The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Cambridge, in partnership with the Harvard Square Business Association, is pleased to announce the restoration of the lighting at the Art Deco building at 23 Church Street.
At 5:30pm on November 7th, witness the restored architectural lights return to their original glory as they originally appeared in 1936. Missing for decades, they have been faithfully reconstructed with modern lighting technology.
Built in 1936 for the Cambridge Gas and Electric Light Company by architect William Lawrence Galvin (1902 – 1983), 23 Church Street is now home to Rodney’s Bookstore and the Christian Science Reading Room.
In 2015, Charles Sullivan, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, revealed that lights previously adorned the façade of 23 Church Street. In 2022, the commission awarded the church a grant to restore the outside of the building, including the installation of new lights. Through the expertise of Poyant, an award-winning signage design and fabrication firm, lighting was installed that is identical in appearance to the original, while utilizing modern technology.
In addition to The Cambridge Historical Commission, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Cambridge, thanks Marcos Almada of Almada Restoration, Rodrigo Almeida of RB Farina Roofing, Jason Fredette and the skilled designers and craftspeople at Poyant Lighting, and Tom Kuik at Kuik Electrical, the master electrician who designed and installed the circuitry that powers the lights.
Each year, the Cambridge Historical Commission honors projects that have made outstanding contributions to the preservation of the city’s historic character and built environment. The 2024 Preservation Awards will recognize individuals and organizations for projects completed in Cambridge between January and December 2023. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in May 2024.
2023 Preservation Award winner: the 1839 Livermore-Fuller house at 8 Ellery Street
Seven project categories are eligible for Preservation Awards: restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive use, neighborhood conservation, landscape preservation, archaeology, and education. The award-winning projects will be selected based on the following:
historical and architectural significance of the preserved property;
exceptional quality of the project;
extent to which the project contributed to the preservation of the property; and
impact of the project on the preservation of the city’s historic resources.
To nominate a project, including your own, please submit a completed nomination form and supporting documentation no later than Noon on Friday, February 23, 2023 to:
Cambridge Historical Commission 831 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139
Note: All submitted materials become the property of the Cambridge Historical Commission and will not be returned.
For more information on the Cambridge Preservation Awards, or if you have questions regarding the nomination form, please contact the Commission: Telephone: 617.349.4683 | Email: histcomm@cambridgema.gov
JJ Gonson is a photographer known for her work documenting a variety of live music performances by punk and hardcore bands at various venues in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A Cambridge native herself, Gonson began photographing bands in the 1980s while studying photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. A chance meeting with Mike Gitter, the current Century Media Records’ vice president A&R and the creator of the fanzine xXx on Cambridge’s punk scene, led JJ to create a significant body of work focused on several local venues.
Descendents, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.fIREHOSE, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.Descendents, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photograph taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection. fIREHOSE, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.
One of the most well-known was TT the Bear’s Place, formerly located at 10 Brookline St in Central Square, a prominent spot beloved by its patrons. TT’s hosted local bands as well as household names such as California punk rock band Descendents. TT’s thrived at the center of the local music scene during this time and was a local favorite up until its closure in July of 2015.
Photo taken in Ferranti Dege in Cambridge of JJ Gonson (left) and a friend. Photographer unknown. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.Photo taken in Ferranti Dege in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.Photo taken in Ferranti Dege in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.
As a Cambridge resident, Gonson’s work also features many of the city’s local businesses and prominent landmarks. The businesses in and around Harvard Square, as well as the university itself, appear in the collection alongside her punk and hardcore music subjects. The city’s famed Mount Auburn Cemetery, the earliest example of a garden cemetery in the United States, is documented as well. Gonson’s family and friends, as well as photographs of her home, also feature heavily in her work.
Hullabaloo, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.Hullabaloo, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.fIREHOSE, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection. Hullabaloo, performing at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge. Photo taken from the JJ Gonson Photograph Collection.
