{"nrhp_refnum":"76000238","name":"Sands, Hiram, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"22 Putnam Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.369300010000075,"lon":-71.11338394899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick house at 22 Putnam Avenue in the Cambridgeport area of Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1848 for a member of the Sands brickmaking family and possibly built by carpenter Levi Perkins.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its link to Cambridge's brickmaking industry and as one of the most outstanding architectural examples in Cambridgeport. It combines Greek Revival and Italianate elements and is an unusually elaborate mid-nineteenth century craftsman's residence. It is also one of the few remnants of the city's brick industry, which ended in 1952.","narrative":"Built in 1848 at 22 Putnam Avenue in Cambridgeport, this two-story brick house was home to Hiram Sands, a member of a prominent Cambridge brickmaking family who ran a brickyard nearby. It is the second of three brick Sands family homes put up in Cambridge in the mid-nineteenth century. The design blends Greek Revival massing and pedimented window lintels with Italianate features, including widely projecting eaves on paired brackets, a bracketed front portico and an irregular L-shaped plan. The front and side walls use dense pressed brick, likely made in the family's yards across the street. Carpenter Levi Perkins was probably the builder. Hiram Sands lost the property to a mortgage holder in 1854, and it stayed a single-family home until 1975. Its original appearance survives to a remarkable degree. It is regarded as the most significant building in the Putnam Avenue area and one of the few reminders of Cambridge's brick industry.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"possibly Levi Perkins","architectural_style":"Greek Revival and Italianate (Bracketed)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition and occupied; it remained a single-family residence until 1975, when it became a rehabilitation institution.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.227994-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/7959/63795951/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000238.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000238/f7e581732c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000238/f7e581732c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hiram_Sands_House,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_5583.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hiram_Sands_House,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_5583.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795951","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Sands_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12060167"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/sands-hiram-house-76000238/"}