Cambridge History Minute: The Story Behind the 'Potter House'

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Stop by 1 Kennedy Road, and you'll find the Potter House, a historic home that's stood on the spot since the 1890s.

That's when it was designed by Cambridge resident Lois Lilley Howe, an architect who fell for photography and also took the image above.

Born in September of 1864, Howe grew up watching the construction of Harvard's Memorial Hall across from her Oxford Street home, "an event which left an indelible impression on her imagination," according to a biographical sketch from the Cambridge Historical Society.

She would later leverage her family's connections and wealth to break into the male-dominated field of architecture, becoming the first woman to be elected a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. In her two-year MIT School of Architecture program, she was the only woman in a class of 65 men.

In 1893, she opened what would soon become the only all-female architectural firm in Boston, and one of the earliest in America. Her firm grew and changed over more than 40 years, fielding over 400 commissions before disbanding in 1937. Howe lived on until 1964.

The Potter House was her first, designed in 1894 for friend and client Alfred C. Potter, pictured below with his family in 1912 (another photo taken by Howe):

Every few weeks, Patch will be featuring images from the Cambridge Historical Society and other sources to give you a glimpse into the city's past. Send your historic family photos or images of city life to alison.bauter@patch.com for a chance to be featured on Cambridge Patch.