The collection consists of primarily black and white photographic negatives, but also contains color negatives, photographic prints and contact sheets. A finding aid is available on ArchivesSpace, and the collection is open and available for research at the Cambridge Historical Commission.
Today’s post was written by CHC volunteer, Jordan Shaw.
Each year, the Cambridge Historical Commission honors projects and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to protect the city’s historic character and built environment. The 2022-23 Preservation Awards will recognize both buildings and notable individuals for projects completed between January and December 2022.
This year, we’re returning to our roots with an in-person reception hosted by awardee, The Foundry. If you can’t make it to the event in person, join us online! The awards ceremony takes place Thursday, May 25th at 6:00pm and will include an engaging presentation showcasing each project, along with an introduction of project principals. This event is free and open to the public.
To register for the in-person event, call our office at 617.349.4683 or email us at histcomm[at]cambridgema.gov. To view the program online via Zoom, click here. We hope to see you there! 🏟️
Hello! My name is Phillip Wong, and I am a graduate student from Simmons University volunteering with the Cambridge Historical Commission. I am happy to say that there is a newly processed collection at the CHC! Say hello to the Dewey and Almy Chemical Company Records, 1919-1994. Bradley Dewey (1887-1971) and Charles Almy Jr. (1888-1954) established the company at 66 Whittemore Avenue in 1919, having specialized in chemical treatments and processes as students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dewey assumed the role of president, and Almy took charge of sales.
Bradley Dewey (left) and Charles Almy, Jr. (right), ca. 1950
Inspection Certification for the site at 62 Whittemore Ave., 1954
Aerial photograph of the 62 Whittemore Ave. location, ca. 1990
The firm’s main outputs were sealing compounds for the food industry and new machinery to help with production. Their early products included Wilson Soda Lime, stronger labeling adhesives, and shoe cements, and with these early successes the Dewey and Almy Chemical Company established plants in Illinois, California, Canada, Italy, France, England, Germany, and Argentina.
Account book covering finances in Naples, Italy, ca. 1942
The company was acquired in 1954 by W.R. Grace Inc.; the newly formed Dewey and Almy Research Division developed weather balloons, brake bands, and Cryovac® shrink film. The company’s evolution is detailed in the many company histories in the collection.
Advertisements for Dewey and Almy’s products, including a balloon for advertising and toys
Decoy Duck (left) and Experimental Weather Balloon (right)
One of the interesting aspects of the collection is the thorough documentation of the company’s and their peers’ machinery. The ‘Machinery Photographs’ files contain images that trace the evolution of and improvements to the company’s processes, including examinations of other company’s machinery (one example is their research into the Hawaiian Pineapple Company)
Photograph of factory worker demonstrating proper stirring methods, 1928
Photograph of factory worker alongside a lacquer machine for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company
Other items of note include the technical bulletins, in which research into new technologies is presented to and considered by the heads of the division. These reports include summaries of new technologies, informational pamphlets and articles, and researcher suggestions for how the technology could be introduced into existing work processes.
Technical Bulletin for handling contaminated materials along with supplementary pamphlet, 1946-1948
Organizing the collection wasn’t difficult, despite its size, as a lot of the documentation could be easily categorized based on its function within the company. Those in charge of documentation made sure everything was properly labeled and kept together (be it with screw posts, tiny brass fasteners, or rusty nails). For example, if someone were to come in and view the Machinery Photographs, they would see that most of the folders are marked with the date the photo was taken, the name of the part or process, the specification number of the part, and whether the part or process was obsolete.
To end this post, I would like to take a moment to talk about my favorite piece of ephemera: a short case study called Causes of Industrial Peace Under Collective Bargaining: The Dewey and Almy Chemical Company.
Published in December 1948 and written by Douglas McGregor and Joseph N. Scanlon (both lecturers at MIT), the case study details how the relationship between upper management and union workers developed into one of peace and health after initial conflict. It provides interesting insights into how the company worked from an outsider’s perspective and is an early example of giving a voice to those not always represented by the company image. Worth a gander!
