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BUILDING FORM (154 Bedford Street) ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the community. The house at 154 Bedford Street is a good example of a Queen Anne-style duplex and bears some resemblance to the house at 9-11 Shirley Street (MHC #1118). The 2 1/2-story gablefront building is set above a rubble foundation with a clapboarded first floor, outlined by simple comerboards. A wide molding separates the first floor from the wood shingled upper story. The bottom course of shingles is flared slightly and the projecting eaves end in returns. A single-story, two-bay porch fronts the north half of the facade, supported by plain posts with a bracketed cornice, and stick balusters with balled newel posts above a lattice airspace. Above the porch is a three-sided, two-story bay window which is recessed under the front pediment. Under the porch, the front door contains a glass-and-panel door;to the side is a 6/1 replacement window (the original windows appear to have been 2/1) in a molded surround. To the south of the entrance there is a single-story, three-sided bay window tucked under the overhang of the second story and also containing 6/1 sash. Above the entrance porch is a three- sided projection with a multi-light door flanked by two narrow 4/1 sash. The other second story facade opening is a tripartite unit with a central 6/1 flanked by 4/1 sash. Centered in the front shingled gable is a pair of 6/1 windows set in a molded surround. The north elevation displays a gable dormer and a mix of original 2/1 sash and 6/1 replacements. Projecting from the south side is a two-story,three-sided bay window capped by a gable dormer containing a pair of windows. A modern deck spans \1 the rear elevation. 1 HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Describe 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. This double house was constructed in the early 20th century but postdates the 1906 Atlas. The earliest known owners of the property are Madeline and Clifford Walker who owned the house as early as 1914. He was employed as a chiropodist. The house was known as 102 Bedford Street until about 1935. For many years Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Pierce shared occupancy of the house with the Walkers, who lived here into the 1950s. Frank Allia purchased the property in 1959 and continued to own it until 1994. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Lexington Assessors Records. j Lexington Directories, various dates. Lexington Valuation Lists, various dates. 1906 Atlas. Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attached a completed National Register Criteria Statement.form.