{"nrhp_refnum":"76000272","name":"Baldwin, Maria, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"196 Prospect St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.370142933500034,"lon":-71.10012741396756,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-05-11","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-05-11","areas_of_significance":["Black","Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A T-plan Greek Revival double house of the 1840s at 196 Prospect Street in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with later ells and a rear concrete block garage.","why_significant":"It was the home of Maria Louise Baldwin (1856-1922), one of the most distinguished Black educators of her era. She became Master of the Agassiz School in Cambridge, the only Black person in New England to hold such a post. She also led community groups and lectured nationally, and she lived in the house from 1892 to 1922.","narrative":"This double house at 196 Prospect Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dates from the 1840s and follows a T-shaped plan. A two-story front section faces the street, with a kitchen ell extending behind it. Its most prominent feature is an Ionic portico over a double entrance, along with wide, low Greek Revival window mouldings and an entablature cornice. A concrete block garage was later added at the rear. The house matters because of Maria Louise Baldwin, who lived here from 1892 until her death in 1922. Born in Cambridge in 1856, she taught at the Agassiz School and in 1916 became its Master, the only Black person in New England and one of two women in the Cambridge system to hold that post. She supervised a largely white staff and student body, lectured to audiences across the country, and led women's and literary organizations. She hosted Boston Banneker Club meetings and reading classes for Black Harvard students at this address, including W. E. B. Du Bois.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Not Known","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and used as a private residence; the form describes the building as having later alterations, including shingles over the original clapboards.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.904075-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/49/7937/63793749/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000272_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000272/f6f54753fa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000272/f6f54753fa-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CambridgeMA_MariaBaldwinHouse_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CambridgeMA_MariaBaldwinHouse_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793749","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Baldwin_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6761040"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/baldwin-maria-house-76000272/"}