{"nrhp_refnum":"82001933","name":"Conventual Church of St. Mary and St. John","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"980 Memorial Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38022100200004,"lon":-71.13634295299994,"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 church at 980 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1936 to designs by Cram & Ferguson for the Society of St. John the Evangelist, with flanking monastery buildings and walled gardens on the riverfront.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a distinguished Romanesque building and the last in a series of Medieval Revival churches in Cambridge. It is described as the most archaeologically correct of the city's medieval churches and one of the finest American reproductions of a medieval building, designed by Ralph Adams Cram. It was featured in Architectural Record in June 1941.","narrative":"Set beside the Charles River at 980 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, this stone and stucco church was completed in 1936 for the Society of St. John the Evangelist. Cram & Ferguson designed it, and the work is credited to Ralph Adams Cram, described as the foremost American architect in the medieval revival vein. The building reproduces twelfth-century Burgundian forms with unusual accuracy, and it is regarded as the most archaeologically correct of Cambridge's medieval-style churches and the last in that series. Monastery buildings flank the church, and walled gardens add to its riverfront setting. Architectural Record featured the design in June 1941. The building has not been moved or altered and remains in use as a church. It was recognized for its architectural distinction, and the survey noted that its vulnerable location made prompt recognition desirable even though it was not yet fifty years old.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Cram & Ferguson","architectural_style":"Medieval (Romanesque, accurate replica of twelfth-century Burgundian forms)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a church; the form lists the original and present use as church and notes it has not been altered or moved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.570835-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/11/7906/63790611/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001933.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001933/480df1887a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001933/480df1887a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monastery_Chapel,_980_Memorial_Drive,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4353.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monastery_Chapel,_980_Memorial_Drive,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4353.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790611","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conventual_Church_of_St._Mary_and_St._John","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5166343"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/conventual-church-of-st-mary-and-st-john-82001933/"}