In the early 1960s, architect Ferdinand Friedrich (Frederick) Adrian Bruck, known professionally as F.F. Bruck, was commissioned by Alan and Claire Steinert to design a new residence in the Reservoir Hill area of West Cambridge. Bruck was a Harvard GSD graduate who studied under Walter Gropius, a pioneer of modernist architecture.
64 Highland Street photographed by CHC staff in 1968
Bruck later apprenticed at the engineering firm of Stone & Webster, designing power plants, dams, and similar structures. Following his graduation, Bruck taught at the GSD part time as an Associate Professor, a position he held from 1952-1963. Concurrently, he was hired by The Architects Collaborative (TAC) under Gropius and assisted in designs with the firm as well as accepting independent commissions under his company, F. Frederick Bruck, Architect and Associates.
64 Highland Street photographed by CHC staff in 1968
At the time of Bruck’s commission, Alan, a member of the Steinert Piano family, and his wife Claire were in their sixties. When they purchased the former Charles C. Little House on Highland St, they decided it was too large and dated for their tastes. The large Gothic Revival house was demolished and Bruck was tasked with designing a one-story modern home to allow the couple to age in place, display their art collection, and accommodate social gatherings.
64 Highland Street photographed by CHC staff in 1967
The couple insisted on incorporating the latest technologies, including central air conditioning, radiant heating, and low voltage lighting to illuminate their artworks. The design was featured in the 1965 edition of Architectural Record’s annual Record Houses publication, highlighting the best residential project designs of the past year.
64 Highland Street photographed by CHC staff in 1968
Describing the construction of the house, Bruck noted that “the house is wood frame with dark brick veneer. Brick was chosen to blend with the substantial character of the surrounding houses, to reduce maintenance, and because it is a material which could meet the sloping terrain. Wood frame was chosen for economy and to facilitate construction during the winter months.” The building remains one of the best examples of 1960s residential designs in Cambridge.
The white card above is an example of a property record card from the Dudley & Borland Real Estate and Insurance Company of Cambridge. The company was founded circa 1927 by Robert Parker Dudley (1900-1983) and James Post Borland (1900-1979). Focusing primarily on properties in West Cambridge, their offices were appropriately located at 1374 Mass Ave in Harvard Square.
Portrait of Robert Parker Dudley as published in History of the Class of Nineteen Hundred Twenty-three, Yale College, Volume 1 (p. 112)
Portrait of James P. Borland as printed in The Magazine of Cambridge, January 1946 (p. 28)
Both Dudley and Borland were active in the Cambridge Boy Scouts and various Cambridge organizations. Among other professional activities, Dudley served as a member of the board of the Cambridge Savings Bank and was President of the Society of Real Estate Appraisers. Borland served on the Boston Real Estate Board, Brokers Division, in the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.
Advertisement for Dudley & Borland real estate and insurance firm in the 1928 Cambridge City Directory
The Cambridge Historical Commission acquired the Dudley & Borland Card Collection in 2021 through the generosity of long-time Cambridge real estate broker Robert (Bob) Crocker, then-owner of the company’s final iteration, Dudley & Borland Ellis & Andrews. Mr. Crocker was a member of the Cambridge Historical Commission and former vice-President of the Cambridge Historical Society, now History Cambridge.
The Dudley Borland Card Collection covers the period from 1927-1979. Each of these white cards contains a record of all the transactions on a single property over a period of years, scribbled in different colored inks. This detailed content on nearly 3,000properties on 366 Cambridge streets is stunning! Details include the names and contact numbers of owners, the number of floors, the number of rooms and their layout, and the number of baths. Also included are financial town assessment and mortgage histories, construction details, land improvements such as shrubbery and general landscaping, and whether a garage was built on the premises. It is interesting to note that proximity to nearby local grade schools was included on the cards, giving us a clue to the company’s target audience and marketing strategy.
Equally stunning are the nearly 900 photographs in the collection. Visual representation is important in historical preservation and research. In some instances, these photographs provide the Commission with its first photographic record of a home. Often, these photographs fill a visual void and allow us to see what a particular building looked like before subsequent additions, alterations, or demolition.
Example of an image from the collection: 101 Washington Ave circa 1955. Before this collection was donated, the CHC had only one historical photograph of this house, taken in 1890.
