{"nrhp_refnum":"89002392","name":"Ahern, Catherine, Three-Decker","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"215 Cambridge St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.24372166900008,"lon":-71.82183844699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","European","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wood-frame Italianate three-decker residence at 215 Cambridge Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, built by 1888 (ca. 1888) by an unknown architect.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a representative example of the earliest phase of three-decker development in the Cambridge Street neighborhood, a mixed-ethnicity working-class area that grew with nearby industry. It is also described as one of the best-preserved, well-detailed Italianate three-deckers in the area. It is considered significant at the local level under criteria A and C.","narrative":"Built by 1888 at 215 Cambridge Street in Worcester, this wood-clapboard three-decker shows the Italianate style in a working-class neighborhood. It has a moderately pitched hip roof and an unusual six-bay long side facing the street. A single-story portico on chamfered posts shelters the double-leaf paneled doors, and cut brackets, paired cornice brackets, an open balustrade and original window cap moldings remain. The house belonged to the late 19th century wave of multi-family building in the industrial district formed by three rail lines running southwest from downtown. Nearby factories drew immigrant workers, mostly French-Canadian, Irish and English, many employed as machinists, wireworkers or carpet weavers. The earliest known owner was Catherine Ahern, and later tenants included machinists, a carpenter and toolmakers, some working at the Reed and Prince screw plant. It is listed as a well-preserved example of early three-decker development and of Italianate design in the area.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate Three-Decker","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition described as very good, with no major alterations; current use is residential.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.864294-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/7933/63793331/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89002392.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002392/3d95aa8ab4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002392/3d95aa8ab4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Pvmoutside","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catherine_Ahern_3_Decker_Worcester_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pvmoutside</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:Catherine_Ahern_3_Decker_Worcester_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793331","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Ahern_Three-Decker","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5052519"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/ahern-catherine-three-decker-89002392/"}