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History
1806 Street Grid - unchanged for 220 years
In 1806, Andrew Craigie and the Lechmere Point Corporation laid out the East Cambridge street grid with blocks sized for both houses and industrial or commercial buildings, deliberately creating a district where residents could live close to their workplaces. By 1851, when 61 OTIS was built, that plan was taking form as brick rowhouses appeared alongside nearby glassworks and other early factories.
By 1879, when this bird’s‑eye view was drawn, East Cambridge had become a compact industrial neighborhood. The large complex of buildings beside the railroad tracks represents the John P. Squire & Company hog‑slaughtering and meatpacking plant on the Miller’s River, one of the largest individual industries in East Cambridge.
Along the waterfront, the New England Glass Company was founded in 1818 and operated in a multi‑building works with a 230‑foot chimney that made it one of the largest glass factories in the world. Along Otis, Second, and Thorndike Streets, furniture factories associated with what would become A. H. Davenport & Company, formed the core of East Cambridge's nationally known furniture industry.These large factories, built on a street grid that integrated housing with major industrial employers, are part of the pattern that still underlies the quiet, walkable setting around 61 OTIS today.
Amory Houghton, Corning Glass Founder
61 Otis Street 1st Occupant
In 1851, the first occupants of 61 OTIS were Amory Houghton and his family. Houghton entered the glass business at Bay State Glass, then founded Union Glass Company, both in nearby Somerville, later acquired the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works, and, along with his son, moved that company in 1868 to Corning, New York, where it evolved into Corning Glass Works.
175 years later in 2026, this Greek Revival brick rowhouse still fits within the East Cambridge street grid rather than stand apart from it. Its flat front, simple cornice, and regularly spaced windows give the façade a calm, ordered appearance, while the framed entry and understated trim reflect the period’s preference for proportion and clarity over ornament. The result is a house well suited to a growing industrial neighborhood.
For today’s corporate guests, 61 OTIS offers both the architectural detailing of an 1851 Cambridge house and a direct connection to the early career of a significant industrial founder. That history adds context to a present-day corporate stay in East Cambridge.