“My previous experience in Cambridge is that it is somewhat like Egypt, in the way that it is subject to various pests, particularly rats. These rats of course, cause a great deal of damage in the house, and the only way to get rid of them is to hire a rat exterminator; if this becomes necessary, through no fault of our own, I expect to deduct the cost of this sort of thing from the rent…”
That was written in 1919, in reference to #225 Brattle St. This account gives a slightly humorous sense of the many demands and expectations of those looking for housing in Cambridge.
Exterior of 225 Brattle St as it appeared in The American Architect, vol. 105, no. 2006 (June 3, 1914)
This post will serve as an introduction to a new series on the many aspects of late 19th and early 20th century Cambridge life revealed in the correspondence of William R. Ellis (1846-1903), real estate broker—expectations being one of them. Ellis founded his real estate firm in 1888. He dealt in sales, rentals, mortgages, and insurance. As you see below, he was also a Justice of the Peace.
Cambridge Chronicle March 16, 1889
Dealing primarily with properties in “Old Cambridge” west of Central Square, Ellis’s offices were always in the Harvard Square area: 910 Main Street, (the building that now houses the Hong Kong Restaurant at 1236 Mass. Ave), 440 Harvard Street, and, by 1893, the “Lyceum Building” (demolished in 1924, now the location of the Harvard Coop.) He also kept an office in Boston.
By 1890, Ellis had added “Auctioneer and Notary Public” to his resume. Note that he also maintained a registry of “Student’s Rooms and Boarding Places”:
Cambridge Chronicle January 11, 1890
In 1893, fellow realtor Robert J. Melledge (1855-1917) joined the firm, now called “Ellis & Melledge.” The firm dropped “Mortgages” from their advertising to focus on real estate and Insurance.
Cambridge Chronicle September 23, 1893
Above: Exterior of Lyceum Hall in Harvard Square (March 22, 1907). Boston Elevated Railway Collection. Below: detail of Robert J. Melledge and Benjamin P. Ellis advertisements in upper windows.
After the deaths of principals Ellis and Melledge, the firm went through several name changes as its management was taken over by the sons of both men in conjunction with other partners. But the name “Ellis” was always part of the company’s name. Under each of these iterations, the firm was active in Cambridge for over 100 years. In 1994, the Cambridge Historical Commission received a collection of the firm’s business correspondence covering the years primarily between 1893-1936. The collection provides extraordinary insight into the development of Cambridge, and the changing social, cultural, and economic forces at work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Here’s a portion of another letter from a prospective renter (June 8, 1907):
“Allow me to ask if you have a small house for Sale at a Bargain cheaply on a hilleven if it is outaways. I own a large library of about 2000 books & I must move them this Summer. …I wish to rent a small place that I buy & put all my Books in the attic, or one small Room…. I can pay down $250.00 or so & may be $490.00 to $500.00 & the Balance in payments. I own a farm in Oklahoma & whenever my share of Rent falls due I can pay that on my house – if I can get something for $1000 or $1200 – I don’t want anything where negroes live…I prefer Cambridge on account of Harvard University…”
Apart from the eccentricity of the request, this letter also reveals one aspect of the prejudices all too common during this era. Intolerances abounded against othered groups such as Jews, Italians, Catholics, and large families. We’ll revisit such biases in a later post.
Other topics revealed in the correspondence include: expectations for renting houses fully furnished, often counting china, linens and a stable; owners stipulations about to whom they will rent; rental unit complaints (“the tank in the Water Closet has bursted and we are without water…”); the effects of WWI on housing and the post war recession; housing arrangements for Harvard students (boarding houses, tea rooms); health concerns (renting a unit after an occupant suffered from scarlet fever); and the cost of insuring pigeons or Cadillacs. The list goes on!
Let’s close this edition of Real Estate Revelations with a reassuring excerpt from a letter written in 1910 by Harvard physics professor Harry W. Morse. Professor Morse worked at the Jefferson Physical Laboratory, and planned to rent property at #42 Church Street, where he expected to do work in “…experimental electro-chemistry. There will be no work on a large scale and no explosives will be used nor will our stock of chemicals be any more dangerous than that of a drug store…” Whew! Quelle relief.
