{"nrhp_refnum":"82001974","name":"Sacred Heart Church, Rectory, School and Convent","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6th and Thorndike Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.370711666000034,"lon":-71.08549856899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A parish complex of church, rectory, and school and convent buildings occupying a full city block in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. The church was built 1874-1883, the rectory in 1885 and the school and convent in 1902.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant for the quality of its architectural design and for its association with Cambridge's Catholic immigrant population. The Victorian Gothic church, designed by P. W. Ford, contains an elaborate altar by Peter Paul Pugin. The complex grew with the parish to fill the block, symbolizing the Church's role in a working class neighborhood.","narrative":"Sacred Heart Parish occupies an entire block in East Cambridge, bounded by Otis, Sixth, Thorndike and Seventh Streets. Its church, built between 1874 and 1883 to designs by Irish-born architect Patrick W. Ford, is a Victorian Gothic building of Somerville bluestone trimmed with Milford granite, with a massive belfry and pointed arched entrances. Inside, an altar of marble, onyx and alabaster by Peter Paul Pugin, imported from England, was praised in its day as second to none in America. A fire in 1963 destroyed the roof and the stained glass. A rectory followed in 1885 and a school and convent in 1902, both of red pressed brick with brownstone trim. The parish began in 1842 as Saint John the Evangelist, the first Catholic church in Cambridge, serving immigrants who worked in local industries. The complex was listed for its architecture and for its role in the life of that immigrant community.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 and 1900- (specific dates 1874-1883 church, 1885 rectory, 1902 school)","architect_builder":"P. W. Ford (Church); others unknown","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic (church); simpler pressed brick with brownstone trim (rectory and school); state form lists Medieval Gothic/Panelled Brick","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition and altered; the church clerestory and roof were rebuilt after a 1963 fire, and the complex remains in religious and educational use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.298384-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/7905/63790577/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001974.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001974/f0539cd128-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001974/f0539cd128-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sacred_Heart_Church,_Rectory,_School,_and_Convent,_6th_and_Thorndike_Streets,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4564.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sacred_Heart_Church,_Rectory,_School,_and_Convent,_6th_and_Thorndike_Streets,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4564.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790577","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart_Church,_Rectory,_School_and_Convent_(Cambridge,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7397151"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/sacred-heart-church-rectory-school-and-convent-82001974/"}