kendall-road_0050 Enhanced Building Form

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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 50 KENDALL ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 W LEX.579 The east parlor has a beaded summer beam, girts and corner posts, and has a higher level of finish than the west parlor, whose summer beam has chamfered lower edges. Insufficient physical evidence remains to definitively say whether the framing of the ceiling of the west parlor was initially left exposed as it is today, or if it was cased or partially covered with a plaster ceiling. However, the presence of substantial wany edges on the joists suggests that these secondary elements were probably covered. Interior partitions in the main block are plank and measure between 2” and 2 ½” in thickness. Evidence for early-19th century alterations to the house is found in the neoclassical mantle located in the west parlor, which may date to ca. 1820. This feature may, however, be a reproduction, dating to the late-20th century. An architrave associated with the door to the attic stairs has a flattened Greek Revival profile, suggesting a date of ca. 1835-50 for its installation here. The stair to the attic, its associated wall finishes, risers, treads, and baseboards all appear to be contemporary with this architrave. Floorboards in the hall over the entry lobby appear to date to the mid-19th century and are probably associated with the removal of the original staircase. It may be that the original stair was replaced contemporaneously with the removal of the central chimney and the construction of the stair to the attic. If this is the case, it would appear that the second main stair was located in the same location as the present run of stairs, as the stair to the attic is directly above it. Architraves in the west parlor appear to date to the early 19th century. Many of the interior doors, particularly at the second-floor level, appear to date to the middle decades of the 19th century. Whether some of these doors are original to the house, and thus document alterations undertaken at that time, or if they are among the doors brought in when the house was restored after its move in 1988 is not presently known. Architraves and woodwork at the second-floor level combine mid-18th, 19th and 20th century elements. Small areas of paneled wall, located in the best chamber, over the east parlor, date to the 18th century, as do the corner posts which widen as they rise to the top plate (aka “gunstock posts”) and other structural elements. Some of these are cased with beaded corners. The summer beam in the east chamber is finished with beaded edges. The roof consists of principal rafters and common purlins supporting vertical roof boards and has a substantial ridge beam. Indications of replacement of roof boards and purlins are found throughout the structure. Wing The north wall (in the present orientation of the house) of the two-story wing is oblique to the side walls of the house. The reason for this is not clear, however, it may have been a response to an adjacent structure that occupied its former site, or may reflect the interface with a property line. This two-story wing is framed similarly to the main block, with corner posts in a braced frame configuration. It contains two principal rooms on each floor. It may be that the wing was constructed in two or more phases; it is, however, presently impossible to confirm this, due to the current inaccessibility of much of this part of the frame. One detail which is suggestive of an earlier configuration of the wing is the fact that the posts in the present dining room, located adjacent to the main block of the house, widen at their tops, possibly indicating that the wing was originally one story in height. The stairs to the basement, located in the northeast corner of the wing, are constructed of stringers, treads, risers, balusters, handrailing and a newel post which date to ca. 1800 and have been reconfigured for their present location. The level of finish of the various components suggests them to have been originally located in a first-floor domestic context; whether or not they originated in this house is not presently known. A cast iron cooking range, manufactured by Chilson of Boston, is located in the north wall of the dining room, the southern of two principal rooms in the wing that is attached to the north side of the main block of the house. Its components bear embossed patent dates of 1858 and 4 January 1859. A similar example, located in 271 Marrett Road, on an adjacent parcel (although this was not originally the case), contains a second example of an early range, that one having been manufactured by John G. Copp, also of Boston, and incorporating C. Carpenter’s hot air range No. 3. It bears an embossed “patent applied for” date of 1855. These ranges are rare surviving artifacts. Move and Restoration of the house, 1988-- Much of the alterations undertaken during the 19th and early 20th centuries was removed during restoration of the house subsequent to its moving to its present site in 1988. Chief among these were the principal stair that replaced the original main