In addition, there are photos of land that was less developed than we might see today, such as this photograph showing the corner of Reservoir and Highland Streets:
A particular property may often contain a “Comparative Sales Chart” document. This is another source of general information about housing costs in similar neighborhoods at the time:
Comparative Sales Chart form for 7 Riedesel Ave. Dudley Borland Card Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission
Additional color-coded, cards in the collection include typed information in brief on date of sale and owner or seller—perhaps tracking real estate deals made by other brokers on houses that might eventually come under the Dudley Borland purview.
Also present are clippings of obituaries from local newspapers featuring many property owners. The inclusion of these clippings adds to the understanding of Dudley & Borland’s market and the essence of the times.
Some of the homes that Dudley & Borland bought or sold had previously passed through the hands of the Ellis Andrews Company real estate firm operating in the same territory. Founded in 1888 (and going through several name changes), Ellis & Andrews was Cambridge’s oldest real estate company. In 1994, the Cambridge Historical Commission received a collection of Ellis & Andrews’ correspondence covering years primarily between 1893-1936. The collection is memorable for the late 19th and early 20th century social conditions and biases revealed in its correspondents. For more information on this collection, see our blog post from 2017: The Ellis & Andrews Real Estate Collection.
The Cambridge Chronicle March 16, 1889 showing ad for William R. Ellis (1846-1903)
There was an overlap in the years both firms were active, especially in the earlier part of the 20th century:
The Cambridge Tribune August 23, 1930
After the original founders of both companies passed on, each company was bought or associated with other real estate/insurance companies. Around 1995, the companies merged, forming Dudley & Borland Ellis & Andrews. This version of the company also passed through several owners.
The Cambridge Chronicle September 21, 1995
These two collections represent over 100 years of real estate transactions in Cambridge. Not only do they contribute to our understanding of the evolution of specific properties and neighborhoods, but they also fill out an overall sense of the times.
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the architecture lover, history enthusiast, urban development aficionado, or anyone who simply loves Cambridge? We’ve got you covered!
Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and Development (2016)
Our latest publication, Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and Development (2016), is a must-have. This beautifully illustrated volume uncovers the story of the neighborhood that grew around Newtowne—founded as the capital of Massachusetts Bay in 1630—and Harvard College, established in 1636. Authors Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan trace Cambridge’s evolution of Old Cambridge as quaint village into suburban community and vibrant hub where academic and civic life intertwine.
Abbott Building, 1–7 Kennedy Street (1909, Newhall & Blevins, architects). The upper floors were designed for professional offices. Photo ca. 1910.
Packed with rare historic photographs never before published, Building Old Cambridge offers a comprehensive look at the city’s offers a rich exploration of the city’s architecture, development, and history—a reference you’ll treasure for years to come.
On June 11, 1970, community members led by future city councillor Saundra Graham (with bullhorn) invaded Harvard’s 319th commencement to protest the university’s intrusion into the Riverside neighborhood.
To order your copy of Building Old Cambridge, click here or email us at histcomm@cambridgema.gov. If you’re in a rush and would like to pick up a copy in person, we have several in stock at our office at 831 Mass Ave in Central Square. If you’re lucky, one or both authors may be around to sign it!
Our publication All in the Same Boat: Twentieth-Century Stories of East Cambridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts is a collection of more than 125 oral histories that explore the tightly knit neighborhood of East Cambridge from the perspective of its residents.
Anna Scolles’ birthday, ca. 1949
Manuel Rogers, Sr., behind the soda fountain at the Paradise Spa, 352 Cambridge St, 1931
The book, illustrated with historic and family photographs, offers a vivid picture of the diverse cultures that coexisted in East Cambridge during the 20th century and examines the social, economic, and political changes in this rapidly evolving neighborhood.
Day of Portugal Parade, June 1990
To hear stories of those who lived, grew up in, immigrated to, and built their lives in East Cambridge, stop by our office or click here and obtain your own copy of this rich oral history book! For more information, email us at histcomm@cambridgema.gov.
Cover of All in the Same Boat: Twentieth-Century Stories of East Cambridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2005)
The publication We Are the Port represents a five-year effort to interview more than 125 longtime Port residents of diverse backgrounds. Over the course of 150 years, the Port faced many challenges – from the federal anti-immigrant acts of the 1920s to plans for an Inner Belt highway that would have displaced many families and businesses. In the last fifty years, residents have joined the struggle for civil rights, including needs for educational parity and a more responsive city government. The community has weathered the winds of change, from the construction of Newtowne Court and Washington Elms in the mid- to late-1930s to the redevelopment of Kendall Square. The generational family stories inspired and moved the author, Sarah Boyer; many shared accounts of the courage of those who left their native countries to face an unknown world, toiling to provide for their families and improve the lives of their children and succeeding generations.