30-42 Church Street (demolished ca. 1927) was originally built as a stable and was later used as a gymnasium. Photo: detail of 1921 Harvard Square aerial with 32-40 Church St circled. U.S. Army Air Service photo, Harvard University Archives.
Today’s post was written by CHC volunteer Kathleen Fox
In honor of National Fire Prevention Week, check out the description below and accompanying images of “Spectacular Fires” that ravaged Cambridge buildings in the 20th century. The account appeared in the January 16, 1969 edition of the Cambridge Chronicle:
Fire at Memorial Hall, Harvard, 1956 (Cambridge Photo Morgue Collection)
Fire at Squire’s meatpacking plant on Gore Street, April 14, 1963 (Cambridge Photo Morgue Collection)
Fire at the Jordan Marsh Warehouse on Commercial Avenue, July 15, 1965 (Cambridge Photo Morgue Collection)
“Firefighters battling a fire from the truck in Kendall Square” [Warren Bros. Construction Co. on Potter Street], May 6, 1966 (Brearly Collection, Boston Public Library Arts Department)
Central Sq. Theater 1929 (Cambridge Ephemera Collection, CHC)
Here we are on the second day of summer, and although it has been on the cool side lately, it’s not hard to imagine the misery of life without air conditioning, especially if you were working in an office building on a hot and humid day in 1899 or so. Fortunately for all of us, 23 years earlier to that date Willis Haviland Carrier been born.
The “father of air conditioning,” Willis Carrier (Courtesy of PickHvac Cooling & Heating Guide)
A newly-minted Cornell graduate in engineering in 1901, Carrier (1876 – 1950) was trying to solve a humidity problem for the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company of Brooklyn, New York. He succeeded, and voila–air conditioning was invented. His electrically powered humidity-removing machine had the pleasant side effect of also lowering the temperature. In 1915, Carrier went on to form his own company – Carrier Engineering.
In 1929, The Central Square Theatre proudly advertised that the theatre was “COOLED BY REFRIGERATION.” The Cambridge Sentinel (June 15, 1929) touted this achievement, noting that the cost of installation had been $100,000 and (quaintly) that the air was taken into the “breathing zone” first before being distributed throughout the theatre.
Cambridge Sentinel June 15, 1929 (excerpt)
After Carrier’s original invention, it took another twenty years before a small air conditioning unit for residential windows was patented in 1931 by H.H. Schultz and J.Q. Sherman. Again, excerpts from the Cambridge Sentinel July 4, 1931:
“Made To Order Weather”
“St. Louis. – Made to order weather in which the average householder will be able to press a button on winter days and produce a climate of tropic warmth, or press another button and obtain bracing mountain air, was predicted by Willis H. Carrier, president of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers…. Research work at Harvard, co-ordinated with experiments of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers at the bureau of mines, indicates… ‘The average human being at rest has a heat output of about 400 body temperature units per hour, the approximate equivalent of a 120 watt electric light,’ he said. ‘This remains remarkably constant throughout normal ranges of temperature, moisture variation, and changes of clothing…..” (This measurement was accurate: today the average heat output of a male body at rest is 100-120 watts per hour.)[i]
By 1934, one of Cambridge’s own, the Air Conditioning Engineering Company at 171 Second Street, began marketing Perfectaire, designed by Raymond A. Sheffield, chief engineer and a senior partner of the firm.
Cambridge Tribune August 24, 1934
“…It is just as necessary to have proper humidity in the home as to have ample heating. Furthermore, there is a direct relationship between heating and humidity. When humidity of forced air is kept at the proper level less heat is required than under the old dead air system. Air washed and then forced through filters to be immaculately cleaned and distributed throughout a home means better health and reduced heating bills.
