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Welcome to Centers and Squares
As a Cambridge real estate agent, the city squares of Cambridge, Somerville and Medford and the town centers of Arlington, Watertown and Belmont, Massachusetts are my home turf. And as a lifelong New Englander who’s lived within twenty miles of Boston most of my life, I can introduce you to other nearby towns as we search for your new home. If you’re planning to sell your home in Cambridge, MA or nearby you’ll find plenty of info about the home selling process here too. Questions? Send me an email or call me at 617-504-1737.
52 Garden St – Cambridge Condos
Condominums at 52 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA
Cambridge real estate buyers looking for a condo in one of the city’s classic brick buildings will want to check out 52 Garden Street.
Located near Harvard Square, 52 Garden Street is what’s referred to as a “Harlow Building” in Cambridge and was designed by architect Hamilton Harlow in 1924. These handsome brick apartment buildings have classic layouts, nice detail, multiple exposures, and better closets than you’d expect in buildings of this period.
The 42-unit elevator building was converted to condos in 2002. There are two large basement units. The other units are studios, one bedrooms, and one bedrooms with study ranging in size from 359 to 1083 sq.ft.
52 Garden Street Features
- Fireplace
- Hardwood floors
- Common laundry
- Common landscaped patio
- Pets with permission
- Basement storage and bike storage
- Heat and hot water included in the condo fee
Recent Real Estate Sales at 52 Garden St Cambridge
- A 3rd floor studio sold for $298,500 in 2008
- A 1422 sq.ft. basement condo sold for $410,000 in 2008
- A 921 sq.ft. one-bedroom with study sold for $$415,000 in 2009
If condos are available in the building they’ll appear below. Click on the small photo for additional pictures and more information.
Click on the Cambridge Condos link below to read about other condominium buildings or Search The MLS for Cambridge Condos For Sale.
Decorative Window Trim on Cambridge Houses
Bracketed window trim on a mansard on Avon Hill in Cambridge
Decorative Window Trim
Window crowns – curved trim, bracketed or pedimented window tops - became popular on houses during the Italianate period. Second Empire mansards often had trimmed window tops like the one at right and window-top ornamentation can be found on Queen Anne Victorians as well.
Here are some of my favorites spotted on houses in Cambridge. For the life of me I can’t get larger versions of the photos to show in the slideshow. If you click on it you’ll get the larger views.
It’s often a certain special feature that makes us fall for a house. Here are some more house parts we love:
And for more favorites, click on the House Parts tag link below.
329 Harvard St Cambridge – Dana Hill Condos
Dana Hill Condos - 329 Harvard St Cambridge
329 Harvard Street, Cambridge – Dana Hill Condos In 2005 this 1964 apartment building was renovated and converted to condominiums. The 32 one and two-bedroom condos on four floors range in size from 530 to 685 sq.ft.
During the renovation the building was upgraded and refurbished. Units have renovated kitchens and baths.
Cambridge real estate buyers who are looking for a one or two-bedroom condo with parking that’s close to Harvard and Central Square will want to check out the Dana Hill Condominiums.
329 Harvard St Features
- Elevator building
- Storage bin and bike storage
- Parking space in the parking lot out back
- Open living / dining room
- Heat and hot water included in the condo fee
329 Harvard Street – Recent Real Estate Sales
- A third-floor one-bedroom sold in 2008 for $295,000
- A first floor two-bedroom sold in 2008 for $387,500
- A fourth-floor two-bedroom sold in 2008 for $409,000
If there are available units at 329 Harvard Street they will appear below. Click on the small photo for additional info and more pictures.
CAMBRIDGE CONDOS – $$250,00 – $500,000
Dutch Colonial House Style
Dutch Colonial Revival House in Arlington MA
When you skim through the American architectural guides looking for info on the Dutch Colonial style you’ll see pages about the houses built by Dutch settlers in the earliest years of our country. From 1625 to the 1830s Dutch immigrants built houses in the mid-Atlantic states with steeply pitched gambrel or gable roof lines.
In Massachusetts, what we think of as a Dutch Colonial is better described as Dutch Colonial Revival. These charming houses are common in the towns and cities around Cambridge and were built in the early decades of the 1900s. A Dutch Colonial in Arlington is pictured above.