Ruby Higginbotham, her daughter, Suzanne Revaleon, and her son, Paul Revaleon (in carriage), outside 9 Worcester Street, ca. 1920
The following selection of passages comes from the section “Growing Up on Worcester Street” by Suzanne Revaleon Green (1912-2012):
“There were many children in the neighborhood, and we spent many hours playing together. As a little girl, I can remember standing in our bay window at dusk to watch the lamp lighter ride up the street on his bicycle to light the gas lamp at the corner of Norfolk and Worcester Streets.
My father, with the help of our next-door neighbor, a retired Irish carpenter, built me a playhouse in our yard. Parts of its construction came from the demolishing of some beautiful old houses on Norfolk Street, where new apartment houses were being built.
I walked to the Fletcher School on Elm Street each day and returned home for lunch, returning for school within an hour for the afternoon session. We all attended our nearest neighborhood schools.”
To learn more about Suzanne’s experience and those of many others who grew up in Cambridgeport, stop by our office or click here and obtain your own copy of this rich oral history book! For more information, email us at histcomm@cambridgema.gov.
Following a multi-year effort, The Cambridge Historical Commission has made its extensive architectural survey records available to the public digitally through the Cambridge Digital Architectural Survey and History (CDASH) project!
In its original paper form the Cambridge Historical Commission’s Architectural Survey fills 10 filing cabinets of physical materials detailing the history of the city’s built environment. The collection documents nearly every building in the city, demolished or extant, through newspaper clippings, articles, photographs, atlas details, ephemera, correspondence, and more. Now available online, users can browse over 131,000 pages of information covering nearly 15,000 distinct places in the city. Explore this resource at cdash.cambridgema.gov.
Examples of resources that can be found in CDASH
The user interface and the administrative back end for CDASH have been created with the popular open-source repository and discovery platform Omeka-S. Customizations to Omeka-S showcase the versatility of geographic referencing as a means of linking data from diverse sources. In its current form, CDASH is best accessed with a computer. In the coming year, we hope to bring CDASH to small screens and in the field as a GPS-enabled mobile app.
Cambridgeport originated soon after the completion of the West Boston Bridge in 1793. At that time there were only three farms in all of Cambridge east of Harvard Yard, none of which were near the bridgehead at today’s Kendall Square, and the only connection to Cambridge proper was via a causeway now traversed by Main Street. A new settlement sprang up on the nearest dry ground at Pelham’s Island, which was closer to Lafayette Square than it was to Kendall Square. The marshes on both sides of the causeway near the bridgehead remained unbuildable until real estate investors began to dig canals and create dry ground using the spoil. The area was known only as “the Neck” until 1805, when promoters convinced the U.S. Congress to designate Cambridge a port of delivery, thereby giving rise to the name of Cambridgeport.
Cambridgeport aerial by Lawrence Lowry Aerial Photography ca. 1965
As long as Cambridge remained a town, neighborhood names such as Cambridgeport and East Cambridge had no formal significance (see J.G. Hales, Map of Cambridge, 1830). When Cambridge became a city in 1846 it was divided into three wards, Old Cambridge, Cambridgeport, and East Cambridge (see H.F. Walling, Map of Cambridge, 1854). The Cambridgeport ward ran from Kendall Square west to Lee Street and from Somerville south to the Charles River. As the city grew the old wards were broken up, but the geographic identities of the three neighborhoods remained in popular usage.
Above: Cambridgeport and East Cambridge as depicted in 1830 and 1854.
The original Cambridgeport ward incorporated numerous smaller localities, including the residential neighborhoods of Dana Hill, Riverside, Pine Grove, and the early settlement of Pelham’s Island, which became known as the Lower Port (so called because it was downstream, and furthest from the settled areas of Cambridge). Businesses congregated at major intersections, and other neighborhoods took their names from those squares: Central Square, Lafayette Square, Inman Square, and Kendall Square. All were popularly understood to be part of Cambridgeport.
