{"nrhp_refnum":"83000832","name":"Valentine Soap Workers Cottage","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5-7 Cottage St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.362598622000064,"lon":-71.10563040799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1½-story double workers' cottage at 5-7 Cottage Street in Cambridgeport, Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1835-36 by Charles Valentine. It has a twin at 101 Pearl Street.","why_significant":"The cottages are argued to be early examples of factory housing, a rare type in Cambridge, and are tied to soap manufacturing, once a major Cambridge industry. They are the only surviving structures from that industry. The nomination holds that the original fabric is intact beneath later siding and additions.","narrative":"Built in 1835-36 by Charles Valentine, who ran a slaughterhouse and soap factory in Cambridgeport, this double cottage at 5-7 Cottage Street housed his factory workers. A matching twin stands at 101 Pearl Street, and a third similar house built in 1841 has since been demolished. Each is a modest five-bay house divided lengthwise, with broad gable ends and relatively steep roofs that give a Federal character. Both have been covered with artificial siding and have received small additions, though the original clapboards remain underneath. The houses were placed about three blocks from the factory, on the edge of the Central Square neighborhood, reflecting the unpleasant nature of the industry. Soap making began on an industrial scale in Cambridgeport in 1804 and grew large, yet no other structures from it survive. The cottages were listed as rare early factory housing in Cambridge and for their social and architectural importance.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Charles Valentine (builder/owner)","architectural_style":"Federal (the earlier form calls it no particular style)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Residential use; covered in artificial siding with original clapboards remaining beneath, and minor alterations including a later center door, porch and gable-end entrance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:58.021701-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7915/63791532/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000832.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000832/92757534cb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000832/92757534cb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valentine_Soap_Workers_Cottage_-_101_Pearl_Street,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4148.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valentine_Soap_Workers_Cottage_-_101_Pearl_Street,_Cambridge,_MA_-_IMG_4148.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791532","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine_Soap_Workers_Cottages","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7911017"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/valentine-soap-workers-cottage-83000832/"}