The defining feature of the Dutch Colonial Revival is the gambrel roof with a continuous dormer. Federal or Georgian style entryways were common.
While the Dutch Colonial in the photograph is a center entrance, the side entrance became quite popular in the 1920s and ’30s. Typically you’ll find in the side entrance version that the living room runs across the front of the house to the side of the entry.
More Posts About Local Building Styles:
Concrete Buildings In Cambridge
And for even more click on the Architecture tag link below.
Caring for the Modern House – Historic New England Workshop
Modernist House for Sale - 119 Park Ave, Arlington
Caring for the Modern House – Historic New England Workshop Owners of mid-century modern houses – or those who love them – will want to attend an upcoming workshop in Lexington, MA.
Ask The Experts – Caring For The Modern House is scheduled for January 31, 2010.
A panel of experts will discuss the special challenges presented by caring for modernist houses. Come with your questions and issues about preserving, restoring, updating, and maintaining your home.
Panelists include:
- Brent A. Gabby, Simpson, Gumpertz and Heger
- Katherine Mierzwa, Friends of Modern Architecture
- Sally Zimmerman, preservation specialist at Historic New England
Sponsored by the Lexington Historical Society, the Friends of Modern Architecture, Lincoln and Historic New England.
The workshop will take place Sunday, January 31, 2010 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm at the Lexington Historical Society, 13 Depot Square, Lexington, MA.
Registration is required. Call 781-862-1703
Admission: $40 for nonmembers. Reduced admission for members of Historic New England, the Historic Homeowner program, Lexington Historical Society or Friends of Modern Architecture.
Don’t own a modernist house but would like to? The mid-century modern house above is my new listing in Arlington. It’s open this Sunday, the 24th, from 1 to 2:30 or call me to schedule an appointment.
Blue Towns
It was Martha Coakley by a landslide in Centers and Squares territory. While we’re all in denial today, the votes were counted and statewide Brown won yesterday’s election 51.9% – 47.1% or 1,168,107 to 1,058,682 votes.
But the picture was very different in Cambridge and nearby. Here’s how we voted:
- Arlington: Coakley 65%, Brown 34%
- Belmont: Coakley 59%, Brown 40%
- Boston: Coakley 69%, Brown 30%
- Brookline: Coakley 74%, Brown 25%
- Cambridge: Coakley 84%, Brown 15%
- Concord: Coakley 62%, Brown 37%
- Lexington: Coakley 65%, Brown 34%
- Lincoln: Coakley 68%, Brown 34%
- Medford: Coakley 57%, Brown 42%
- Newton: Coakley 67%, Brown 32%
- Somerville: Coakley 75%, Brown 24%
- Watertown: Coakley 61%, Brown 38%
I was happy to see that Belmont, former hometown of Mitt Romney, was firmly in Coakley’s camp. Medford’s numbers are appalling given that it’s Martha Coakley’s hometown. Boston’s, Somerville’s and especially Cambridge’s results - woohoo!
My mother was ready to move to western Mass after seeing the Globe’s red/blue map – solid blue from Northampton to New York - until I told her about the vote in Cambridge. But we’re keeping the map posted on the fridge – we know where our friends live.
Somerville Real Estate Market 2009 and 2008
Welcome to the Somerville Homes Sold Report
Here’s a look back at Somerville home sales in 2009 and 2008 followed by the monthly numbers for December 2009. Figures are for sales of properties listed on the MLS, the Multiple Listing System.
Somerville real estate sales bumped up modestly in 2009, with 4.5% more properties sold in 2009 than in 2008 and an equivalent increase in total dollar value of real estate sold.
The mix of properties did shift however. Single family sales dropped by more than 20% while condo sales and multi-family sales jumped. As with other towns we’ve looked at, the drop in single family sales was a result of fewer properties being listed for sale. While the median price was down for single families, those that sold did so more quickly on average and for sale prices closer to the sellers’ asking prices.
