massachusetts-avenue_1776 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 1776 Mass. Ave. 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 commercial block at 1776 Massachusetts Avenue retains little or no integrity for its original(1903) construction but is the product of renovations and Colonial Revival redesign in the 1950s and 1960. Other than the footprint,the only features which remain from the original building are the fenestration pattern of the second floor of the fagade and the faint pilasters which separate the window groupings. The first floor is totally a product of the 1960 renovation. It is faced with granite and has a recessed entrance with pediment enframement at each end of the fagade, separated by four 12/12 windows. The second floor is brick with two groups of three 12/12 windows with flat arch lintels. A stone cornice molding has been applied above. 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. The Lexington Savings Bank was chartered in 1871 and initially was located in Capt. W.D. Phelps' house(the present site of the Viano Block). It opened for business on June 2, 1871. In May 1873 the bank moved to the new Town Hall. In 1895 the Bank purchased the Smith-Meserve property on the site of what is now 1770 Mass. Ave. In 1903 a new Lexington Savings Bank Building was constructed on this site and the old bank building was moved to the rear. The new,three-story structure was designed by architect E.K. Blaikie. From 1904 until 1919 the banking rooms were located on the second floor of the building; in 1919 they moved to the first floor. In 1950 the bank was remodeled according to plans by prominent bank architects Thomas M. James & Co. Custance Brothers served as the contractors. Just a few months later, on June 9, 1950,the Savings Bank building suffered a serious fire that caused extensive damage to the third floor. The third story was subsequently removed. In 1960 the bank was remodeled and renovated once again including a new first floor design. Lexington Savings Bank was acquired by the Waltham Savings Bank in 1990. In 1998 the bank merged with US Trust. Today, the building is occupied by Citizens Bank. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Hinkle,Alice and Andrea Cleghorn. Life in Lexington 1946-1995: 3. Lexington Minute-man,June 20, 1903; May 28, 1904; March 16 &23, 1950 Town Directories Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts, 1620-1946. Lexington: 1946. Continuation sheet 1