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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 6 Dover lane 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. This house was constructed in 1946 by architect Hugh Stubbins,Jr. for his own use,just a short distance from the Moon Hill development which was created by The Architects Collaborative(TAC). Like the nearby Moon Hill houses,the Stubbins House exhibits the influence of the International Style and was sited to blend in with the rural character of the property. The house is capped by a flat roof displaying a considerable overhang on the long, south elevation. The main house block is rectangular in plan with a covered walkway leading from the front door to the carport. The house is surrounded by several terraces outlined by low stone walls. The structure rests on a cinder block foundation. Exterior walls are constructed of two by four studs and four by four posts which are sheathed with vertical tongue and groove boarding. Windows include casements and large fixed glass windows which are without trim. The house was designed so that the central entrance opened directly past the dining alcove with living areas placed toward the back of the site with a view to the lawn and woods. With its own separate terrace, Stubbins' studio was located on the lower level as was a workshop, dark room, and private office. Heating was by radiant panels imbedded in the concrete floor slabs. The fireplace in the living room was constructed of local stone. The house originally contained furniture designed by the architect. Shortly after its construction,the house was featured in the April 1948 issue of Architectural Review. The design was lauded for its flexible, indoor-outdoor spaces which embodied an informal living style and reflected the architect's personality. The setting of the house has been altered by the reduction of the original 3.4 acres to 32,713 square feet. The wooded buffer which originally existed between the house and Pleasant Street has been lost due to the construction of a new house on this portion of the original lot. The house is now accessed from Dover Lane,which is lined by c.1985 houses. 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. This house was the first which architect Hugh Stubbins,Jr. (1912-2006) designed for himself,his wife and three children. It was completed in March 1947 and was published in Architectural Review in April 1948. The house was built at the base of Moon Hill,the planned community of architect-designed contemporary homes which was being constructed at about the same time by The Architects Collaboarative(TAC) [see Moon Hill area form,Area R]. It was originally known as 103 Pleasant Street. Hugh Stubbins subsequently moved to another house of his own design,this time in Cambridge, constructed in 1965. The Pleasant Street house was occupied by architect George Cunningham and his wife Martha from 1961 to 1966. Later owners included Toby Schneider(by 1972) and Gerald Cowperthwaite(1980-1991). The present owners purchased the property in 1991. Hugh Stubbins graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1931 and was awarded the MArch by the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1935. In the late 1930s he worked briefly with Royal Barry Wills. At the invitation of Walter Gropius, Stubbins taught for more than a decade during the 1940's and 1950's at the GSD; in 1954 he left teaching to devote himself to his architectural firm,which was to become a highly successful international practice. Stubbins is perhaps best-known as the architect of large-scale structures which have become recognizable landmarks in urban skylines: the Berlin Kongresshalle, Manhattan's Citicorp Building and Boston's Federal Reserve Bank. Stubbins is also widely recognized for his education-related designs,which range from a number of suburban school's to Harvard's Countway Library, Pusey Library and Loeb Drama Center(Harvard University, Stubbins Collection). Continuation sheet 1