Traditional neighborhood distinctions began to break down after WWII. In 1949 the planning board divided the city into thirteen districts that were intended to facilitate demographic analysis of the 1950 census (see Cambridge Neighborhoods, 1949). A few of these arbitrary boundaries respected established neighborhoods, but most did not. In this scheme Cambridgeport was reduced to an area south of Central Square, while other neighborhoods traditionally associated with Cambridgeport were given only numbers. Squares were not delineated at all.
Cambridge neighborhoods as defined by the Planning Board, 1949
The new appellations gradually became current in the more transient communities around Harvard Square, but in 2018 the City Council allowed Area 4 to revert to its traditional designation as the Lower Port. Most neighborhood distinctions in Cambridge remain mysterious to newcomers and residents alike.
Today’s post was written by CHC Executive Director, Charlie Sullivan
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.
Ferdinand Friedrich (Frederick) Adrian Bruck was born on January 24, 1921, in Breslau, Germany (present-day Wroclaw, Poland) the son of Eberhard Ferdinand Bruck and Irmgard Jentzsch Bruck. At the age of 15, Ferdinand left Germany for England and enrolled at the Bootham School in York, England. As they had means to do so, Bruck’s family fled Germany due to the growing antisemitic ideology seen there. Ferdinand Bruck was listed as “Hebrew” in his immigration documents, and his father fled Germany as a “refugee scholar”, the latter finding work elsewhere in Europe and eventually landing in the United States accepting a teaching position at Harvard.
Bruck in his Harvard Freshman Yearbook, 1937.
In 1937, Ferdinand Bruck arrived in Cambridge to attend Harvard University, his freshman dorm room was in Matthews Hall in Harvard Yard. His education was interrupted by World War II when he was drafted. Before leaving for the War, he and his girlfriend attended the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub in Boston, the night where the infamous fire occurred, which claimed the lives of 490 people. Bruck helped people escape from the blaze. He was hospitalized as a result of the fire and ensuing panic, and his departure for war was delayed. From the hospital, Bruck applied to the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and was accepted.
Aftermath of Cocoanut Grove fire, Boston, November 1942. Boston Public Library collections.
He attended GSD during the spring and summer of 1942 but had to leave soon after for the war. He served in the US Army’s Military Intelligence Service unit back in his home country of Germany. Mr. Bruck spent the end of 1942-1945 overseas. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1943 while serving.
Draft registration card for Ferdinand Friedrich Adrian Bruck. Ancestry.com
After the war, Mr. Bruck completed his time at GSD, where he learned Modernist design under Walter Gropius, a fellow German architect. During the summers, he apprenticed at the engineering firm of Stone & Webster, a major electrical engineering firm, designing power plants, dams, and other such structures along with the other estimated 800 fellow draughtsman at the company. Bruck would state in a later interview that it was not a good experience, but he learned something.
Ferdinand F. Bruck’s senior picture in Harvard yearbook.
After graduating from Harvard GSD, Bruck taught at the school part-time as an Associate Professor, a position he held from 1952-1963. Concurrently, he was hired by The Architects Collaborative under former professor Walter Gropius and assisted on designs with the firm as well as accepting independent commissions under his company, F. Frederick Bruck, Architect and Associates.
After his time at Harvard, Bruck was awarded the coveted Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship in 1954 and had the opportunity to travel the world, studying Modern architecture. Upon his return to the United States, Mr. Bruck married Phoebe Ann Mason (more on her later) and the couple purchased and moved into a new home at 77 Walker Street in Cambridge, a modest Queen Anne Victorian house built in 1885. Bruck’s Modernist sensibilities were toned down for his personal updates to his residence with a simple one-story porch and entry, new windows at the sides and rear, and a renovated interior. The exterior was largely maintained which likely made the neighbors happy at the time!
77 Walker Street, the home to Fred and Phoebe Bruck until the 1970s.
In 1959, Bruck received possibly his first commission in Cambridge by Peter Knapp, a psychiatrist at 77 Raymond Street, who sought an addition where he could hold meetings with clients. The house which was sited at the rear of the lot was reconstructed from an existing stable in 1938 on its existing site in the Colonial Revival style. F. Frederick Bruck envisioned an elongated Miesian-style one-story wing which would project off the side of the 1938 home. The glass addition and solid fence would create a private, inner courtyard which was landscaped to provide a feeling of solace and serenity to his patients when they visited the home. A meandering path was added to connect the driveway and detached garage to the house at the rear of the lot. Bruck was also commissioned to construct a new addition at the rear of the existing garage for Knapp’s wife’s art studio and storage space. The overall composition is not visible from the street.
