Norfolk Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Norfolk Street in Cambridgeport is a residential district whose buildings trace the neighborhood's growth from the 1840s to the 1880s. The street was laid out as a spacious suburban address near the Cambridgeport meetinghouse, on land once held by the Cambridge almshouse, which burned in 1836. Its early character comes from fifteen Greek Revival houses on the west side, arranged around three cul-de-sacs and flanked by porticoed cottages. That arrangement is not repeated elsewhere in the city. The house at 79 Norfolk Street, built in 1843 by housewright Zenas Crowell, remains the least altered of the group. Later additions include an Italianate row house at 68-72 Norfolk Street, a Richardsonian Romanesque brick apartment block, and Queen Anne four-story flats then called 'hotels,' a building type unique to Cambridge. Development ended after 1919, when the last building sites were filled. The district is listed for its record of increasingly dense nineteenth-century housing.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its concentration of Greek Revival cottages and later multi-family buildings, which show the growing intensity of nineteenth-century development in Cambridgeport. Fifteen Greek Revival houses on the west side are grouped around three cul-de-sacs, a pattern not repeated elsewhere in the city. The four-story 'hotel' flats are described as unique to Cambridge.
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 82001964, listed April 13, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Norfolk St. between Suffolk and Austin Sts., Cambridge |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 13, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001964 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1840-1885 |
| Architect / builder | Zenas Crowell (housewright, 79 Norfolk Street); J.H. Ferrick (architect, 59 Norfolk Street); James Fogerty (architect, Hotel Norfolk, 30 Norfolk Street); John Pollard House architect unknown |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is described as fair to good, with private ownership and residential use, both single and multi-family. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 42.36593, -71.10064 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 82001964.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715780
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.