BlockThe nomination, in full
Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.
FORM B - BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, State House, Boston - - - - - - 2. Photo (3x3" or 3x5") Staple to left side of form Photo number 1095-36 - N ASSESSOR #143-4 (over) 30M-5-77 In Area no. MID CAMB. 1. Town_Cambridge Address 38 Kirkland Street Name_ Lovering House Present use _offices Form no. MC II B 5 Present owner Harvard University 3. Description: Date 1838 Source deed records Style Greek Revival Architect Oliver Hastings Exterior wall fabric_clapboard Outbuildings (describe) Other features high-style "Grecian temple' with relatively slender columns, lacy tronworo simpazctty and Altered Date -- Moved No Date -- 5. Lot size: One acre or less XX Over one acre Approximate frontage _110 Approximate distance of building from street 60' 6. Recorded by_Robert Rettig Organization_Cambridge Historical Comm.
Date 1968 UTM-BOSTON NORTH NOV 19|326010/4693560 19501 7. Original owner (if known)Oliver Hastings Original use_ residential Subsequent uses (if any) and dates residential, and offices for Harvard University 8. Themes (check as many as applicable) Aboriginal Agricultural Architectural The Arts Commerce Communication Community development Conservation Education Exploration/ settlement Industry Military Political XX Recreation Religion Science/ invention Social/ humanitarian Transportation 9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above) The Lovering House is the most important surviving example of a high style "Grecian tempie" in Cambriage. It is one of the very few examoles of full-porticoed, temple-front houses ever built in the city, and one of on1y two remaining.
The house was designed by Oliver Hastings, a prominent architect-builder, whose other major work in Cambridge is the Regency mansion he built for himself at 101 Brattle Street. The Lovering House is sited on a terrace overlooking the street. It was part of "Professors' Row" and was occupied by distinguished scholars for fifty years. Joseph Lovering, who owned the house after 1843, was a noted Harvard philosopher and mathematician. The house remained in his family for nearly a century. Lovering's academic distinctions were numerous and impressive. was a Trustee of the Peabody Museum, an associate of one of the country's first astronomical observatories, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Regent of Harvard College.
The Lovering House embodies the distinctive characteristics of high style Greek Revival design as ennumerated above and so meets criterion C. It also meets criterion B for its associations with Joseph Lovering. 10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records, early maps, etc.) DuDSTantiVe Hevaew NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET aseph roveRing House Property: multiple kesonku State, County: MA- nuddleaed Federal Agency: - United States Department of the Interior National Park Service resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal DOE/OWNER OBJECTION WorkingNo. 11-14-80-2862 Fod. Reg.
Date:_ Date Due:_ ./11/82 Action: - ACCEPT K RETURN_6-10-82 - REJECT - photosL maps - Substantive Review: - sample - request - appeal - NR decision Reviewer's comments: Is the extension to the main blockf thes building (vesible in pictue) ouqual 2 tke trildnas icuded in tequent date? The map showo what ap peals to le fue nominated area. Please identify - do they contribule? Rocom. / Criteria Return Returned per agueement by SHPO to reaubmit to State Revrew Board, Reviewer Patuch Andlus Discipline Historian Date - 6 10/87 - see continuation sheet -Nomination returned for: -technical corrections cited below substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification nocom Uao paeitio 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys t the property beon determined eligibte? 7.
Description _ exceller good tair bcortbo the - detertoretes ruins beek one - - unaitered stered Check one moved acon and ertatned (Il knoera) plryeleet espoaren summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8. Significanco nd pootlly bale - dated onttlaenoo fla summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas Checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of excepticn other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data ge of r vominated property- ngle name - JT Rolerencse farbel boundary door 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification no oveluatad significance of thie proparty wolenin the otato is: rationel -Hate local Bleto Mestarte Preservatten OMcer orgnetun 13.
Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Putuide Anduus Signed WH.Bracham - Date 6.10.82 Phone: 202 272 -3504 Comments for any Item may be continued on an attached sheet FORM B - BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTQN, MA 02108 AREA Mid Cam. EORM NO. II B 5 USGS Map #23 Cambridge, Mass. ToWn Address Cambridge MRA 38 Kirkland St. Historic Name_Joseph Lovering HousE PHOTO: Stap" to Iett black & vbize) Photo number_ 69-16A ...] SKETCH MAP Show property's location in relation to nearest cross streets and/oI geographical features. Indicate all buildings between inventoried property and nearest intersection. Indicate north Use: Present_ Original offices residential DESCRIPTION: Date 1839 Source tax records Style Greek Revival Architect Oliver Hastings & Luther Brook: Exterior wall fabric_Clapboard Outbuildings.