Drawing by F. Frederick Bruck of “Knapp House Addition”, (1960) 77 Raymond Street. Cambridge ISD Plans.
Fred Bruck’s first major new construction project in Cambridge is a project that almost never was. When renovating a 1922 house on Gray Gardens East, the owners were heartbroken to learn a fire reduced their home down to the foundation. The owners, Harvard Professor I. Bernard Cohen and Frances Davis Cohen retained Bruck in 1962 to design them a new house. In rebuilding, Fred Bruck used the same foundation from the original house, but more vertical in a townhouse form. A requirement by the owners was for large expanses of side walls without windows to give the Cohens the space they needed for paintings and Professor Cohen’s large library, which was located on the top floor overlooking mature trees. A special design feature of the house in the front hall with its arched entrance, a nod to the Federal Revival fan light transoms, and on the inside, an 18-foot-high ceiling. The façade is dominated by an exterior chimney, further accentuating the verticality of the design.
22 Gray Gardens East, CHC Staff photograph.
22 Gray Gardens East front elevation drawing (1962)22 Gray Gardens East rear elevation drawing (1962)
About the same time Bruck designed the Cohen House, he was engaged in one of the largest design competitions in the country, the Boston City Hall competition. In October 1961, Mayor John Collins announced that the City of Boston would select the design for its new City Hall through an open, nationwide design competition. By the deadline, over 200 submissions were received, and eight finalists were selected, including one from the team of F. Frederick Bruck and Ervin Y. Galantay (a visiting architecture professor at Harvard GSD at the time). The duo’s design was a large, square building elevated on columns, with an expansive plaza surrounding. The building was on an elevated plaza which was connected to the larger open space by a bridge leading to a circular reflecting pool. The design was ultimately not chosen by the panel, who instead selected the design by the young team of Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles.
Proposed architectural model for Boston City Hall designed by “F Frederick Bruck and Ervin Y Galanty” (1962). Courtesy of Boston City Archives.
Within a year after he lost the design competition for Boston City Hall, Fred Bruck was commissioned by Alan and Claire Steinert to design them a new residence in the Reservoir Hill area of West Cambridge. Alan Steinert of the Steinert Piano family and his wife Claire were in their sixties and when they purchased the former Charles C. Little House on Highland Street, they decided it was too large and dated for their tastes. It was demolished and Fred Bruck was hired to design a one-story Modern house to accommodate the aging couple, their art collection, and allow for social gatherings. The couple insisted on having the latest technologies, including central air-conditioning, radiant heating, and low voltage lighting to highlight their artworks. The design was featured in Architectural Record’s annual Record Houses, highlighting the best residential project designs of the past year. Describing the construction of the house, Frederick Bruck said “the house is wood frame with dark brick veneer. Brick was chosen to blend with the substantial character of the surrounding houses, to reduce maintenance, and because it is a material which could meet the sloping terrain. Wood frame was chosen for economy and to facilitate construction during the winter months.” The building remains one of the best examples of 1960s residential designs in Cambridge.
64 Highland Street, 2016.
F. Frederick Bruck and his wife Phoebe moved from their Walker Street home to Coolidge Hill Road in the mid-1970s, modernizing a 1920s brick Colonial Revival house for their retirement. Other projects by Fred Bruck include the 1966 Bullfinch Office Center (remodeled in the late 1980s in the Post-Modern style by Graham Gund), the 1970 Charlestown Fire Station, and dozens of private residences all over New England. Fred Bruck died on May 14, 1997 and is buried at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.
Phoebe A. Mason Bruck
Phoebe Ann Mason was born in Highland Park, Illinois on November 26, 1928, the daughter of George Allen Mason and Louise Townsend Barnard. After attending Bard College from 1946 to 1949, she studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT) Institute of Design, which was founded as the New Bauhaus. There, Phoebe was introduced to Modern architecture and design, which would impact her taste and career for decades to come. She graduated from IIT in 1954.
Undated photo of Phoebe Ann Mason Bruck, Cambridge Chronicle 2004.
