colburn as part of Cambridge Discovery Days this summer. Colburn pointed out two fun elements of the mural that I had never noticed – more about that later.
Inman Square Fire Station Mural
Engine Company No. 5 Mural
Artist Ellary Eddy was chosen to paint the mural after the Cambridge Arts Council held a competition for local artists. The mural was painted in 1980 and restored, also by Eddy, in 1999. It is three times life size and depicts the firefighters of Engine Company No. 5.
What’s the secret of the fire station mural? Well, there are two surprises in the mural.
Second from left is George Washington holding a pail. Washington appears in the mural to commemorate the time he spent in Cambridge during the Revolution when what we now call the Longfellow House served as his headquarters during the Seige of Boston. Washington also earned his place in the mural from his service as a volunteer firefighter in Virginia. He’s behind the fire station’s dalmation.
George Washington in the Fire Station mural in Inman Square
The other surprise in the mural is Benjamin Franklin who stands on the fire engine’s running board. Eddy painted Ben Franklin in red hightop sneakers. Franklin never lived in Cambridge but earned his place on the mural as the founder of the first volunteer fire department in 1736.
Benjamin Franklin founded the first volunteer fire company
Check it out the next time you’re in Inman Square.
The Inman Square Fire Station Mural is on the west wall of the Inman Square firehouse at the intersection of Hampshire Street and Cambridge Street.
Tip O’Neill’s Cambridge Church
Tip O'Neill's Cambridge Church
Tip O’Neill’s Cambridge Church Last weekend I spent several days watching the coverage of Ted Kennedy – the nonstop coverage (thank you channel 5!) of the funeral and the various documentaries about the Kennedy family – and didn’t have time to read the newspapers. As I was going through the back issues this weekend it occurred to me that the Mission Hill church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, will be known for years to come as the church where Teddy Kennedy’s funeral was held.
St. John the Evangelist church on Mass Ave in North Cambridge is similarly remembered to this day as the church where Tip O’Neill’s funeral was held. Some 1700 people attended the January 1994 funeral including Vice President Al Gore, and former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
O’Neill grew up in this North Cambridge neighborhood and raised his family in the Orchard Street neighborhood. He was baptized and married at St. John the Evangelist. O’Neill represented Massachusetts for 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 to 1987 and served as Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987.
It was great to see this banner in memory of Teddy Kennedy in Tip’s old neighborhood on Orchard Street in Porter Square.
Sign of Appreciation for Ted Kennedy on Orchard Street Cambridge
Tip O’Neill’s church is the large yellow brick church at 2254 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02140.
Irving Street Cambridge – Real Estate, Architecture and History
105 Irving Street Cambridge MA
Irving Street Cambridge – Real Estate, Architecture and History. Irving Street is close to Harvard Square in Cambridge in what real estate agents often refer to as the Divinity School neighborhood. Much of the street is part of what once was the Shady Hill estate. Lined with large, handsome houses and rich in history, Irving Street is one of my favorite streets in Cambridge.
Irving Street History
Irving Street was named for author Washington Irving, best known today for his stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”. While parts of the street were laid out earlier in the 1800s, the street was part of the subdivision designed by landscape architect Charles Eliot in 1886 when the 34 acre Shady Hill estate was subdivided.
Well known residents of Irving Street included:
- Julia and Paul Child at 103 Irving Street
- Poet e.e. cummings grew up across the street at no. 104
- Psychologist and philospher William James, brother of Henry James, built no. 95 in 1889 and lived there until his death in 1910
On a lighter note, I found at least one reference to a house on Irving appearing in the movie Love Story as the house where the couple played by Ryan O’Neil and Ali McGraw lived. Anybody know which house this is?
Irving Street Architecture
Twenty year deed restrictions were put in place when the Shady Hill estate was divided. Only single family houses could be built and there were minimum cost requirements. There is a uniformity to the streetscape as a result – all of the houses are large and are separated from their neighbors on generous lots.
The street is almost entirely residential with the exceptions of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at one end and the Irving House Bed and Breakfast at the other. There is also Harvard housing at no. 28, Haskins Hall, a 1926 brick apartment building.
Most of the houses on the street are Colonial Revivals or late examples of the Queen Anne style. No. 114 is a Craftsman style house. There is a large Mansard at no. 23 and a more recent addition of a group of Bell and Fandetti townhouses at no. 36.
Here’s a tour of the houses on Irving Street, starting at the end of the street near Francis Avenue and walking back, cross Kirkland Street to the opposite end at Cambridge Street. By clicking on the photos you can get a larger view.
