1974-Annual Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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Historic District Commission at Russell Square Kitrosser 0 ti A 0 u 0 L. to R.: S. Lawrence Whipple, Commissioner; Georgia H. Williams, Commissioner; Ruth B. Adams, Associate; Wilbur M. Jaquith, Chairman; Barbara Gilson, Clerk; Oliver F. Hooper, Associate. Not Shown: Donald J. Shaw, Commissioner; Thomas J. Holzbog, Com- missioner; Sarah P. Harkness, Associate; Amalia Samoylenko, Associate. Historic Districts Commission Reports Dramatic Changes to Two Historic Houses DRAMATIC CHANGES IN 1974 CAME to two historic houses in Lexington. The most nota- blewas the moving of the Hancock - Clarke House, a Registered National Historic Landmark, and the focal point for the Hancock - Clarke Historic District. Following an Historical Society vote to restore the house to its original site, at 36 Hancock Street, the commission issued a Certificate for Removal of the 1698 structure from the easterly side of the street where it was placed when it was rescued from de- molition in 1896 by the Historical Society. The move was accomplished and the house is back, after seventy -eight years, to its authentic location. Visitors to Lexington during the Bicentennial in 1975 will find the house where it was in 1775 when Paul Revere went there to alert John Hancock and Samuel Adams to the presence of the British. During the year, the Russell House at 1505 Massachusetts Avenue, in the Munroe Tavern Historic District, was converted to condominium use from a hostelry, in continuous use since post -Civil War days. The commission approved a change of roof line and the demolition of both the ell attached to the old structure and of a barn in the rear. It also gave approval for the removal, to a more easterly location, of a small house on the property. Division of the main building provided two dwelling units, and the ell was replaced by two new units. Twelve additional units brought the total number to sixteen, plus three open sheds housing multiple garages. The selection of earth -toned colors for the exteriors of the buildings, which were designed to harmonize with and complement the old Russell House, helped to minimize the impact of the new construction on the neighborhood. The commission also issued a Certificate of Appropriateness for construction of sixteen town house dwellings in three two -story buildings at 56 -60 Worthen Road. Alterations and additions to stores and dwellings and approval of signs for stores and historic residences were also considered. Special notice is taken of improve- ments made to an old house which had fallen into disrepair at 531 Massachusetts Avenue. Efforts of this latter kind help to retard the growing commercial aspect, 15