While in Illinois, Phoebe worked as a designer at Baldwin Kingree, a women-owned Modern design store established in 1947 in Chicago. Baldwin Kingree was founded by Kitty Baldwin Weese (wife of Modernist architect Harry Weese) and Jody Kingree. The store specialized in Scandinavian Modern furnishings to fill American homes with affordable, architect-designed furniture and objects. While in Chicago working at Baldwin-Kingree, Phoebe was spotted by Ben Thompson of The Architects Collaborative, who convinced her to move to Cambridge to serve as head of the design department for his new store.
In Cambridge, Phoebe worked as Head of the Design Department at Design Research, Inc., a home furnishing store in an old, mansard-roofed house on Brattle Street. In her capacity as head designer for Design Research, Phoebe worked often with The Architects Collaborative (TAC) and Sert, Jackson Associates Inc., on many of their projects providing designs and furnishings for interior spaces. While working with Design Research and TAC, Phoebe met F. Frederick Bruck, and they married in 1956. Phoebe, like many women in the design profession at the time, likely consulted and worked on dozens of projects where she is not credited, it is unclear as to how many projects Phoebe was involved with during her time at TAC or Sert, Jackson, Associates.
Original Design Research Harvard Square store, c.1968. CHC Collections.
Design Research, Inc. new Cambridge store, 48 Brattle Street, c.1972. UVA: Richard Guy Wilson Architecture Archive.
Early in their marriage, Phoebe earned a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University in 1963, and would join forces professionally with her life partner, Fred Bruck at his firm F. Frederick Bruck Architect and Associates, Inc. At the firm, Phoebe wore many hats consulting on furnishings and interiors for her husband’s projects as well as developing landscape plans and designs complimentary to Mr. Bruck’s Modern designs.
In 1968, Phoebe stumbled upon an advertisement in the Boston Globe, which marketed land in New Hampshire, suitable for a vacation retreat. The ad read, “…Strafford. 48 acres. Mountain top, excellent view. You can see for miles. Small log cabin. Timber cut off.” Phoebe and Fred Bruck travelled up to New Hampshire to find a formerly wooded lot littered with tree stumps, trees lying on top of each other, piles of empty fuel cans and exposed ledges scarred by logging operations. They had already purchased the lot and Phoebe began planning her regeneration of the devastated lot. By 1969, conditions were favorable for burning and much of the site was cleansed with a controlled fire to help restore the soil and forest. Within a year, low bush blueberries, aspen, young maples, birch, and oak trees began to sprout from the charred soil. Fred Bruck converted a former two-room (350 sq. ft.) log cabin into their summer house with decks and a detached out-house for rustic living when visiting their New Hampshire property. Phoebe restored the forest and developed natural gardens scattered throughout the property. The restoration of the forest here was featured in Landscape Architecture Magazine. Phoebe ended the article by writing:
“Ten years after logging, piles of rotting slash still remain in the far corners and along the edges of the property, a vivid reminder of the devastation and seeming destruction which once pervaded the entire site. The green tidal wave of vigorous young pines, birches, oaks and maples, which threatens the engulf the woodlot gives new meaning to the concept of regeneration, for the land as well for its owners.”
Phoebe was very busy in Cambridge architecture and landscape circles. She worked as a design critic for the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard GSD concurrently with her serving as a judge for the New England Flower Show from 1971-1979. She also served on various boards and committees including the Harvard Square Association, the Harvard Square Advisory Committee, the Quincy Square Design Committee, and served as President of the Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) from 1973-1975.
Phoebe was a force in her role as President of the Harvard Square Defense Fund and as chair of the Harvard Square Advisory Committee, where she pushed on architects, developers, and the City of Cambridge, advocating for high-quality design that maintained the character of the square. Phoebe was always firm in her positions and was very active in city life in Cambridge until she passed away in 2004. She was buried next to her partner, Fred, on Azalea Path in Mount Auburn Cemetery.
Grave memorial for Fred and Phoebe Bruck. Courtesy of Mt. Auburn Cemetery.
Today, we’re wrapping up our exploration of electricity and its uses, starting with…
Electric Appliances
Cambridge Chronicle November 11, 1916
The Cambridge Tribune January 28, 1888 (excerpt)
Electric appliances were sold by the electric company, not by what we would think of today as an appliance store. Here is what was on offer in 1916 at the Cambridge Electric Light Co.
Cambridge Chronicle December 2, 1916
Electric irons were sold for only $2.00:
Cambridge Tribune June 29, 1907
Electric refrigerators were invented in 1913, but not mass produced until 1918.