Irving Street Cambridge Real Estate
Recent sales on the street have included:
- An unrenovated two-family sold for $1,075,000 in 2009
- Julia Child’s former home sold for $3,700,000 earlier this year
- One of the Bell and Fandetti 1970s townhouses sold for $601,050 in 2007
- A fully renovated two-family house sold in 2007 for $2,215,000
CHECK FOR REAL ESTATE FOR SALE ON IRVING STREET
Berkeley Street Cambridge – Real Estate, Architecture and History
Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s House on Berkeley Street in Cambridge MA
Just one block long, Berkeley Street is remarkably rich in history and architecture. Located just blocks from the heart of Harvard Square behind Brattle Street, the street is one of the most attractive – and interesting - in Cambridge. Berkeley Street is part of the Old Cambridge Historic District, regulated by the Cambridge Historical Commission. The street was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
History of Berkeley Street
Part of Berkeley Street was once land encompassed by the large Vassal-Craigie estate. Another portion was owned by the Hill family. It was laid out in two parts from 1851 to 1852 and named to honor philosopher Bishop George Berkeley.
The street has a rich history and was home to several Cambridge authors:
- Richard Henry Dana Jr, author of Two Years Before The Mast, lived at 4 Berkeley Street for 17 years. Dana’s house was behind the Brattle Street home of his friend, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was Dana who gave the street its name.
- Another of Dana’s friends, author and editor William Dean Howells, rented across the street at 3 Berkeley Street for two years
- Historian John Fiske lived at 22 Berkeley Street. Fiske was a leading proponent of Darwin’s theories. In an 1898 article about Fiske, the New York Times described 22 Berkeley Street as “a substantial square house of the mansard roofed type, so popular twenty years ago” and gives a detailed description of Fiske’s expansive library.
- No. 15 was home to a private school for girls, the Berkeley Street School, from 1863 to 1912 when it merged with the Cambridge School for Girls
- Frank Bolles, author, naturalist and Secretary of Harvard, lived at no. 6
Architecture on Berkeley Street
The Old Cambridge volume of the Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge by Bainbridge Bunting and Robert H. Nylander notes that Berkeley Street has “the best concentration of Bracketed and Mansard houses in the city, with textbook examples at 4, 5, 20, and 22.”
Douglas Shand-Tucci, in his book Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800-2000, describes 16 Berkeley Street, built in 1905, as having
“some of the same design elements one sees in the Prairie Style – the blocky, geometric form, the horizontal quality, strongly reinforced by low, lidlike, and wide projecting roofs…”
15 Berkeley Street is in the Italian Villa style. Several Queene Annes are on the street and the most recent house on the street, no. 24 is a brick ended Colonial Revival built in 1936.
Berkeley Street Cambridge Real Estate
Homes on the street are large, as are the lots, making real values quite high. In 2007 a portion of one of the large houses, deeded as a single family and about 1500 sq.ft. in size, sold for $875,000. A free standing single family home sold in 2006 for $4,000,000 and in 2007 another sold for $4,935,000.
You can search the MLS for Cambridge homes for sale by using the link below. You’ll have full access to the MLS and can adjust the price range, towns, style and more.
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR CAMBRIDGE HOUSES FOR SALE
Here are photos of some of the houses on Berkeley Street. If you click on the image you can get a larger view with additional details about the houses:
Green Street Cambridge – Real Estate, History and More
Green Street Cambridge – Real Estate, History and More Green Street, in the Riverside neighborhood, is popular with Cambridge real estate buyers. It offers a variety of architectural styles and a convenient location just one block from Mass Avenue between Central Square and Harvard Square offering proximity to the Charles River, MIT, and Harvard University.
Two-family Houses on Green Street in Cambridge MA
Most of the land lining Green beyond Brookline Street, by University Park, is today owned by MIT. A number of multi-unit buildings and commercial establishments line the street on the blocks behind Central Square as you head towards Western Avenue. Beyond Sellers Street Green Street is primarily residential.
History of Green Street in Cambridge
Green Street was laid out in sections starting in 1801 when the first stretch from Pearl Street to Pleasant Street was laid out. It was originally named First Parallel Street. In 1806 the street was extended to Hancock Street and in 1836 it was extended to Putnam Avenue. By 1900 it had reached its current length from Putnam to Landsdowne Street.
Green Street Cambridge Real Estate
Houses on Green Street today include triple deckers built in the late 1800s to early 1900s, brick rowhouses, wood double houses and row houses, and single family homes most built in the mid to late 1800s. Some modern townhouse condos were built in the 1990s.
#516 is one of two unusual round buildings in the Riverside neighborhood – clearly ahead of their time when built in 1963. Originally built as 16 apartments, the units were converted to condos in 2005. A condo in the building sold this year for $350,000.
Real Estate Sales in the last two years included:
- Condos in triple-deckers sold for $319,000 and $519,000
- 1990s townhouse condos sold for $692,500 and $775,000
- A renovated condo in a wood rowhouse sold for $$435,000
- Two units in newly renovated two-unit house sold for $449,000 and $550,000
Here are some more photographs taken on Green Street in Cambridge:
If you’re interested in selling or buying a home on Green Street in Cambridge contact Liz Bolton, a Cambridge real estate agent at the Huron Avenue Office of Coldwell Banker at 617-504-1737.
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