A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the Final Landmark Designation Report for the Maria Baldwin-Alvaro Blodgett Houses

CAMBRIDGE HISTORICAL COMMISSION 831 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Fl., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Telephone: [phone removed] TTY: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] E-mail: histcomm@cambridgema.gov URL: http://www.cambridgema.gov/Historic Bruce A. Irving, Chair; Susannah Barton Tobin, Vice Chair; Charles Sullivan, Executive Director Joseph V. Ferrara, Chandra Harrington, Elizabeth Lyster, Jo M. Solet, Yuting Zhang, Members Gavin W. Kleespies, Paula A. Paris, Kyle Sheffield, Alternates January 12, 2023 To: Yi-An Huang, City Manager From: Charles Sullivan, Executive Director Cambridge Historical Commission Re: Final Landmark Designation Report, 196 Prospect Street I am submitting the Final Landmark Designation Report for the Maria Baldwin-Alvaro Blodgett Houses at 194-196 Prospect Street with the request of the Cambridge Historical Commission that it be transmitted to the City Council for their consideration. The Maria Baldwin-Alvaro Blodgett Houses comprise a significant Greek Revival structure erected in 1839. Number 196 was the home of Agassiz School Master Maria Baldwin from 1889 until 1905 and was the site of her frequent educational activities among greater Boston’s Black community. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. The effect of the designation, which can be accomplished by a simple majority vote adopting the attached Order, will be to protect the publicly visible exterior of the Maria Baldwin-Alvaro Blodgett Houses from inappropriate alterations. The Maria Baldwin-Alvaro Blodgett Houses would then become Cambridge’s 43rd designated landmark. cc B. Kimmerman, Chief of Staff Attachment