{"nrhp_refnum":"78000440","name":"Harvard Lampoon Building","other_names":["The Lampoon Castle"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"44 Bow St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37165825900007,"lon":-71.11734943099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-03-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Literature","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A triangular, 2½-story brick building at 44 Bow Street on the southeastern edge of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1909 as the home of the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine and designed by Edmund M. Wheelwright.","why_significant":"The building is significant for its architectural quality. It is a deliberate, comic parody of late 16th-century Dutch architecture that expresses the humor of the publication, and it has become the organization's trademark. It is also significant as the last completed design of Edmund M. Wheelwright, a Lampoon founder and Boston City Architect.","narrative":"Occupying a wedge-shaped lot where four streets meet at the edge of Harvard Square, this 2½-story brick building at 44 Bow Street was built in 1909 for the Harvard Lampoon, the student humor magazine. Architect Edmund M. Wheelwright, a Lampoon founder and Boston City Architect, designed it as a parody of late 16th-century Dutch architecture. A domed tower with a spiral stair marks the western point, and stepped gables, Gothic tracery windows, Indiana limestone trim and wrought iron details add variety. The massing and tower are arranged to suggest a sphinx with a human face. Inside, the banqueting Great Hall uses tricks of perspective to seem far longer than its 60 feet. The roof was replaced with copper and slate in 1950, but most of the interior survives. The building is recognized for its inventive design, which became the magazine's emblem, and as Wheelwright's final completed work.","period_of_significance":"1909","architect_builder":"Wheelwright & Haven","architectural_style":"Parody of late 16th century Holland architecture, with Gothic and Renaissance-inspired elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use; most of the original interior is well preserved. The original tile roof was replaced with copper and slate in 1950, and part of the building houses a commercial bookshop space.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.807896-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/7959/63795901/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/78000440.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000440/9d71b1d801-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000440/9d71b1d801-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvard_Lampoon_Building_-_IMG_1316.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvard_Lampoon_Building_-_IMG_1316.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86003654","name":"Harvard Square Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/harvard-square-historic-district-boundary-increase-86003654/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795901","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Lampoon_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5676473"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/harvard-lampoon-building-78000440/"}