16 Chauncy Street – Enjoy the luxury of living ten minutes from Harvard Yard in a handsome brick elevator building located on a pleasant side street between Harvard & Porter Squares.
Notable among the residents of 16 Chauncy Street over the years is author Vladimir Nabokov. In her book on the history of 16 Chauncy, authore and former 16 Chauncy resident Ann Petrone notes that in 1956, Nabokov lived in unit 10, shortly after the publication of Lolita. Nabokov’s time in residence here is duly noted by a plaque near the entrance to the building:
The Blackall family bought “a fine modern mansion in the Colonial style” at 16 Chauncy Street in 1903. As Clarence Blackall later recalled, “We lived in this house for 24 years, some of the happiest years of our lives.” Petrone includes photos of this family manse in her book on the history of 16 Chauncy Street. The pictures certainly do suggest that the home was big and comfortable and well-built. For sure, this was a different time in Cambridge – one photo in the book shows a young Robert Blackall feeding a carrot to a neighboring cow on Mr. Abbot’s field!On April 12, 1929, The Cambridge Chronicle reported that “Mr. Blackall has decided to give up his house entirely, tear it down and construct in place thereof an apartment house.” As Petrone points on in her book, “Great care was taken to incorporate much of the original woodwork from the mansion into the new apartment house.” The Blackalls planned to make their home in one of the larger penthouse apartments in the new building. Alas, the building was completed in September 1929 – a few weeks before the financial panic set in which led to the Great Depression. Eventually, in 1939, the building was purchased by the nearby Hotel Continental and renamed the Continental Manor Apartments.
View of inviting reading nook with custom built-ins at unit 15 at 16 Chauncy outside of Harvard Square.
16 Chauncy Street #15 has now SOLD. If you are interested in learning about condos now for sale at 16 Chauncy or elsewhere in Cambridge, I am here to help. I can be reached at ccherney@hammondre.com or 617-733-8937. I am a Harvard graduate, a Cambridge resident and a top broker in the city since 1999.
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