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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 2295 MASS. AVENUE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 1605 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 house at 2295 Massachusetts Avenue is a two-story, side-gabled structure sheathed in wood shingles and resting on a rubble foundation. The first floor of the broad fagade is five bays in width with a center entrance consist of simple pilasters supporting a basic shelf, fronted by a concrete stoop. The first floor facade windows contain a double-hung 6/6 sash while there are two smaller second story windows aligned with the windows adjacent to the entrance. It is possible that the second floor is a later addition. The east gable end is a single bay deep,with flush eaves and a window only on the second floor. Extending behind the front section is a slightly taller two-story ell sheathed in board and batten siding and shingles and resting on a concrete addition. There is a rear attached garage. A stone wall runs along the front line of this property and that to the east(2287 Mass. Ave.), evidence of the fact that the two properties were in common ownership for some time, ending in 1932. 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 early history of this house remains somewhat unclear at this time and it is hard to separate out this building from its neighbor at 2287 Massachusetts Avenue. Assessors records suggest this house was constructed in 1861. Along with its neighbor at 2287 Mass.Ave. it was owned by the Robinson family in the 19th century. It is not clear whether this house or 2287 Mass.Ave. is the original house on the property but one of them would appear to date back to the early 19th century. The original owner may have been Michael Ryan who is shown as the owner on the 1853 map and sold it to Simon Robinson in 1854 (Book 674,Page 263). This transaction began over fifty years of ownership by the Robinson family, although it is not clear whether the family actually occupied the house. Simon W. Robinson(1792-1868)was a selectman, a state rephresentative and was very prominent in Masonic matters. The local lodge was later named after Robinson. During the late 19t century the property was owned by John B. Robinson, Simon's son,who lived in Boston. The 1875, 1898 and 1906 maps show two houses owned by J. Robinson(2295 and 2287 Massachusetts Avenue). In the early 20th century the property was owned by Joseph Valliere who worked as a conductor on the street railway. The property was subdivided in 1932 and Joseph lived at 2287 while renting out the house at 2295 Mass. Ave. Both the 1920 and 1930 Censuses list the tenant as James Callahan. It was later owned by Roy and Ethel Johnsen from 1937 to 1972. The house has had four additional owners since that time. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES 1853, 1876, 1889, 1898, 1906 maps Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, Cambridge,Mass. Town Directories U.S. Census,various years. Continuation sheet 1