Built about 1900 by a prominent local developer for his own use, it is one of the city's finest examples of residential Shingle style architecture.

The front-facing gambrel has a projecting attic level with a recessed pair of diamond-pane sash windows.

The porch is supported by grouped columns set on shingled posts with simple low balustrades between then.

[2] The house was built about 1900 by Zebedee E. Cliff, a prominent local real estate developer and politician.

A carpenter turned developer, he has been credited with undertaking over $2 million worth of construction in Somerville before his death in 1934.