{"nrhp_refnum":"82001925","name":"Brattle Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"40 Brattle St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.373478619000025,"lon":-71.12117564199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Brattle Hall is a large public hall at 40 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1889 and designed by Longfellow, Alden & Harlow. It is now used as a commercial theater.","why_significant":"The hall was built for the Cambridge Social Union, which was founded in 1871 to run a free reading room and library and to host social activities. It housed the Union's literary, musical and dramatic events after the group moved next door in 1889. The reviewer recommended it for cultural associations under Criterion A.","narrative":"Brattle Hall is a brick and clapboard building at 40 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1889 in the Dutch Colonial Revival style. The prominent architects Longfellow, Alden & Harlow designed it as a large public hall for the Cambridge Social Union. The Union, founded in 1871, had set up a free reading room and library and served as a forum for social activities. When it moved in 1889 to the William Brattle House at 42 Brattle Street, the hall was built next door to host its literary, musical and dramatic events. In 1907 architect Charles Cogswell carried out a number of alterations and added brick ends. The building later passed to commercial use and continues as a theater offering cultural entertainment to the public. Its listing rests on its cultural associations with the Social Union and its role in the social and artistic life of Cambridge.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Longfellow, Alden & Harlow; 1907 alterations by Charles Cogswell","architectural_style":"Dutch Colonial Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Currently in use as a commercial theater providing cultural entertainment; altered in 1907.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.839197-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/7905/63790566/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001925.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001925/e6250d4d4d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001925/e6250d4d4d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Swampyank at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brattle_Hall_in_Cambridge,_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Swampyank at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brattle_Hall_in_Cambridge,_MA.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/63790566","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brattle_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4958106"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/brattle-hall-82001925/"}