Air conditioning equipment protects your investment in a home or business…The writer suggests that you consult the Air Conditioning Eng. Co. at 61 Rogers Street, under the management of Raymond A. Sheffield, for further information pertaining to air conditioning. Mr. Sheffield is an authority on the subject and his connection with the best engineers assures you of competent, dependable service in air conditioning and refrigeration problems. Your old home can be equipped with air conditioning just as well as a new home.
The Air Conditioning Eng. Co. is in a position to supply you with any type or make of system that would best suit your individual requirements on buildings of any kind. By calling Kir.2700 a courteous representative will call and give you a free estimate without obligation.
Do you know why air conditioning is so important to health and comfort?”
Cambridge Sentinel June 27, 1936
Sales Statistics and Costs: (from The Air Conditioner Then and Now)
In 1931, when Schultz and Sherman invented the home air conditioning unit, they could cost from $10,000 – $50,000 per unit. By 1938, the Chrysler air conditioner cost about $416 per unit.[ii]
1940 – Just 1 in 400 US homes had an air conditioner.
1950s – National Homes, manufacturer of pre-fab homes, begins offering central air conditioning as an option for $500.
1960 – The US Census shows that 13% of American homes had AC in at least one room.
1970 – The US Census shows that almost 37% of American homes had AC in at least one room.
1993 – 68% of housing units had air conditioning.
2009 – 87% of housing had some form of AC.
2016 – 100 million US homes have central air conditioning, or about 87% of households.
In 2021 6.28 million window units were sold in the U. S.[iii] , with prices ranging from $15–$800, depending on features such as the BTU, brand, efficiency etc.
Today’s post was written by CHC volunteer Kathleen Fox
Today for National Small Business Week, we’d love to give a hearty shoutout to Cambridge’s most happening vintage consignment shop, Raspberry Beret! The kind you find in a second-hand store.
Views of 2298-2304 Mass Ave at the corner of Rice St in 1970 and today (CHC staff photos)
The business was founded by Rachael Bankey of Brookline and has been operating in Massachusetts for over 15 years, but their North Cambridge location at 2302 Massachusetts Ave. opened in 2017. When asked what inspired Rachael to break into the vintage business she said, “I have always loved clothes and vintage since I was able to walk into my mom’s closet and try on her clothes. I like knowing that a piece of clothing has a history and that it’s one-of-a-kind. Being able to provide a fun place for people to find interesting and fun clothes is very rewarding.” She said choosing to open her second location in Cambridge was a natural choice because “Cambridge has always been a destination for the creatives.”
If you consider yourself a fashionable creative, with fun clothing to contribute to this awesome business, Raspberry Beret accepts consignments by season on an appointment basis. Visit their website to schedule your appointment today and read to the end to see how I style some of my own Raspberry Beret finds!
It’s not just the clothes at Raspberry Beret that have a cool history. The building that the store currently occupies was originally a two-story residential home with a mansard roof, built in 1867 by Stephen Stiles as shown in this c.1890 photograph taken by Donald C. Presho. At that time, the address was recorded as 6 Rice St.
6 Rice St (now 2298-2302 Mass Ave) c.1890 (CHC collections)
In 1907, a permit was granted to the owner, Adaline Lonergan, and architect, G.H. Tyler to have the existing two stories raised with an additional floor added underneath and add a brick storefront to the perimeter of the house. It’s possible this was done in an effort to preserve the original mansard roof. The 1907, Cambridge Tribune documents the cost of these alterations to total $8,500. The three atlas photos below (1873, 1903, and 1916, respectively) document the building’s evolving footprint and eventual brick addition.
Details of 1873 Hopkins, 1903, and 1916 Bromley atlases (via Atlascope)
This storefront has been home to many businesses over the years including Water House Market, Dover Market, X Files Recovery, and a vintage furniture store.
Exterior of 2302 Mass Ave when it was occupied by Dover Market (CDD Urban Design Study, 1981) and later XFiles Recovery (Assessor’s photo, 2015)
And now for the reveal!
