Laserfiche WebLink
BUILDING FORM(75 Outlook Drive) <br /> ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION <br /> Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the <br /> community. <br /> Constructed in 1910,the Briggs House(MHC#1108) is one of two noteworthy early houses constructed in the Fair Oaks <br /> development(the other being 341 Marrett Road). It was designed by architect Willard Brown and is one of his substantial <br /> Colonial Revival designs with a Craftsman style influence evident in the front pergola. The large2 1/2-story, gambrel-roofed <br /> dwelling is sheathed in clapboards which are notable for their lack of comerboards; the ends of the wood siding meet at the <br /> comers. The main house block measures 3 x 2 bays and is flanked on one side by a wing of similar height and two-bays <br /> wide, set back slightly with a single-story open porch or piazza spanning the other end. <br /> On the main house block only there are projecting front eaves which are decorated by short rafters. The center entrance <br /> contains a six-panel door with the two upper panels filled with bullseye glass. The door is flanked by sidelights which are <br /> two panes side. Sheltering the entrance is a partially enclosed pergola supported by fluted columns. Fenestration consists of <br /> a mix of individual,paired and tripartite windows with a 6/1 or 8/1 configuration predominating. Pedimented dormers rise <br /> from the front roof slope. <br /> The flat-roofed piazza is supported by Roman Doric columns. Continuous 6/1 windows have been installed along the front <br /> and rear elevations but the end has been left open. A Craftsman-style influence is evident in the gridded lattice panel between <br /> the columns and in the beamed ceiling inside. A small recessed porch at the opposite rear corner of the house displays an <br /> arched opening with a shingled corner post. <br /> Adjacent to the house is a detached gambrel-roofed garage(MHC#1109)sheathed in clapboards. Historic photographs <br /> indicate that the garage has been moved closer to the house and turned. It now rests on a concrete foundation. There is a <br /> dou le-wide door opening on the gambrel front. Above the door in a quasi-Palladian type arrangement is an arched upper <br /> opening with a small three-light elevated window on either side. <br /> HISTORICAL NARRATIVE <br /> Describe the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state) history. Include uses of the building and <br /> the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community(81", 20 Wv✓aW Y' AA <br /> This house was constructed in 1910 for George and Eff Briggs. Local assessors records indicate that in 1910 Briggs was <br /> assessed for only the lot, by the following year a$18, 0 house had been constructed on the 87,690 square foot lot. The <br /> house was designed by local architect Willard Brown and was one of the first houses constructed in the Fair Oaks <br /> subdivision. Briggs was the president of Lexington Lumber. The Briggs family continued to own the house until the early <br /> 1940s. Robert and Eleanora Hallinan owned the property from 1953 to 1993 when it was sold to the present owners. <br /> The Fair Oaks development was designed and managed by Arthur Horton, a landscape architect who worked for the <br /> Metropolitan Park Commission in Boston for ten years. Much of his work designing boulevards, parks and reservations was <br /> done under the direction of Charles Eliot(for more information see Area form Y, Fair Oaks). <br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES <br /> Lexington Assessors Records. <br /> Lexi" gton Directories, various dates. <br /> Let\ gton Valuation Lists, various dates. <br /> Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attached a completed <br /> National Register Criteria Statement form. <br />