HomeMy WebLinkAboutadams-street_0071 FORM B — BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
69/5 r Boston
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION North
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town: Lexington
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Photograph
, ::,F.:.... .... Address: 71 Adams Street
Historic Name: E. H. Wright House
Uses: Present: residential
Original: residential
Date of Construction: c.1860
h.,.`Y... Source: visual inspection
Style/Form:
Architect/Builder: unknown (E.H. Wright?)
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Exterior Material:
Foundation: stone
Wall/Trim: asbestos shingles or alum. siding?
Topographic or Assessor's Map Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
garage
Major Alterations(with dates):
Date? -siding
Condition: fair(due to siding)
Moved: no x yes Date
Acreage: 0.83 acre
z
l Setting: mixed residential on well-traveled road
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247,r
38
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17.200 ~ 15.404
Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date(month/year): May 2008
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 71 ADAMS STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
The house at 71 Adams Street is a modest 1 %-story cottage which dates to the mid to late 19"'century. Set on a mortared stone
foundation,the house has a broad three-bay gablefront with projecting eaves. The walls are currently sheathed in a wide
artificial siding and the roof is asphalt-shingled with an exterior brick chimney on the west side. The sidehall entry contains a
vertical plank door with metal strap hinges. It is capped by a flat door hood supported by jigsawn brackets. Windows contain
double-hung 6/6 sash and are fitted with exterior wood storm sash and shutters. The lipped lintels rest on two small bracket
supports. Extending behind the main house block is a single story wing with greenhouse/sunroom.
To the northeast of the house is a detached single-story garage/shed which is sheathed in wood shingles. It is capped by an
asphalt-shingled gable roof with close eaves. A shed with double-wide opening is attached to the north end of the building.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state)history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s)the
owners/occupants played within the community.
Based on map data,this house was constructed between 1853 and 1875. There is no house on this site at the time of the 1853
map. The hill to the east is labeled as"Buck's Hill". The earliest known owner of this house is E.H. Wright who is shown as
the owner on the 1875 map. According to the 1870 U.S. Census,E.H. Wright was a 59 year old house carpenter who was born
in New Hampshire and lived with his wife Harriet and daughters Harriet and Emma. After her parents' deaths,Emma E. H.
Wright continued to live here until her death on November 13, 1919. Miss Wright was a schoolteacher. Another(presumed)
family member, George W. Wright, lived in a house just to the east with an East Street address.
This property was acquired by William Warner in 1956 and is still owned by the family today, over fifty years later.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
1853, 1875, 1889, 1895, 1906 maps
Town Directories
U.S. Census,various years.
Continuation sheet 1