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INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 1625 MASS. AVE. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 631 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: At town meeting in January 1927 the town voted to appoint a committee to consider the erection of a town office building to replace the old Town Hall which was built in 1871 and stood at the corner of Main and Waltham Streets. As a result of the vote, the old town hall was sold for $50,001 and was subsequently demolished in 1928. The new Town Office Building was erected on land given by the trustees of the Isaac Harris Cary Educational Fund. The home of Harris E. Shaw formerly stood on the site of the present Town Office Building. It was torn down in 1927,prior to the construction of the new building. Cary Memorial Hall was constructed adjacent to the Town Office in 1927-8, on the site of the Plumer House which was also torn down. The Town Office Building was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Kilham, Hopkins, Greeley and Brown. James S. Greenwood was the general contractor. The waterstruck brick for the project were purchased from a company in Epping,New Hampshire. When the Town Office building opened for business in June 1928, the Police Department occupied the entire ground floor. After the current police station was built in 1956, the assessors and building department also moved to the police building at 1575 Massachusetts Avenue. In 1970-1 the Town Office Building was remodeled and expanded according to the specifications of Perry, Dean and Stewart. Great care was taken to preserve and duplicate the appearance of the original section of the structure including red brick, white trimmings and a slate roof. The square footage of the building doubled and included additional space for town administrators, the comptroller, conference and committee rooms. The heating system, plumbing, wiring and other services were updated and an elevator and air conditioning were added. A. Bonfatti Co., Inc. of Norwood served as the general contractor. With the completion of the addition, the Assessors and Building Department returned to the Town Office Building. On October 15, 1971 the renovated and enlarged Town Office Building was open to business. It was dedicated on January 9, 1972. 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. Ostrow, David. Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS No. MA-1174, Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, Mass., August 16, 1981. 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: 23-4. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf December 2009