Bottle House Block
Why it's listed
Six attached brick houses at 204-214 Third Street in East Cambridge make up the building known in early deeds as the tavern house, or the Bottle House Block. Edmund Monroe and Deming Jarvis built the row in 1826 along the lower part of what was then called Court Street. Jarvis was a principal in the New England Glass Works and took part in many East Cambridge real estate transactions. When the row went up, the site lay at the edge of the community, but it sat on the main road from the West Boston Bridge to the Courthouse, which the builders presumably judged a good location for a tavern. Designed in a Late Georgian/Federal style by an unknown architect, the block is the third oldest remaining building in East Cambridge and one of six surviving Federal period brick houses from the era of the Lechmere Point Corporation. It remains unaltered and still serves commercial and residential uses, and it was listed for its role in the area's community development.
Significance in brief: The row is the third oldest remaining building in East Cambridge and one of six surviving Federal period brick houses from the days of the Lechmere Point Corporation. It was built as a tavern house on the main road between the West Boston Bridge and the Courthouse. A federal reviewer noted that the statement of significance is weak but found the block significant for its role in community development and growth of the area.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82001924, listed April 13, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 204-214 3rd St., Cambridge |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 13, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001924 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Edmund Monroe and Deming Jarvis (original owners and builders); architect unknown |
| Architectural style | Late Georgian/Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is commercial/residential, the same as its original use; the form records no alterations and no move. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 42.36738, -71.08077 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82001924.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4949039
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.