{"nrhp_refnum":"12000404","name":"Central Square Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["Brusch Medical Center/Lombardy Building","Cambridge City Hall Annex"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly 831 to 351-355 Massachusetts Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.367296338000074,"lon":-71.10637710899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-07-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Community Planning and Development","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A linear historic district along roughly seven blocks of Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, amended in 2012 to add one building at 825-831 Massachusetts Avenue (the 1951 Brusch Medical Center/Lombardi Building) and to extend the period of significance.","why_significant":"The amendment extends the district's period of significance from 1936 to 1966, so mid-20th-century Modern buildings now count as contributing. These include works by Sert, Jackson & Gourley and Eduardo Catalano & Associates. The added Brusch Medical Center, designed by Edward T.P. Graham, is a Modern-period building with Art Deco-inspired elements next to City Hall.","narrative":"Central Square's historic district follows Massachusetts Avenue for about seven blocks in Cambridge, centered on City Hall and lined with one- to two-story commercial buildings that share party walls, plus larger mid-century structures. This amendment adds one building, the 1951 Brusch Medical Center, also known as the Lombardi Building or City Hall Annex, at 825-831 Massachusetts Avenue. Designed by Edward T.P. Graham, it is a two-story cast-stone Modern building with Art Deco-inspired details. The amendment also extends the period of significance from 1936 to 1966, which turns eight formerly noncontributing resources into contributing ones. Among them are the Woolworth store, the Tanner Building, the Matthews Apartments, the YWCA's 1950s and 1960s additions, the 1960 New England Gas and Electric Association headquarters by Sert, Jackson & Gourley, and its 1966 Central Plaza tower by Eduardo Catalano & Associates. The text also records losses since 1990, including demolished and replaced blocks.","period_of_significance":"Extended from 1936 to 1966 (end date 1966; start date not stated in the provided text)","architect_builder":"Edward T.P. Graham (Brusch Medical Center); Sert, Jackson & Gourley (NEGEA Headquarters); Eduardo Catalano & Associates (NEGEA Central Plaza)","architectural_style":"Federal, Italianate, Second Empire, Richardsonian Romanesque, Renaissance Revival, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Beaux Arts, Classical Revival, Tudor Revival, Greek Revival, Mission Style, Modern Movement","criteria":[],"status_note":"The amended district has 70 contributing resources (69 buildings, one structure) and 23 noncontributing resources; several older buildings have been demolished or altered since 1990.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.790282-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/0/7957/63795700/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/12000404.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000404/1e9f08b2b5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000404/1e9f08b2b5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Eric Kilby","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Central_Square_from_above.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Eric Kilby</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Central_Square_from_above.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795700","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131904498"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/central-square-historic-district-boundary-increase-12000404/"}