{"nrhp_refnum":"83000826","name":"Second Cambridge Savings Bank Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"11-21 Dunster St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37301626400006,"lon":-71.10719319699996,"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 commercial and residential brick and limestone building at 11-21 Dunster Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1897 by the Cambridge Savings Bank and designed by Clarence H. Blackall.","why_significant":"The building is significant under Criterion A for its association with the development of Harvard Square, which was changing from an early nineteenth century commercial center to a modern business district. It is significant under Criterion C as a work of Boston architect Clarence H. Blackall and for its architectural quality. It is described as one of the best examples of pre-World War I architecture in the area.","narrative":"Built in 1897 for the Cambridge Savings Bank, this brick and limestone building at 11-21 Dunster Street combines commercial ground-floor space with upper-floor apartments. It is also known as Dana Chambers. Its Italian Renaissance design includes a large metal cornice, stone friezes with fleur-de-lis ornament below the second floor, bracketed window caps and heavy corner quoins. The U-shaped plan has two twin entranceways, and a barber shop on the ground floor has kept its original furnishings since construction. Clarence H. Blackall, a Boston architect trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, designed it. The building went up as Harvard Square was shifting from an early nineteenth century commercial center to a modern business district served by electric street cars and later a subway. Elaborate apartment buildings of this kind housed wealthy undergraduates who lived off campus. It was listed for its link to the Square's development and for its architectural quality as a work of Blackall.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"C.H. Blackall (Clarence H. Blackall)","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is commercial; a barber shop has occupied space on the ground floor since the building was constructed. The form records no alterations and no move.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.665848-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/4/7905/63790504/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000826.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000826/00f001a7ee-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000826/00f001a7ee-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CambridgeMA_SecondCambridgeSavingsBank.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CambridgeMA_SecondCambridgeSavingsBank.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790504","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Cambridge_Savings_Bank_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7443151"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/second-cambridge-savings-bank-building-83000826/"}