{"nrhp_refnum":"83000833","name":"Valentine Soap Workers Cottage","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"101 Pearl 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 pair of twin 1½-story double workers' cottages at 101 Pearl Street and 5-7 Cottage Street in Cambridgeport, Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1835-36 by soap factory owner Charles Valentine.","why_significant":"The cottages are early examples of factory housing, a rare type in Cambridge. They are also associated with soap manufacturing, once a major Cambridge industry, and no other structures from that industry remain. The form argues that their basic integrity is intact and recoverable beneath later siding and additions.","narrative":"Two matching double cottages at 101 Pearl Street and 5-7 Cottage Street in Cambridgeport were built in 1835-36 by Charles Valentine, who owned a slaughterhouse and soap factory. He built them to house his workers, and they remain residential. Each is a 1½-story house divided lengthwise, with a center entrance on a five-bay facade. Broad gable ends, relatively steep roofs and severe detailing give them Federal characteristics. Artificial siding now covers the original clapboards, and later additions include a gable-end entrance at 5-7 Cottage Street and a porch and shed at 101 Pearl Street. They are considered significant as early examples of factory housing, a rare type in Cambridge, and for their link to soap manufacturing, which began on an industrial basis in Cambridgeport in 1804. A third similar house, built in 1841, has been demolished. The cottages are the only surviving structures tied to that industry.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Charles Valentine, builder","architectural_style":"Federal characteristics (older form states no particular style)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Residential use; covered with artificial siding over original clapboards, with minor alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.371455-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/7915/63791534/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000833.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000833/92757534cb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000833/92757534cb-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/63791534","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-83000833/"}