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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 72 LOWELL ST. <br /> MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. <br />220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 <br />Continuation sheet 2 <br /> LEX.658 <br />medial section has been repurposed for bath and laundry rooms. In a conservative holdover, the summer beams supporting the <br />ceilings of the north bedchambers were left exposed. Overall, walls and ceilings are plastered. The roof framing is exposed in the attic. At one point the east end was plastered. The back stairs, since removed, had terminated at this level. The roof frame is <br />comprised of principal rafters joined to a ridge pole. The rafters are widely spaced with six purlins spanning them, one of which nearer the eaves is larger, wind-braced and tied to floor beams. The structure is intact as is the butted sheathing running across <br />the purlins. Original floor framing is intact in the basement as are the complex brick chimney bases with arched hollows with shelving and corbeled hearth supports for both the fireplaces and ovens. CONSTRUCTION HISTORY Ca. 1800 division of the house <br />Reuben Reed’s ca.1800 will parses out the details of the division of the house providing living space for his widow as well as for the household of his brother and nephew. (It appears that the house continued to be owned in shares and occupied by members <br />of the extended Reed family into the 20th century.) This is made evident by the presence of a second kitchen in the northeast corner of the house with a fireplace and oven roughly contemporary with this date. The similarity of the paneling and moldings in <br />the northeast kitchen to those in the original kitchen point to an installation date not too far removed from the original build date of the house; however, there are differences in molding profiles for all of the components of this work, suggesting another hand, <br />or at least the passage of time. Additional work, now removed, would have been undertaken to divide the households. This may have included alteration of the back stairs to provide principal access from the northeast kitchen rather than from the <br />original center passage or kitchen in the northwest corner. If not previously incorporated into the plan, it can further be assumed that connections between the north and south rooms on the east side of both floors of the house would have been necessary in <br />order for it to work independently of the west side of the dwelling. Ca. 1840-50 Alterations Improvements made to the house during this period included the installation of Greek Revival baseboards in the center passage <br />at both the first and second floor levels. A new front door with a patent lock was installed. The patent for this lock set was issued in 1830 and it was produced under the name of Carpenter & Co. until 1851. <br /> Evidence that the form of the main staircase was altered—possibly to decrease its slope—can be found in patches to the <br />intermediary newels. The balusters of the main staircase are, at present, in the form of untapered dowels. Similar balusters can be found at 884-86 Massachusetts Avenue and appear to date to the second quarter of the 19th century, or as late as ca. 1850. <br />These alterations occurred either at this time (1840-50) or as part of renovations subsequently undertaken in ca. 1885. The central hall floor was painted in imitation of grey marble with black veining. This occurred either as part of the original <br />construction in ca. 1789 or may date to this period. This surface was covered by narrow flooring installed ca. 1885 and only revealed when that floor was removed in 2021. It is unknown if any of the other rooms in the house had decoratively painted <br />floors. <br />The mantels in the southwest parlor and in the southeast, or best chamber, on the second floor contain a mix of neoclassical and Greek Revival details, typically reflecting a date closer to the beginning of the second quarter of the 19th century than other <br />work seen in the house. It is, however, possible that the mechanic who constructed them simply took a conservative approach to their design, and that they are contemporary with the 1840-50 work. <br /> Ca. 1885 Alterations <br />Alterations dating to ca. 1885 included the installation narrow board hardwood flooring in the south rooms and center passage on both levels (first-floor flooring removed in 2021). The refacing or replacement of the risers, treads and stringer edges of the <br />main stair with oak and oak veneer was contemporary with this work. Other improvements in the entrance hall include installation of a lobed brass knob on the front door. <br /> A beveled mirror with gessoed frame was fitted into the crosseted frame over the east parlor mantel at this time. Recesses <br />flanking this fireplace were modified by the addition of flattened arches and modifications to the wainscot, possibly pointing to the removal of a door or doors which communicated with the kitchen, to the north. <br /> A glazed doors were added to the built-in china closet in the north wall of the west parlor, adjacent to the fireplace in that room. <br />There may have been a previous cabinet in this same location, as the profile of the associated architrave predates this period. A solid door may have been replaced. Hearths in the east and west parlors were reconstructed at this time. The current owners