NA SEE ATTACHED MAP Major alterations (With dates)_none Recorded by _R. Rettig/I. Alduino Organization Cambridge Historical Com. Date 1968/1985 UIM 19/326010/4693560 USGS Quad: Boston North Moved no Date NA Approx. acreage .4361 acres Settine On a lot separated from - busy kirkland St. by a granite retaining wall. Although it Iies in the shadow of William James Hall to the north, the 11sher Bboostousetne westlad Kirkland (1839) abuts it to the mid-nineteenth century house: (Staple additional sheets bere) 01 Kirkland Place and sumner Road provide an appropriate setting. RCHITECTURAL SIGVIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and 'evaluate in terms of other buildings within the conmmity.) The Joseph Lovering House was built in 1839 with a contemporary three bay facade and an elaborate two story portico supporting a gable end pediment.
Sheathed in clapboards (flushboard on the facade) it rises two and one half stories from a granite foundation to an asphalt shingled gable roof. Paired chimneys stand outside the end walls of the The house is extended to the rear by a two story, gabled, slate roof ell and to the east side by a one story, flat roof ell. The flush- board facade (north) is framed by wide pilasters and recessed behind a fluted Ionic portico which is vertically interrupted by a full width ¡ISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state Continued history and how the building relates to the development of the coummity.) The Lovering House was designed by Oliver Hastings, a Cambridge lumber dealer and builder, in collaboration with Luther Brooks, owner of 34 Kirkland St. (1839) also designed by Hastings.
Hastings designed at Ieast thirteen houses in Cambridge between 1829 and 1859, inclüding the Regency mansion he built for himself at 101 Brattle St. The house remained in Hastings' possession until 1843, when it was purchased by Professor Joseph Lovering (1813-1892) and incorporated into Professors' Row. Lovering received both his AB and his AM from Harvard, and in 1838, he was named Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, a position he held for fifty years. Lovering served as Regent (Dean) of Harvard and was also Director of the United States Coast Survey, and a Trustee of the Peabody Museum. He served as President of American Association for the Advancement of Science and from 1880 until his death in 1892 as President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The house remained in the family until 1941. From 1944 until 1961, it was thé Kirkland Nursing Home.
In 1961, it was purchased hy Harvard and is now. used by the English Department.- For its historical associations with Joseph Lovering, the Lovering House meets Criterion B. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher) SEE ATTACHED BIBLIOGRAPHY 10M - 7/82 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commni ty : Cambridge, Mass. FoT No: II B 5 Cambridge MRA Property Name: Joseph Lovering Hs Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. Architectural Significance con't. balcony with a delicate iron railing. The facade is slightly asymmetrical with the entry, framed by sidelights, pilasters and a projecting. entabla- ture, set east of center. Full length first floor windows contain 6/9 sash while the second floor window contain 6/6.
Of the three windows in the Iront gable, only the center one is original, the other twc naving been added in the late 1960's. The ell (the extension to the main block which appears in the picture) was a typical feature of Greek Revival houses and is considered be original. It appears on the earliest map available after the con- struction of the Lovering House, the Walling map of 1854. Attached to the rear entrance of the house is a breezeway which leads to another of Hastings' houses at 17 Sumner Road (1845). Ihis breezeway according to atlases appears to date from the nursing home period of the Lovering House. Although 17 Sumner Road was designed by Oliver Hastings, neither it nor the breezeway are intended to be part of this nomination.
The architectural significance is described by the Mid-Cambridge survey report: "Mid-Cambridge's Greek Revival mansions included finest examples of the style in the city. The best have disappeared, victems of commercial development along Massachusetts Avenue and of their own ostentatious impracticality. Of surviving examples, only two have a full porticoed temple front, a type that went out of fashion in the 1840's; the two are the Joseph Lovering House at 38 Kirkland St and the Gannett House, now part of Harvard Law School." (Cambridge Common-OCI The Lovering House embodies the distinctive characteristics of Cith style Greek Revival design as enumerated above and so meets criterior Staple to Inventory form at botton INVENTORY FURM CUN MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION . Office of the Secretary, Boston Cambridge, Mass. II B 5 Cambridge MRA Property Name: Joseph Lovering H.
