{"nrhp_refnum":"82001971","name":"Read, Cheney, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"135 Western Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.36506950200004,"lon":-71.10838458399996,"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 Greek Revival residence at 135 Western Avenue in Cambridgeport, Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1846 for Cheney Read. William Hyde was the builder.","why_significant":"It is described as the only surviving Greek Revival house with a two-story portico in Cambridgeport. The builder fitted an Ionic temple front onto a house of otherwise ordinary size. The reviewer recommended listing under Criterion C for this architectural example.","narrative":"Built in 1846 for Cheney Read, this house at 135 Western Avenue in Cambridgeport is a Greek Revival residence with a striking two-story Ionic portico. The builder, William Hyde, placed a pretentious temple front on a house of otherwise ordinary dimensions. The result has some quirks: the door and window openings, framed with heavy Greek Revival trim, are not quite centered between the columns, and the pediment is unclassically steep, which gives more headroom in the attic. The entrance is framed by pilasters and a pedimented lintel. The exterior walls are now covered in asbestos siding, and the house sits on a lot of about one acre or less, roughly 15 feet back from the street. It has remained a residence since construction and has not been moved. It was listed because it is the only surviving Greek Revival house with a two-story portico in Cambridgeport, which makes it a rare local example of the style.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"William Hyde, builder","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Recorded as residential in present use; not 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 02:11:54.45726-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/7904/63790446/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001971.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001971/83ebfe0a2d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001971/83ebfe0a2d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cheney_Read_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</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:Cheney_Read_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790446","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheney_Read_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5091185"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/read-cheney-house-82001971/"}