Hooper-Lee Nichols House
Why it's listed
Built around 1685 on a farm then in Watertown, this house at 159 Brattle Street in Cambridge began as the home of Dr. Richard Hooper. Its oldest surviving element is a great central chimney twelve feet square, with six flues above the roof. About 1745 the house was remodelled in the Georgian style, with a raised roof, quoins, shutters, a pedimented vestibule and roughcast walls scored to look like stone. Later owners included Boston merchant Cornelius Waldo and Judge Joseph Lee, who added panelling, mantels and window seats between about 1748 and 1760. In 1860 George Nichols added the decorative roof parapet, using balusters from a discarded church railing. Early in the twentieth century Austin T. White added a library and enlarged the ell. Notable interiors include French Dufour wallpaper. The house is the oldest of seven Brattle Street mansions tied to Tory families and one of only three seventeenth-century houses left in Cambridge. It now serves as a museum.
Significance in brief: It is the oldest of seven Brattle Street mansions associated with pre-Revolutionary Tory figures and one of three seventeenth-century houses remaining in Cambridge. Although altered many times, it keeps its importance as a largely eighteenth-century mansion. It retains a massive original central chimney and interior features added by successive occupants.
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 79000355, listed June 15, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 159 Brattle St., Cambridge |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | June 15, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000355 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1600-1699, 1700-1799, 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Various |
| Architectural style | Georgian (remodelling c. 1745) over a seventeenth-century house |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Operated as an historic house museum by the Cambridge Historical Society; listed as occupied and altered. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 42.37717, -71.13587 (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 79000355.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5898340
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.