Somerville Real Estate Year In Review
Total properties sold in Somerville:
- In 2009: 578 (+4.53%)
- In 2008: 553
Average days on market:
- 2009: 87 (-20.19%)
- 2008: 109
Total value of real estate sales:
- 2009: $233,547,999 (+4.43%)
- 2008: $223,646,177
Properties sold for:
- 2009: An average of 97% of asking price and a median price of $381,000 (+1.6%)
- 2008: An average of 97% of asking price and a median price of $375,000
Somerville Single Family Sales
- 2009: 63 (-21.25%)
- 2008: 80
Price range for single family homes:
- 2009: $132,500 to $1,100,000
- 2008: $107,000 to $970,000
Median price of single family houses sold:
- 2009: $377,000 (-5.7%)
- 2008: $399,750
On average, single families:
- In 2009: were on the market 79 days & sold for 97% of asking price
- In 2008: were on the market 107 days & sold for 95% of asking price
Somerville Condo Sales
- 2009: 360 (+9.43%)
- 2008: 329
Price range for condos:
- 2009: $88,000 to $893,000
- 2008: $134,000 to $685,000
Median price of condominiums sold:
- 2009: $363,500 (-3.86%)
- 2008: $350,000
On average, Somerville condos:
- In 2009: were on the market 90 days and sold for 97% of list price
- In 2008: were on the market 105 days and sold for 97% of list price
Somerville Multi-Family Sales
- 2009: 155 (+7.64%)
- 2008: 144
Price range for multi-family properties:
- 2009: $202,000 to $1,000,000
- 2008: $180,000 to $1,150,000
Median price of multi-family houses sold:
- 2009: $465,000 (-.43%)
- 2008: $467,000
On average, Somerville multi-families:
- In 2009: were on the market 82 days and sold for 97% of list price
- In 2008: were on the market 119 days and sold for 97% of list price
Here’s are the last monthly Somerville real estate report for 2009 - Somerville Mass real estate sales in December 2009:
Homes On the Market in Somerville
175 Somerville homes were listed for sale in the MLS on Dec. 31, 2009 significantly fewer than were for sale one month before. Properties were priced between $148,900 and $1,684,133. Properties had been on the market an average of 161 days.
Somerville Homes Sold in December 2009
40 residential properties sold in Somerville in December 2009. The median sales price was $363,000.
4 Somerville single family houses sold in December priced between $285,000 and $845,000. The median sales price was $368,750. Houses had been on the market an average of 115 days and sold for an average of 92% of asking price.
31 condos sold in Somerville in December for prices from $144,000 and $879,000. Condos were on the market an average of 109 days. The median sales price was $350,000. Condominiums sold for 97% of the asking price on average.
5 multi-family homes sold during December for prices from $240,000 to $1,000,000. The median sales price in December was $450,500. On average, multi-unit houses sold for 100% of list price and were on the market 61 days.
Total value of Somerville homes sold in December was $15,761,400.
See Also:
November 2009 Somerville Real Estate Activity
Somerville homes sold info from MLSpin
Documenting Belmont Buildings Destined for Demolition
26 Harris St, Belmont, MA
Documenting Belmont Buildings Destined for Demolition Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to visualize a building once it’s gone?
This happens to me even on streets I drive down every day.
When all that’s left is a gaping cellar hole, or there’s a new building on the lot where an old one once stood – you scratch your head and ask “What was here before?”
And in recent years with teardowns becoming all too frequent our architectural memory becomes even more fractured.
The Belmont Historical Society has started a project to photograph the houses destined for demolition.
566 Trapelo Rd in Waverly Square
The program began in 2008 and I would imagine was prompted in part by the outcry about the Belmont Hill School’s demolition of what may have been New England’s first Modernist house, designed by architect Eleanor Raymond.
There are only two photographs on the Society’s webpage for the project, both from 2008. Perhaps with the real estate market upheaval demolitions paused in Belmont in 2009 – I don’t know. Hopefully the project is ongoing.
Check out the photos of demolished Belmont houses on the Belmont Historical Society’s website. One is a sweet bungalow, the other a two-story mansard with turret in Waverley Square. The buildings that replaced them can be seen at right.
Not that a photograph is enough. But it’s a start. And maybe with enough Before and Afters we’ll think a little longer about allowing our older, smaller houses to disappear one by one.
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