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Somerville · a catalogue study
Edition 2026-10-09.1
A remote or manually navigated catalogue study. The order follows recorded dates, not a pedestrian route; nearby regional places may be far apart. No walking duration is estimated.
Check each place's actual location and visitor rules. A catalogue pin does not grant entry or confirm present access. Use the atlas record and linked sources to plan a visit.
Automatically assembled catalogue study. Where text is drawn from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 applies to that text. Wikipedia article and contributor links are included with each applicable stop. Passages may be excerpted or abridged and include additional editorial date context. Other sources and original observation prompts retain their own terms.
1. Samuel Gaut House
Samuel Gaut House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1850
The Samuel Gaut House is a historic house in Somerville, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house was built c. 1855 for Samuel Gaut, a baker, and is a well-preserved example of a typical Italianate house. It is three bays wide with a typical Italianate center gable, which is studded with brackets and has a trefoil window in the peak. The side gables have round-arch windows, and the building is topped by an octagonal cupola with a belled finial. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q7411466&detail=1
2. Round House
Round House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1856
The Round House is a cylindrical, wood-frame residential building at 36 Atherton Street in the Spring Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. It was built in 1856 by hardware manufacturer Enoch Robinson, and is considered an offshoot of the octagon house-style popularized by phrenologist Orson Fowler. The exterior of the Round House features two flush stories, with a third stepped back behind a series of battlements and embrasures. Inside, the three-story structure contains a central rotunda topped with a glass skylight, with interconnected rooms branching off on each level. There are four rooms on the first floor, six rooms on the second floor and another four rooms on the third floor. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q12067623&detail=1
3. Charles Williams Jr. House
Charles Williams Jr. House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1858
The Charles Williams Jr. House, built in 1858, is a historic house in Somerville, Massachusetts. Charles Williams Jr. was a manufacturer of electrical telegraph instruments at 109 Court Street in Boston. Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson experimented with the telephone in Williams' shop, and it was there that they first heard indistinct sounds transmitted on June 2, 1875. The first permanent residential telephone service in the world was installed at this house in 1877, connecting Williams' home with his shop on Court Street in Boston. Williams had telephone Numbers 1 and 2 of the Bell Telephone Company. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q14715435&detail=1
4. Alexander Foster House
Alexander Foster House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1860
The Alexander Foster House is a historic house in Somerville, Massachusetts. Built c. 1860, it is one of the city's earliest examples of Italianate architecture, and one of its best-preserved. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q4718881&detail=1
5. Amos Keyes House
Amos Keyes House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1860
The Amos Keyes House is a historic house in Somerville, Massachusetts. This 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house was built c. 1860 by Amos Keyes, a produce dealer. It was originally located on Central Street, but was moved to this location c. 1870 when Keyes sought to build a larger house on the other site. This house exhibits both Greek Revival and Italianate features: the round arch window in the gable is a typical Italianate detail, but the side-hall three-bay layout of the house is Greek Revival, as is the Doric porch. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q4747898&detail=1
6. Charles Schuebeler House
Charles Schuebeler House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1860
The Charles Schuebeler House is a historic house in Somerville, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story wood frame Italianate house was built c. 1860, and is the only house of its style and period to survive on this section of Washington Street. The street, which joins Somerville's Union Square with Cambridge's Harvard Square, was once lined with similar houses. The house has retained period features, including wide corner pilasters, paired brackets in the gables, and a front porch with trusses and large brackets. Charles Schuebeler was a jeweler. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q5082400&detail=1
7. F. G. Williams House
F. G. Williams House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1860
The F. G. Williams House is a historic house in Somerville, Massachusetts. The 20-room, 2.5-story wood-frame house was built c. 1855 for Frank G. Williams, a dealer in kitchen furnishings, and is one of the city's best examples of a center-gable Italianate house. Details include the trefoil window in the center gable, round-arch windows in the side gable ends, as well as carved brackets under the deep gables and an ornate porch and window enframement. Purchased in 1955 by John and Genevieve Daly, they completely restored the exterior, including new roof and gutters in 2015. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q5423901&detail=1
8. George Wyatt House
George Wyatt House · Recorded year (source inventory): 1860
The George Wyatt House is a historic house in Somerville, Massachusetts, near Inman Square. The 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house was built c. 1860 for George Wyatt, owner of one of Somerville's successful 19th century brickyards, which was located just north of this property. The house is an excellent example of a three bay, side entry Italianate style house, with a deep gable studded with paired decorative brackets and molded window surrounds. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=somerville-ma&candidate=Q5546555&detail=1