Lovell Block
historic residential and commercial building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
The Lovell Block is an historic residential and commercial building at 1853 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The three-story brick building was built in 1882 by Andrew Jackson Lovell, with two specific commercial tenants in mind. One was his own grocery business, and the other was the North Cambridge Post Office. The upper floors contained a total of four well-appointed residential flats. The building was an early instance of a mixed-use residential-commercial structure, at a time when most lower-income housing was tenement-style, and the idea of higher-quality residential rental property was relatively new.
The block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Lovell Block” as historic residential and commercial building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as historic residential and commercial building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6692202. Authority coordinates are 42.388, -71.119. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1853, 1882 and 1983.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Lovell Block”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Lovell Block primary sources, Lovell Block archive and Lovell research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Lovell Block”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Lovell Block” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.