In a city full of high-rise luxury condominiums, it’s hard to find classic two-story homes where you can still enjoy all that the city has to offer.
Although it was built in 1984, the property at 1564 Massachusetts Ave. stands out in its Harvard Square neighborhood. Featuring yellow clapboards and green shutters, the home is an undeniable slice of old world charm in Cambridge. An attached single family, it boasts four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms in 2,266 square feet. The upstairs master suite features a wood-burning fireplace and a walk-in closet and, as a nice urban bonus, the property even comes with a two-car garage.
Just steps from Harvard Law School, the home was built on land once occupied by the Francis Allyn House, which, according to the Harvard Crimson, was 153 years old when it was torn down in 1984. The historic site’s demolition brought a bit of drama, as the developer of the current property at 1564 Massachusetts Ave. fought with the Historical Commission and city regulations for years before building. He originally even tried to maintain some of the Francis Allyn House’s Greek Revival facade during construction, but it failed to meet certain wind pressure tolerance codes, and so the entire structure was razed.
Despite the loss of a historic home, many locals at the time found the drawn out legal battle to be a waste of taxpayer money. Condos rapidly sprung up throughout the city in the ’80s, and the area still remains one of the country’s most expensive neighborhoods.
Listed at just under $2 million, the property offers easy access to Harvard University, Cambridge Commons, all of the shops and restaurants Harvard Square has to offer, plus the Red Line.
Tour the home online at 1564MassAve.com.
