By E.B. Solomont

In Cambridge, Mass., residents of a certain vintage can vividly recall the day in 1965 that a Greek Revival-style house rolled down Brattle Street.

For years, the circa-1850s structure served as faculty housing for the Episcopal Theological School, until the seminary decided it wanted to use the home site, just outside Harvard Square, to expand its library. Encouraged by conservationists, the seminary wheeled the roughly 150-ton house about 11 blocks to its current location, shutting down Brattle Street for two days, according to historical documents. Parking meters and street poles had to be moved -- and dozens of elm trees were trimmed -- to make way for the house, the late preservationist Roger Webb wrote in 2015. In its new location, the house was renovated and rented out for several years.

This story begins with what happened next, when a woman named Freema Shapiro bought the house from the seminary for $128,000 in 1977, records show.

Then a 62-year-old widow, Freema relocated to Cambridge from Weston, a western suburb, to be near some of her children and have a more active social life, said her grandson Otto Magdanz. A spitfire who stood just 4 feet 6 inches tall, Freema renovated the property, which became a hub for her children and grandchildren over the next four and a half decades, he said.

Otto said his parents got married there in 1984, as did a cousin around 2015. He recalled that when he was 4 and Freema was in her late 70s, she taught him to play hockey in the basement. His grandmother loved to entertain, and at age 101 she hosted jazz concerts in her living room. She lived in the house until January 2022, a month after celebrating her 106th birthday.

After Freema's passing, Otto said his family -- including his parents, aunts, uncles and cousins -- inherited the house and embarked on a multi-million dollar gut renovation. The family tapped Otto and his wife, Annie Murawski, to lead the project. Otto is president and co-founder of Coda Homes, a Boston-based luxury property-management firm that also builds custom homes. Annie is Coda's head of design and operations.

The couple said they were heavily influenced by Freema's appreciation for the original architecture. Otto said when his grandmother was alive, she resisted certain changes, like putting in a stair chair, that she thought would ruin the architectural integrity of the house. "We abided by that," Otto said.

Keeping as many historic details as possible, Otto and Annie said they redesigned the layout of the house to be more in line with modern living. They doubled the footprint, from around 3,500 square feet to just over 7,500 square feet, by demolishing a detached garage built in the 1970s and adding a new wing. To maximize every inch of available space, they also finished the third floor and excavated a lower level, which houses a gym, rec room, wine room and an au pair suite with a private entrance. "It's a 100% new house in an old shell," Otto said.

Otto said on the main level, they kept the living room and foyer the same but more than doubled the size of the kitchen. On the second floor, they reworked a series of small rooms, including Freema's bedroom, bathroom and closet, which all faced the backyard. Otto said they took out every interior wall in the process. Now, there are six en-suite bedrooms, including a primary suite with a large dressing room.

Annie said throughout the house, there are nods to the original architecture. The foyer has white oak floors laid out in a herringbone pattern and millwork that references the original. Otto and Annie saved the main staircase and historic window casings, and they refurbished the front door as well as the front columns. In the back of the house, they removed circa-1970s glass sliders and installed a glass door with side and transom windows that mimic the front door.

Otto said at the outset of the project, the family wasn't sure what they would do with the house when it was completed. But as the renovation progressed, they realized it made the most sense to sell the home. The asking price is $16.8 million, said listing agent Maggie Gold Seelig of MGS Group Real Estate.

She said homes that line Brattle Street are in the heart of the Old Cambridge Historic District. In the 1770s, a mansion on Brattle served as George Washington's first headquarters for the American Revolution. Today, demand on the street is consistently strong and an affinity for historic homes is part of the local culture. Smaller single-family homes tend to trade for $3 million to $5 million, but there have been several notable sales above $15 million, many of which are not publicly recorded, she said. A roughly 5,000-square-foot home nearby fetched just over $16 million in 2022, records show. "It doesn't matter what's going on in the financial world, Cambridge is such a small pocket of the universe with so much demand," she said.

Write to E.B. Solomont at eb.solomont@wsj.com

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March 03, 2025 19:00 ET (00:00 GMT)

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