{"nrhp_refnum":"83000786","name":"Building at 259 Mount Auburn Street","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"259 Mt. Auburn St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.374902544000065,"lon":-71.13179015499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small Bracketed Italianate building at 259 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dated c. 1850 from deed records. It was moved to its present site by 1858 or 1859 and may have started life as a railroad depot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a miniature, vernacular version of the exaggerated Tuscan or Italianate villas found elsewhere in Cambridge, with a deeply projecting roof and large brackets. It is also thought to be one of the few remnants of the commuter railroads that shaped Cambridge's development. It is listed under Criterion C for its unique design.","narrative":"Small in scale but bold in profile, this c. 1850 house at 259 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge is a Bracketed Italianate building whose main block measures just 22 by 18 feet. Its flat roof projects far beyond the walls like a lid, carried on unusually large, almost lacy brackets, and an elaborate wooden hood shelters the entrance. The building was moved to its present site by 1858 or 1859 and is thought to have first served as a depot on either the Watertown Branch or the Mount Auburn Railroad, though that origin has not been fully documented. It is regarded as a miniature counterpart to the grand Tuscan-style villas of Mid Cambridge, such as the Deane Williams House, and as a clear example of vernacular builders adapting an academic architectural vocabulary. Its distinctive design and its possible link to the commuter railroads that shaped the city's growth supported its listing under Criterion C. It is used as a residence today.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Bracketed Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; exterior walls are covered in aluminum siding.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.654018-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/7905/63790512/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000786.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000786/6ad95b0b37-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000786/6ad95b0b37-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Swampyank at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_259_Mount_Auburn_Street_in_Cambridge,_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Swampyank at English Wikipedia</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:Building_at_259_Mount_Auburn_Street_in_Cambridge,_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790512","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_at_259_Mount_Auburn_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4986557"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/building-at-259-mount-auburn-street-83000786/"}