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BUILDING FORM
<br /> ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ❑ see continuation sheet
<br /> Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
<br /> 20 Adams St. is one of the earliest examples of Willard Brown's work as well as one of Lexington's well-preserved high-style
<br /> Craftsman houses. The house is basically rectangular with a rear ell and many projecting bays, 2`/2 stories in height, and has a
<br /> side-gabled roof with an end ridge and a side chimney. It is on a fieldstone foundation, clad with wood clapboards, and has an
<br /> asphalt shingle roof. The main entry is on the south side and the windows are small-paned casement and 6/1 double hung sash. In
<br /> addition to its massing,this house has many details that emphasize its relationship to 18 Adams St. (MHC#701), most notably
<br /> the modillions under a pent roof in the front gable, a similar feature in both houses. Other similarities are the facing side
<br /> entrances, the numerous cross-gabled bays,the curved exposed rafter ends, and the curved fascia boards. The molded rafters
<br /> under the front entry roof and oriel at this house are similar to, but slightly different from,those under the front entry roof at 18
<br /> Adams St. In addition, the arched cut-out with square shoulders between the paired porch posts at this house echoes the shape of
<br /> the lights in the front door at 18 Adams St. Distinctive features of this house include the flattened Tudor arches and paired posts
<br /> on both the front and side porches, the front oriel with a similar flattened Tudor arch window head and walls that flare outward at
<br /> the base,the hip-roofed oriel with a dentil course at the cornice and small-paned windows facing 18 Adams St., shed-roofed
<br /> dormers, and a gable-roofed rear ell. This house has a front-gabled, shingled three-car garage with flattened-arch doors with key
<br /> blocks similar to those in the garage at 56 Hancock St. (MHC#733).
<br /> HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ❑ see continuation sheet
<br /> Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the
<br /> role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.
<br /> This house was designed in 1902-1903 by Lexington architect Willard D. Brown (see 8 Adams St., MHC#697) for Freeman J.
<br /> Doe. Doe and his brother, Charles (see 18 Adams St., MHC#701), wanted similar houses facing each other on Adams St. but
<br /> with separate driveways and a fence between them. Brown reportedly tried to dissuade them from building so close together,
<br /> facing each other and the fence, but they prevailed and the result is this house and the one at 18 Adams St.
<br /> Freeman J. Doe (1829-1913)was born in South Newbury, Vt. and came to Boston in 1847 when he was 18. For three years he
<br /> worked for the firm of Chamberlain &Hall in the Faneuil Hall Market district and then, in 1850, became a partner in the firm,
<br /> which was renamed Chamberlain, Kimball &Doe. In 1868, after Kimball died, a new firm—Gass, Doe& Chapin—was formed,
<br /> and it,after Chapin's retirement, became Gass, Doe & Co. After Gass' death in 1899, Doe and John J. Sullivan, another member
<br /> of the former firm, established Doe, Sullivan & Co. This firm, a dealer in cheese,was still operating in the Quincy Market
<br /> building in the 1970s and continued there for several years after the market was renovated in 1976.
<br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ❑ see continuation sheet
<br /> Lexington Minute-man, 6 December 1902.
<br /> Schoenhut, Sarah Emily Brown to Anne A. Grady, 13 March 1984. In possession of Anne A. Grady, Lexington, MA.
<br /> Woburn Daily Times, 16 July 1913.
<br /> ❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National
<br /> Register Criteria Statement form.
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