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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 1780 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 Ribock Block is a single-story, simple, commercial building constructed of brick with a flat roof. Originally divided into five stores,the building now contains two remodeled storefronts. That to the east(#1780)has been Colonialized and features three wooden posts set on masonry bases with multi-pane windows resting on brick bases. The western storefront(#1786) retains three piers which appear to be original, constructed of multi-colored brick. The single-pane display windows are set into aluminum frames and set on later,red brick bases. Above the two signboards is the same multi-hued brick visible in the piers. 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. Originally known as the Ribock Block, 1780-1788 Massachusetts Avenue was built in 1922 on the site of the Meserve House which was torn down. It originally consisted of five narrow stores(numbered 446 to 454 Mass. Ave.). Michelson's Shoes,the town's oldest family-owned business,has been located in the block since 1941. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Hinkle,Alice and Andrea Cleghorn. Life in Lexington 1946-1995. Middlesex South Register of Deeds, Cambridge, MA Sanborn Insurance Maps Town Directories Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts, 1620-1946. Lexington: 1946. Continuation sheet 1