{"nrhp_refnum":"82001932","name":"City Hall Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Massachusetts Ave., Bigelow and Temple Sts, Inman and Richard Allen Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.36675422700006,"lon":-71.10491924099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 3.042-acre historic district in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts, centered on Massachusetts Avenue between Bigelow and Temple Streets. It contains five principal buildings dating from 1822 (moved 1888) to 1912.","why_significant":"The district reflects the late 19th-century change of the Central Square area from single-family homes and stores into a civic center of city buildings and corporate structures. Cambridge City Hall and the Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance Building are Richardsonian Romanesque anchors, and the other buildings add Renaissance Revival, Italian Palazzo and Italianate character. The relocation of the 1822 church in 1888 marks the shift of civic authority from Lafayette Square.","narrative":"Five buildings along Massachusetts Avenue and nearby side streets in Cambridge's Central Square make up this 3.042-acre district, which records the area's change in the late 1800s from single-family homes and shops into a civic center. Cambridge City Hall (1889), designed by Longfellow, Alden & Harlow in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, sits on a rise above the avenue and is still used as city offices. Across Inman Street, John A. Hasty's 1888 Mutual Fire Insurance Building, with its checkerboard masonry bands and corner tower, pairs with it. Also included are the Cambridge Electric Light Company Building of 1912 by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, the 1910 YWCA building by Newhall & Blevins with its open roof loggia, and an 1822 church moved to Inman Street in 1888 and remodelled in 1858 by Thomas Silloway. Together they show how civic and corporate buildings gathered at this location.","period_of_significance":"1880-1912","architect_builder":"Longfellow, Alden & Harlow (City Hall); John A. Hasty (Mutual Fire Insurance Building); Newhall & Blevins (YWCA); Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge (Electric Light Company Building); Thomas Silloway (1858 church remodelling)","architectural_style":"Mixed styles: Richardsonian Romanesque, Renaissance Revival, Italian Palazzo, Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition is generally very good; City Hall still serves its original purpose. Uses are mixed: offices, stores, residences.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:55.034915-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/7912/63791233/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001932.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001932/b9e4ecf98b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001932/b9e4ecf98b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CambridgeMACityHall2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CambridgeMACityHall2.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"75000156","name":"City Hall Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/city-hall-historic-district-75000156/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791233","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_Historic_District_(Cambridge,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5123201"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/city-hall-historic-district-82001932/"}