{"nrhp_refnum":"82001940","name":"Fresh Pond Hotel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"234 Lakeview Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38274706800007,"lon":-71.14092304499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former hotel at 234 Lakeview Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1796 in the Federal style for Jacob Wyeth and moved to its present site in 1893. It is now residential.","why_significant":"The hotel was a famous and popular resort for Bostonians beside Fresh Pond, remodelled with Greek Revival features around 1838. It later served as a convent and as apartments. The reviewer concluded that, despite its move, the building remains historically significant under Criterion A.","narrative":"Built in 1796 for Jacob Wyeth, a recent Harvard graduate, this Federal-style building began as the Fresh Pond Hotel on a bluff overlooking the pond. It drew wealthy Bostonians, who reached it easily by the West Boston Bridge and the Concord Turnpike. The nearby Mount Auburn Cemetery, created in 1831, and the Watertown Branch Railroad added to its popularity, and around 1838 the building was remodelled with Greek Revival gables and trim. It remained a favorite site for Boston social events until Cambridge temperance laws ended such gatherings in 1886. The Sisters of St. Joseph then converted it to a convent. In 1893 it was moved to 234 Lakeview Avenue, where it became apartments, a use that followed development pressure along Massachusetts Avenue. The wood-framed building is relatively unaltered apart from a twentieth-century stucco covering. It was listed for its association with the resort history of Fresh Pond, even after its relocation.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Walton, Joseph Moore, housewrights","architectural_style":"Federal/Greek Revival features","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; the building has been altered several times and is covered in twentieth-century stucco.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.2289-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/7905/63790571/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001940.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001940/c8421e689a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001940/c8421e689a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fresh_Pond_Hotel,_234_Lakeview_Avenue,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4302.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fresh_Pond_Hotel,_234_Lakeview_Avenue,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4302.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790571","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Pond_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5503006"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/fresh-pond-hotel-82001940/"}