|
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 198 EAST STREET
<br /> MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
<br /> 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
<br /> 0 2217
<br /> ❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
<br /> If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
<br /> Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets.
<br /> ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
<br /> Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
<br /> 198 East Street occupies an ample lot on the north side of East Street, a main connector road through East Lexington, not far
<br /> from its intersection with Lowell Street. The building is set relatively close to the street edge, with the land sloping gradually up
<br /> towards the back of the property. Maintained chiefly with lawn, the site also contains a fieldstone retaining wall with poured
<br /> concrete ends along the street edge, concrete steps and a flagstone walk to the front entrance, and a paved driveway to the
<br /> right of the house with a parking area at the end. Foundation plantings and scattered trees comprise the natural landscaping.
<br /> The building consists of a 2 '/2 story main block with one-story side and rear appendages, decks, and porches, and two detached
<br /> outbuildings.
<br /> The three by two bay main block rises from a fieldstone foundation to a side gable roof. Walls are clad with artificial siding and
<br /> trim. Windows typically have 2/1, possibly original or early double-hung sash with no trim. A hip roofed enclosed porch is
<br /> centered on the fagade, with modern casement and picture windows and a wood stairway, and narrow sidelights on its single
<br /> leaf door. A pair of windows is centered above. The outer bays of the fagade have a single window, vertically aligned, on each
<br /> floor. The gable ends are pedimented on both of the side elevations. The right side elevation is symmetrical, with two windows
<br /> on each of the lower floors and paired windows in the attic story. The left side elevation contains a one-story side extension with
<br /> one window centered in the fagade, an exterior chimney on its left side elevation that is centered between two narrow windows,
<br /> and a flat roof with a modern roof deck. Two symmetrical single windows occur on the second story, and paired windows are
<br /> centered in the attic story. The rear elevation is not clearly visible from the street, but includes a small one-story addition at the
<br /> left corner and a two-story ell near the middle.
<br /> Two early outbuildings stand behind the house. Near the back corner of the house and the west property line is a small
<br /> shed/barn structure with a shed roof. Clad in wood shingles, the fagade of this structure has irregular fenestration, including a
<br /> large offset opening that has been turned into a glazed entrance bay. Near the back (north) property line is a long, one-story
<br /> barn structure with a low side gable roof, three pairs of plain double-leaf barn doors, and one pedestrian door at the left end. A 1
<br /> '/2 story, cross-gabled bay anchors the right end of the structure, on which are centered a pair of large, double-leaf barn doors.
<br /> This structure is clad with wood shingles and wood trim; no gable returns visible.
<br /> 198 East Street is an important and uncommon example of turn of the 20th century, rural residential design in Lexington.
<br /> Although it has lost its original siding and trim, the house is notable for its proximity to the street, large lot, substantial volume,
<br /> pedimented gable ends, and extant agricultural outbuildings.
<br /> HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
<br /> Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state)history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s)the
<br /> owners/occupants played within the community.
<br /> Appearing as early as the 17th century, East Street is an important early road, facilitating access to the farmland of East
<br /> Lexington and connecting to the adjacent town of Woburn. Names attached to houses on the north side of this stretch of East
<br /> Street during the 19th and early 20th centuries include Harrington and Johnson (1853), M. O'Connor(1875), and J. Crowley
<br /> (1898, 1906). The 1898 and 1906 maps also appear to indicate the long barn that currently stands to the northeast of the
<br /> house. Unfortunately, due to the lack of accurate building footprints, these maps do not conclusively date the present house.
<br /> Jeremiah Crowley, farmer, may have been living on this property as early as 1880; members of the Crowley family remained
<br /> here at least through 1920. Jeremiah and his wife Julia were both Irish immigrants, and occupied the farm with their four
<br /> Continuation sheet I
<br />
|