116 Norfolk Street

116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration116 Norfolk Street, Cambridge, MA Historic Restoration
Project Summary

Project Name: 116 Norfolk Street

Location: Cambridge, MA

Noteworthy: Salvaging the original wood flooring for use as a custom wainscot

M&A’s Scope: Structural stabilization of the original main staircase of the convent; resizing the ornate mahogany paneled ceiling in the foyer; repurposing the old pine flooring for tongue-and-groove wainscot in the main public area.

Owner: Cambridge Housing Authority

Architect: HMFH Architects

General Contractor: Colantonio Inc.

Introduction

116 Norfolk Street in Cambridge, MA was built in 1907-1908 and was a convent for many years. According to the Cambridge Historical Commission, the building is in the Colonial Revival style. It was designed by Edward P.T. Graham, an architect whose work included many other churches throughout the Greater Boston area. He was referred to as the “the Dean of Boston architects”.

The Cambridge Housing Authority purchased the building back in 1975 and in 2022 launched its efforts to modernize the building while preserving and restoring the historic architecture of the main convent building.

Work Completed by M&A

M&A Architectural Preservation’s work focused on three primary restoration and preservation efforts in the interior of the original convent structure.

  1. Converting tongue-and-groove wood flooring into wainscoting panels for common area
    The original tongue-and-groove pine floorboards were carefully removed by the M&A Architectural Preservation team as the initial step in repurposing the boards to wainscotting panels for a common area. M&A salvaged as many floorboards as possible, cleaning each board, sanding and then cutting to length. Given the color variety of the boards, the architect requested we create a variety of tones across the wainscoting panels. Reclaimed pine boards were sourced for the baseboard and chair rails. All wood was restored in M&A’s shop and then installed.Converting pine wooden floorboards to wainscoting panels was a first for M&A Architectural Preservation in its 25 years in business.
  2. Ornate Wood Paneled Ceiling – restore, resize and reinstall
    M&A carefully removed the unique mahogany paneled ceiling surrounded by stonework in the foyer area. The ceiling had been built in place and had to be removed the same way, carefully removing each individual wooden panel. The carpenter’s name and year of 1908 was visible on the panel pieces removed.M&A restored each panel element and replaced missing structural supports. Each panel was restored and resized in our conservation shop. The mahogany wooden panels were then reinstalled into the stonework.
  3. Structural stabilization and restoration of the original, historic three-story wooden staircase
    The original three-story wooden staircase required extensive structural stabilization and realignment of the balustrade after the stairs were leveled. M&A then completed the restoration of the wooden staircase and refinished it to match the original components.
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