Federal architecture in Cambridge
Federal architecture is a restrained classical manner with flat wall surfaces, fanlights over the door and delicate ornament around openings and mantels. It was current in the United States roughly from 1780 to 1830.
The stops that carry a construction date run from 1808 to 1825. 10 stops, 2.4 miles end to end. Of the stops, 2 are National Historic Landmarks.
Distances are straight lines between the coordinates in the National Park Service Register data, so the walk on the street will be longer. Nobody has walked or checked this as a route, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. Stops last changed Oct 16, 2026.
All walking tours in Cambridge → · Every listing in Cambridge →
Map
Coordinates come from the National Park Service National Register spatial data, or from Wikidata where the spatial data has no point. The solid line joins the stops in walking order and is not a street route. Listings with a restricted address in the Register are never mapped and never become stops. Data refreshed November 02, 2026.
Walking order
- 1Fresh Pond Hotel234 Lakeview Ave.Building · listed 1982start
- 2Wyeth-Smith House152 Vassal LaneBuilding · listed 19820.1 mi from stop 1
- 3Hall Tavern20 Gray Gardens West St.Building · listed 19830.5 mi from stop 2
- 4Asa Gray HouseNHL88 Garden St.Building · built 1810 · listed 1966344 ft from stop 3
- 5David Frost House26 Gray St.Building · listed 19830.3 mi from stop 4
- 6Frost, Elizabeth, Tenanthouse35 Bowdoin St.Building · listed 1983147 ft from stop 5
- 7Walter Frost House10 Frost St.Building · listed 19820.3 mi from stop 6
- 8Divinity Hall12 Divinity Ave.Building · built 1825 · listed 19860.5 mi from stop 7
- 9University Hall, Harvard UniversityNHLHarvard YardBuilding · listed 19700.3 mi from stop 8
- 10Dexter Pratt House54 Brattle St.Building · built 1808 · listed 19730.2 mi from stop 9
2.4 straight-line miles over 9 legs.
Taking it along
- Download the route as GPXFor a handheld GPS or a phone app
- Open all 10 stops in Google MapsSet the mode to walking once it opens
- Open the first stop in Apple MapsThe Apple Maps web link carries one destination, so this is stop 1 only
Other walks in Cambridge
- Greek Revival houses in Cambridge15 stops · 1.1 milesGreek Revival buildings carry low pitched gables, heavy cornices and columned porticoes modelled on Greek temples. The Cambridge examples on this route went up between 1833 and 1853.
- Queen Anne houses in Cambridge10 stops · 2.3 milesQueen Anne is a late Victorian manner of irregular plans, steep roofs, turrets, bay windows and wrapping porches. The Cambridge examples on this route went up between 1866 and 1891.
- Colonial Revival architecture in Cambridge12 stops · 2.4 milesColonial Revival reworks the symmetry, shutters and classical doorways of American colonial building. The Cambridge examples on this route went up between 1701 and 1907.
- Houses and mansions in Cambridge15 stops · 1.2 milesThe route links houses built between 1833 and 1889. Many are private homes and the stops are meant to be seen from the sidewalk.
- Cambridge in the 1880s10 stops · 1.9 milesEvery stop carries a construction date in the 1880s. Queen Anne style is the style recorded on more of them than any other.
Local history books for Cambridge
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Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Massachusetts
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.