Wyeth Brickyard Superintendent's House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built in 1848 at 336 Rindge Avenue in North Cambridge, this five-bay brick cottage served as the superintendent's house for Nathaniel J. Wyeth's brickyard. Combining Greek Revival and Italianate features, it keeps its original sidelight entrance, granite sills and lintels, and corbelled brickwork in the gables, and much of the interior remains intact. The house is listed as a rare surviving reminder of the local brick industry. Clay left by glaciers beneath the Great Swamp near Alewife Brook had been used for bricks since colonial times, and demand from fast-growing mid-nineteenth-century cities led to an industrial complex of brickyards, drying kilns and clay pits. Wyeth, a local entrepreneur who also helped finance a railroad extension in 1840 to carry ice from Fresh Pond, opened his own brickyard in the 1840s. The clay ran out by the mid-twentieth century, and the yards were abandoned. The house remains a residence and a symbol of brickmaking in Cambridge history.
Significance in brief: The house is a well-preserved relic of the North Cambridge brick industry, which used glacial clay near Alewife Brook to supply growing New England cities. It is tied to Nathaniel Wyeth, a local entrepreneur central to establishing brickmaking in the area. It is also an excellent, largely intact example of its type, with much of the interior surviving.
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 82001987, listed April 13, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 336 Rindge Ave., Cambridge |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 13, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001987 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival/Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential; the form describes the structure as excellently preserved and not altered or moved. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 42.39354, -71.13704 (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 82001987.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8039736
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.