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BUILDING FORM <br /> ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ❑see continuation sheet <br /> Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. <br /> 54 Hancock St. is one of several higher-style, side-gabled,three-bay, center entrance Italianates in Lexington and is a well- <br /> preserved example of the type. This house is rectangular with a rear ell, 2'/z stories,three-by-one bays, and side-gabled with a <br /> small off-center rear chimney. The two-story rear ell is front-gabled. The house is set on a brick foundation, clad with wood <br /> clapboards, and roofed with asphalt shingles. The center entance has side pilasters and both transom and sidelights;windows are <br /> 2/2 double hung sash. Italianate finishes include cornerboards,a broad frieze board across the facade,paired brackets and dentils <br /> under the cornice, and window surrounds that have a projecting cornice and plain frieze. A connector has been added between the <br /> gabled dormers on the facade. Off the north elevation is a one-story side-gabled addition which is also on a brick foundation and <br /> has wide cornerboards and a dentil course under the cornice,but the cornerboards are wider than and the dentils a different style <br /> from those on the original house, so this addition is probably later, though sympathetic. A porch extends across the back of the <br /> original ell;the small two-car garage has a hip roof and wood drop siding. <br /> HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ❑ see continuation sheet <br /> Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the <br /> role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community. <br /> This house was built in 1874 by Albert Fletcher Spaulding (1841-1895), who that year had married Catherine Johnson,the widow <br /> of Charles E. Johnson(1833-1871), who was the son of Charles W. Johnson in the house now at 9 Burlington St. (MHC#742). <br /> After Spaulding's death, Mrs. Spaulding sold this house in 1902 to George O. Whiting, who lived at what is now 8 Adams St. <br /> (MHC#697) and also owned the houses at 52,56, and 58 Hancock(MHC#729, 733,and 734). <br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ❑ see continuation sheet <br /> Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society. <br /> Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1913. 2: 327. <br /> Lexington Minute-man, 19 Sept. 1874. <br /> Lexington Valuation Lists. 1872-1875. <br /> Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Deeds. Cambridge, MA. 3003: 481. <br /> Worthen, Edwin B.to Mrs. Bruce Currie, 16 February 1951. Worthen Collection. Cary Library, Lexington, MA. <br /> ❑ Reconunended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National <br /> Register Criteria Statement form. <br />