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. Bibliography/References Cambridge Historical Commission. Survey of Architectural History in Cambridae: Volume I, Zast Camoriage (1965), out of print. Vol ume I, Mid Cambridge (1967), Camorlage, ma Volume III, Cambridgeport (1971), Cambridge, MA Volume IV, Old Cambridge (1973), Cambridge, MA Volume V, Northwest Cambridge (1977), Cambridge, MA Cambridge Historical Society, Proceedings (1906-Present), Cambridge, MA. D.A.R., Winthrop Chapter, An Historical Guide to Cambridge (1907), Cambridge, MA. Gillman, A. (ed.), Cambridge of Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-Six (1896), Cambridge, MA. Paige, L.R., History of Cambridge (1877), Boston, MA.; Suoplement (1930), Boston, MA. Rand, C., Cambridge, U.S.A. (1964), New York, NY. Rettia, R.B., Guide to Cambridge Architecture (1969), Cambridge, MA. Stillman, N.J.
(ed.), Poetic Localities of Cambridge (1876), Cambridge, MA. Woods, R.A., and Kennedy, A.J. (Warner, ed.), Zone of Emergence (1962), Cambridge, MA. Zaitzevsky, C., with the advice of the Review Committee members, The Harvard University Study of Historic and Alchitectural Properties in the Environs of Cambridge, (April 1983-December Staple to Inventory form at botton - NPS Form 10-900-a 7-81) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory- - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Item number For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 417 Multiple Resource Area Thematic Group Name State Cambridge Multiple Resource Area MA Nomination/Type of Review G1.XValentine Soap Workers Cottages (101 Pearl St.) 62. Opposition House Substantlve Reviow Substanülve Reyis: Keeper Attest Keeper Attest 63. Frost, Walter, House Lna s!
Keeper Attest - 64. sone abjection witheraa Attest 65. Francis, Ebenezer, House DOEZOWNER OBJECTION Keeper SubatantIre Hevt Joseph. 66. Lolvering nOEYOWNER OBJECTION swne abyecien Attest falKeeper Attest GT.YAtwood, Ephiram, House Keeper Attest 68./Buildings at 104-106 Hancock St. buass Keeper Attest - 69. Colburn, Sara Foster, House Subafentive ReviewKeeper 110. Brooks, LuthedeUWNER OBJECTION feeper yunu abyectenn wethdeawn Attest Attest Date/Signature Poner laa. Dreuyod 420133 Weelian H.Bracham 4.13.82 Wuuam H. Brovkam 4.13.82 latuick Andeus 9/12186 Bath 1. Sause a/14 Hawend Patuike Andurs 9/12186 Beth.Sauzze 9/12/8 Dnur linAtupd62013 Bnue-li Dong lo1 Wielan/t Bracham 4.13.82 Patuicks Anduus q/rala Bethh.
Sovaje 1/12186 86002076 WASO Form - 177 ("'R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Lovering, Joseph, House (Cambridge MRA) Middlesex County MASSACHUSETTS Substastive Review JL 30 resubmission was Doé ouna pbi. nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Working No._ Fed. Reg. Date:02L2 Date Due: - 8/28186 Action: -- -ACCEPT __ - RETURN _ REJECT- Federal Agency: _ - 9/13/86 9-/2-86 Substantive Review: J sample _request Jappeal -NR decision Reviewer's comments: Omportant locally tor acsoceatione Drominenk Harvard profecsor Joseph Récom./Criteria Accept B+C Saurg rovering and arcluterturall fine ekampleaf the re DisciplineArcu tetenal Westery 9/1/86 Style. Retum commenke have leen addreaeet.
see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: - _technical corrections cited below _ substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition Status Accessible Present Use 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one - unaltered altered Check one - original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8.
Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) summary patagrap0 E JUL completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception J other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name. UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13.
Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - Signed - Date - Phone: - GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Joseph Lovering House 38 Kirkland Street Canbridse MRA Ma 69-16A OXFORD ST. 143 FRISBIE PLACE KIRKLAND MEMORLAL HALL HARVARD UNIVERSVTY CAMBRIDGE QUINCY DIVINITY ST CNOOL O NEM ATUEMEM wror 5 ST. -LANO 143 110" CX SUMNER ROAD PUVLCI Cahbridge, Mass. Cambridge MRA JOSEPH HOUSE Base: City of Cambridge Assessor's Plans January 1983 Please refer to the map in the Multiple Property Cover Sheet for this property Multiple Property Cover Sheet Reference Number: 64000275