{"nrhp_refnum":"86001682","name":"Dana-Palmer House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"12--16 Quincy St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37315205500005,"lon":-71.11448482199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Federal-style wooden house with an added Greek Revival porch at 12-16 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1822 and moved to its present site in 1947.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion C as a Federal-style structure and as one of two surviving buildings on Quincy Street that recall the neighborhood's original residential character. It is significant under Criterion B for its many associations with people important to the history and development of Harvard College, including the Dana family, William C. Bond, George Herbert Palmer and James Bryant Conant.","narrative":"Built in 1822, this wooden house at 12-16 Quincy Street in Cambridge combines a Federal-style hipped roof with a later Greek Revival porch. Details include a continuous balustrade around the eaves, rounded bays under the porch and a fanlight over the front door. It is one of two surviving structures on Quincy Street that recall the neighborhood's original residential quality. The house first stood on the site of Lamont Library, on a knoll that was part of the fortifications of Washington's camp. The land came to the Dana family in the early eighteenth century, and residents included Richard Henry Dana, Sr., and his son Richard Henry Dana, Jr., author of Two Years Before the Mast. Harvard College bought the property in 1835. It served as an observatory for William C. Bond from 1839 to 1843, and later housed professors, including George Herbert Palmer, and President James Bryant Conant during World War II. Moved in 1947, it was restored to its original dimensions.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal/Greek Revival","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; the house was moved in 1947 and restored to its original dimensions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.321837-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7907/63790761/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001682.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001682/ede3a0b869-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001682/ede3a0b869-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CambridgeMA_DanaPalmerHouse.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_DanaPalmerHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790761","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana-Palmer_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5214648"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/dana-palmer-house-86001682/"}