{"nrhp_refnum":"82004968","name":"Colburn, Sarah Foster, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7 Dana St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.36998371300007,"lon":-71.11049220399997,"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 2½-story frame residence at 7 Dana Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1841 by housewright Nathaniel A. Virgin. It combines Greek Revival and Gothic features.","why_significant":"It is described as a unique Cambridge example of a rare Connecticut River Valley house type that blends Gothic and Greek Revival elements. The reviewer called it the most important example of Gothic Revival residential architecture in Cambridge and the only intact example of its type. It is also part of the mid-nineteenth century suburban development of Dana Hill.","narrative":"Built in 1841 at 7 Dana Street in Cambridge, this 2½-story frame house blends Greek Revival and Gothic details in an unusual way. Its steeply gabled facade has five unevenly spaced fluted columns with stylized Doric capitals, a deeply projecting gable pierced by pointed arch openings, and a narrow lancet window at the peak. Acorn-pattern bargeboards trim the eaves, and cast iron railings with a floral pattern fill the space above the columns. The design relates to a rare house type from the Connecticut River Valley and is unique in Cambridge. Housewright Nathaniel A. Virgin, born in New Hampshire in 1814, trained in that valley before moving to Cambridge. The house was part of the Dana Hill development, planned by speculator Isaac Livermore after Judge Francis Dana's mansion burned in 1839. Livermore's niece, Sarah Foster Colburn, bought the house in 1842. Apart from a 1927 apartment conversion and a rebuilt rear ell after a 1934 fire, it remains largely intact, and it was recognized as the city's most important Gothic Revival residence.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Nathaniel A. Virgin","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival and Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in good condition; converted to four apartments in 1927 but otherwise described as remarkably intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.29031-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/50/7909/63790950/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82004968.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004968/f2c16720c5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004968/f2c16720c5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sara_Coburn_House,_7_Dana_Street,_Cambridge_(Middlesex_County,_Massachusetts).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sara_Coburn_House,_7_Dana_Street,_Cambridge_(Middlesex_County,_Massachusetts).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790950","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Foster_Colburn_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7421625"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/colburn-sarah-foster-house-82004968/"}