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INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 1605 MASS. AVE. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 6 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: In the late 171h and 181h century this land was owned by the Estabrook family and was originally the site of the parsonage of Benjamin Estabrook, built by the town for its first minister c.1694. The parsonage was subsequently torn down c.1800. In April 1827,the "front lands" of the Estabrook estate was sold to Hammond A. Hosmer, an"innholder" from Boston. Worthen believes he might have been related to the Estabrook family. On May 25, 1847, Hosmer sold to Abijah W. Farrar the site of the Cary Memorial Building. The land was later the site of the so-called Shaw and Plumer houses which were torn down to make way for Cary Memorial Hall. Construction of the Isaac Harris Cary Memorial Hall was funded by the estates of Susanna E. Cary and her sister, Eliza Cary Farnham. The intention of the sisters' bequest was to erect a memorial to their father, Isaac Harris Cary. The Cary Educational Fund trustees were instructed to secure a site in Lexington and erect a fireproof building suitable for the safe storage and exhibition of relics. The building was to also contain a hall adapted for lectures and public meetings. The Old Town Hall, located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Waltham Street, was torn down in 1928. It had been constructed in 1871 and designed by architect Gridley Bryant. Cary Memorial Hall was designed by the firm of Kilham, Hopkins & Greeley with Willard D. Brown serving as associate architect. James Stuart Smith served as chairman of the building committee. The contractor for the construction was awarded to John W. Duff, Inc. The cornerstone was laid on June 9, 1927; the building was completed and furnished and the grounds were graded by the fall of 1928. Dedication exercises were held on October 18, 1928. The total cost of the land, grading, building and furnishings was approximately $420,000. Inside, the Hall is graced with a proscenium stage, arched windows, Corinthian pilasters and other Colonial details. It includes seating for 780, with approximately half of the seating on the floor and half on the mezzanine level. Cary Hall was designed for perfect acoustics and the chairs and tables were made to order by a master craftsman from birds-eye maple using timbers from an ancient mill in New Hampshire. Cary Memorial Hall has provided the community with a year round site musical programming and popular events for more than eighty years. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Cambridge: The Riverside Press Co., 1913. Kelly, Beverly Allison. Lexington: A Century of Photographs. Lexington Historical Society, 1980. Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts, 1620-1946. Lexington: 1946. Worthen, Edwin B. Tracing the Past in Lexington, Massachusetts. New York: Vantage Press, Inc., 1998: 164-172. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf December 2009