{"nrhp_refnum":"82001969","name":"Opposition House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2-4 Hancock Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.36960521000003,"lon":-71.10659329599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A hip-roofed, clapboard-sided Federal style double house built in 1807 at 2-4 Hancock Place, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for Judge Francis Dana. It was moved to its present site in the 1860s.","why_significant":"It is the oldest surviving house on Dana Hill and a historical curiosity. It was built in the path of a planned Harvard Street extension to block the road across Judge Dana's estate. The reviewer recommended listing under Criterion A for its historical associations with the development of the immediate area.","narrative":"Opposition House at 2-4 Hancock Place in Cambridge is a hip-roofed, clapboard Federal style double house dated to 1807 from tax records. Judge Francis Dana, its original owner, had it built as a deliberate obstacle. By 1803 there were attempts to extend Harvard Street across his estate, and he opposed them fiercely. Placing the house in the road's path was meant to stop further extension, but the effort failed, the road was realigned, and the house was later moved from Harvard Street to its present location, in 1863 or 1865, when more intensive use of the land was wanted. The move is treated as typical of Cambridge's earliest surviving buildings and as no detriment to its importance. It is the oldest surviving house on Dana Hill, has only minor alterations, and continues in residential use. Its story illustrates early conflict over land and road building in the area.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect anonymous","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; altered in minor ways and moved in the early 1860s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.108424-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/7905/63790569/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001969.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001969/769ddf1571-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001969/769ddf1571-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opposition_House_-_2-4_Hancock_Place,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4099.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opposition_House_-_2-4_Hancock_Place,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4099.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790569","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7098628"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/opposition-house-82001969/"}