“Electrical Notes” Cambridge Sentinel August 1, 1914
Cambridge Tribune March 26, 1921
Electric vacuums: One of our favorite descriptions of an electrical appliance is this one for the “Dirt Annihilator”:
Cambridge Sentinel November 10, 1917
Electric fans and stoves:
Cambridge Chronicle June 24, 1921
Electric washing machine. The first electric washing machine was invented in 1901 by Mr. Alva Fisher. It was not mass produced for several years.
Cambridge Chronicle March 8, 1919
Cambridge Sentinel August 29, 1914
Electric doorbells were invented as early as 1832 by American scientist Joseph Henry, mentioned above, who was later the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. But because the doorbells depended on expensive electric batteries, the product didn’t really take hold until about 1913, when transformers replaced the need for batteries.
Electric clocks were first invented in 1840, relying on a combination of battery and spring pendulum. A “self-contained battery driven clock,” didn’t hit the market until around 1906.
Let us not forget the 1888 Cambridge baseball team named The Electrics.
Cambridge Chronicle July 28, 1888
Though many aspects of daily life were made easier and safer by electricity, there were still issues. We’re reminded of the expression by Maggie Smith’s Downton Abbey character, the Countess of Grantham, in response to electric illumination: “Sometimes I feel as if I were living in an HG Wells novel. But the young are all so calm about change, aren’t they?”
Medical consequences were just one concern on the public’s mind. How about this reference to electricity causing cholera in 1849:
Cambridge Chronicle July 26, 1849
Of course, the medical community lost no time in advertising electrical remedies for whatever ailed you. As early as 1853, Edward C. Rogers was advertising his services as a “Medical Electrician”:
Cambridge Chronicle June 11, 1853
A few decades later, Dr. J. D. Werner bragged that his practice included the “intelligent” use of Medical Electricity.
Cambridge Chronical December 31, 1881
Some of these practices were no doubt precursors to the contemporary and medically-accepted use of electricity to treat mental disorders, such as ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). However, there is something about using Dr. Rhodes’ “Electric Transfusing Battery” to cure everything from rheumatism to flatulence, that seems a little suspicious:
The above ad from the June 26, 1880 edition of The Cambridge Chronicle goes on to list many additional ailments, purported to be cured by his “electrical transfusing battery”, including: Gout, Swollen Joints, Sciatica, Lumbago, Spinal Disease, Wasting, Decay, Restless Nights, Nightmare, Lack of Power of Will, Loss of Confidence, Hysteria, Epilepsy, Heartburn, Dropsy, Asthma, Pleurisy, Jaundice, Seminal weakness, Female Complaints” Oh my!
The interest in the miracle of electricity did not fade during the 20th century. By 1913, the Cambridge Sentinel still saw fit to have a regular column “The Electrical World” (or sometimes “Electrical Notes”) consisting of random reporting about the uses of electricity worldwide. For instance, the world-shattering fact that “seven electric motor trucks will be purchased by the Manila post office.” Wow! Some other snippets from 1913 and 1914 include:
1913
1914
(Nationally-known market gardener Warren W. Rawson was employing the same electrical technique in his greenhouses in Arlington, Mass)
As we’ve seen above, every new technology spawns new jobs, vocabulary, and idioms. Between 1880 and 1899 inclusively, the word “electric” appeared in the Cambridge Chronicle 5,020 times and in the Cambridge Tribune 3,455 times.
In searching the Cambridge City Directory for jobs self-identified as associated with electricity, we find that in 1880 there was only one electrician listed: William H. Humans, who lived at #11 Rogers Block, on Main Street. The Cambridge Electric Light Co. was located nearby at #23 Main Street. By 1900, there were 140 listed electricians.
The life-changing effect of electricity on private lives is pretty well summed up in this excerpt from a description of soap manufacturer Edward D. Mellon’s new house in 1898:
So…Ever been amped up? Or gone out like a light? Had a “lightbulb” moment? Close your eyes now and just imagine how differently our experience of nighttime would have been before the advent of electricity
“We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened—Jim he allowed they was made, but I allowed they happened; I judged it would have took too long to make so many.”
– Mark Twain
Today’s post was written by CHC volunteer Kathleen Fox.
SOURCES
Building Old Cambridge. Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan, 2016 Cambridge Historical Commission; the MIT Press
