383 Broadway, Mid Cambridge

View of 383 Broadway from the mid-1960s. CHC.

Today we’re featuring 383 Broadway in Mid Cambridge. The original house on the lot was built by John J. Bright, a founder of the Boston Ice Company, who lived there until 1911 when he moved to Brookline. Bright’s mansion was demolished in 1917.

1916 Bromley map showing property of John J. Bright. The residence was razed in 1917. CHC.

The present house at 383 Broadway was built in 1922 and designed by the Cambridge architect Edward Graham. One of Graham’s first major commissions was the 1907 Shoe and Leather Exposition Building near Kendall Square, which contained the largest auditorium in New England. During his long career, Graham designed a number of institutional and ecclesiastical buildings such as the Lincoln School, St. Mary’s Hall on Prospect Street, St. Mary’s School on Essex Street, and the Nurses’ Home at Cambridge Hospital. Other residences by the designer include 16 Francis Street, 61 Fayette Street, and Jefferson Park apartments.

1930 Bromley map showing 383 Broadway. CHC.

Portrait of Dr. Herbert Cronin from an article in the May 13, 1916, *Cambridge Chronicle* announcing his appointment as the physician tending Cambridge City employees injured on the job.

Graham designed the house Drs. Herbert and Anastasia Cronin and their two children and included an office and work space. Herbert was a physician and treated Cambridge municipal employees under the Workingmen’s Compensation Act; he was also the factory physician for Boston Woven Hose and Rubber Company. Anastasia, a graduate of Tufts Dental School, practiced dentistry in Inman Square and specialized in orthodontia. She was also the dentist at the Women’s Reformatory in Sherborn (now MCI-Framingham). Their house included a separate entrance on Maple Avenue that led directly to Herbert’s first floor office and waiting room. On the second floor Anastasia had her own lab room for her dentistry work. The Colonial Revival-style house features a hipped roof, narrow cornice, wood clapboard siding (now aluminum siding), and a prominent central entrance.

Architect’s drawing showing elevation with main entrance facing Broadway. Cambridge Inspectional Services.

Architect’s drawing of elevation facing Maple Avenue with entrance to Herbert’s office. Cambridge Inspectional Services.

Architect’s floor plan showing Dr. Herbert Cronin’s first floor office and waiting room. Cambridge Inspectional Services.

Architect’s floor plan showing the dental room designed for Dr. Anastasia Cronin. Cambridge Inspectional Services.

Anastasia tragically died from an illness soon after they moved into the house. At about the same time, Herbert lost his eyesight and could no longer perform surgeries. He later married Dr. Elizabeth Ann Sullivan, a friend of Anastasia’s who also worked at the Reformatory. She persuaded Herbert to become a psychiatrist and helped him with his training to become certified. They continued to live at 383 Broadway and maintain their practices on site. Elizabeth also devoted herself to helping those in need. She employed women newly released from the Reformatory at her home to help them get a fresh start and volunteered as physician at The Cambridge Homes for Aged People located across the street from the house. In the 1930s Elizabeth provided free medical care to women who had emigrated to the city from Austria and Germany and helped them navigate their new lives. Her children remember that a Linzer torte was delivered to her every Christmas as a thank you from the women she helped. Elizabeth also directed the Cambridge chapter of the Red Cross and opened the Red Cross Central Square unit for blood donations during WWII. Elizabeth passed away in 1955, and Herbert followed four years later.

Portrait of Dr. Elizabeth Ann Sullivan. Cambridge Historical Society.

The house was later home to Anna and Wiktor Weintraub, Polish refugees who arrived in the U.S. in the mid-1950s. During WWII, Anna, a doctor, had been the director of the Polish Hospital in Jerusalem. Wiktor served the Polish Government-in-Exile as information officer in its embassies in Moscow, Jerusalem, and London. Wiktor was a historian who specialized in the history of Polish literature and taught Slavic studies at Harvard; in 1971 he became the Alfred Jurzykowski Professor Emeritus of Polish Language and Literature. Anna died in 1967, and Wiktor married the scholar Maria Evelina Zoltowska in 1974. On Wiktor’s death in 1988, the New York Times noted his accomplishments as a prolific writer in both English and Polish. His last book, The Poet and the Prophet, was published in 1982.