Today’s post was written by CHC Archivist, Viv Williams
188 Prospect Street, photographed by CHC staff (2006)
The one-story commercial building that once stood at 188 Prospect Street was designed in 1912 by the architect Nathan Douglas and constructed by its owner Thomas A. Gannon. Douglas was a prolific local architect with an office on Harvard Street, who designed dozens of three-deckers, apartment houses, and stores between 1901 and 1927. His larger commissions included the Beth Israel Synagogue at 238 Columbia Street (1901) and the Swedish Evangelical Church at 146 Hampshire Street (1902). The façade of 188 was arranged as a single storefront, with a recessed center entrance and two large plate glass windows that angled in to meet the entry door. The façade was detailed with ornamental rafter tails and dentils across the front that wrapped around the corners. A large quarter-round molding decorated the cornice. In 1946 red asphalt shingle siding was added , covering the original clapboards.
Notice of building permit for Gannon’s store, as it appeared in The Cambridge Sentinel (6 April 1912)
The first business to occupy the building was Thomas A. Gannon’s ice cream shop. Gannon manufactured his ice cream in the basement of the house at #190 and sold it at the store next door. Gannon died in 1914 and was succeeded by H.L. Fowler. His advertisement in the 1914 city directory includes offerings of ice cream, baked goods, and homemade candies. Fowler kept the store until 1918 and was followed by the Cambridge Funeral Company operated by Daniel L. Shea, a Somerville resident. (There must have been a good freezer in the building.) Later shops included another confectionery, furniture sales and refinishing, tire sales and service, bicycle seat covers and upholstery, and a photographic gallery.
Detail of Fowler’s advertisement in the 1914 Cambridge City Directory
Infill development on Prospect Street related to garaging and repair of automobiles began in the 1920s and 1930s. Even 188 Prospect Street had an automobile related use for a time: a Sanborn atlas lists a tire sales and service business there in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Occupants in the 1960s included Hamilton Television Service and New England Bicycle Cover Co.
188 Prospect photographed by Edward Jacoby (November 1969)
In 1969, the storefront became the first home of a school called Trout Fishing in America, which took its name from Richard Brautigan’s 1967 best-selling countercultural novel. William Hjortsberg wrote in his 2012 biography of Brautigan, Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan, that the school comprised eight different storefronts. For a fee of $10, students could enroll in courses such as English, theories of revolution, math, science, and motorcycle repair. Trout Fishing in America served as both an educational space and a gathering spot for those who wished to listen, socialize, and plan their peaceful revolutionary future.
Richard Brautigan in 1959. Collection: California Faces: Selections from The Bancroft Library Portrait Collection at UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library. via https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf9v19p3wd/
In 1969, Brautigan came to the Boston area to promote the release of a collection of three works, Trout Fishing in America, The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster, and In Watermelon Sugar, and visited the Prospect Street school. With him was the reporter John Stickney, who was on assignment for LIFE magazine; his piece, “A Gentle Poet of the Young”, appeared in the August 14, 1970, issue. (Stickney later volunteered as the school’s journalism teacher.) The LIFE photographer Steve Hansen captured this image of Brautigan seated on the curb in front of the school surrounded by teachers and students. During his visit to Cambridge, Brautigan also participated in a Trout Fishing for America parade that began at 188 Prospect and wound through Central and Harvard squares to the northern end of Cambridge Common.
Richard Brautigan and the Trout Fishing in America School at 188 Prospect St, photographed by Steve Hansen (1969)
The Trout Fishing in America was based at 188 Prospect only for a short time before moving to 353 Broadway where it shared space with the Cambridge chapter of Vocations for Social Change.
188 Prospect St in 1978 (Community Development Department sign survey)
By 1971 The People’s Gallery, a photographers collective, occupied the space at 188 with a storefront gallery and dark room below. They soon shared space with Boston Area Ecology Action, an organic bulk foods store, and another photography studio came in the 1980s. Eventually the building fell into disuse. An application to demolish the commercial building and garage at 188 Prospect Street was filed in early July 2006, and the building was razed later that month. Today, the site is occupied by condominiums.
View of former location of 188 Prospect St via Google Street View (2007)
