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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 3 FRANKLIN ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 �H 2118 ❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. 3 Franklin Road rambles across a large, open lot with a deep and wide front setback that is maintained chiefly in lawn. The land slopes gently up from the street, with mature street trees, foundation plantings along the front of the building, and a wooded back yard. A semi-circular paved driveway runs through the front yard, with a brick walkway between the driveway and the front entrance, and a fieldstone retaining wall to the side of the garage. The building consists of a 1 '/2 story main block with a series of consecutively lower and narrower side ells, terminating in an attached garage. Walls are sheathed with wood clapboards and trimmed with flat corner boards and cornice molding; no gable returns except at the garage. Windows have multi-light double-hung sash with wood trim and wide louvered shutters; modest cornice moldings ornament the fagade windows on the main block and first ell. The three by two bay main block at the right end of the building has a side gable roof and a wide interior chimney at the center of the ridgeline. Its three-bay facade has a recessed, offset entrance, consisting of pilasters on the main wall, paneled side walls, a single-leaf paneled door with half-height sidelights, and low brick steps with bluestone treads. Windows on this fagade have 8/12 sash. The right side elevation of this block has a salt-box form, with one 8/8 window and an angled bay window on the first floor and an 8/8 window centered in the gable peak. A large flat-roofed addition extends from the back right corner of this block; it has no windows on its street elevation. Immediately to the left of the main block is a slightly recessed ell with one 8/12 window centered on its fagade. A smaller wing to its left has an angled bay window with a hip roof. To its left is a breezeway structure with a segmentally-arched opening in the center and a 6/6 window to its right. The garage at the far left end of the building is attached at an angle, with two vehicle bays in its front gable and a small 6/6 window centered above. The garage doors are framed with minimalist pilasters and blind segmental arches. The right side elevation of the garage contains two 8/8 windows. Well preserved and well maintained, 3 Franklin Road is a handsome and well-detailed example of mid-20th century Colonial Revival residential design in Lexington. It is notable for its informal massing, ample proportions, recessed main entrance, and generous lot. 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. At the turn of the 201h century, this area was part of the Hayes estate, which was gradually subdivided and developed with houses in the 20th century. Franklin Road was laid out between 1906 and 1918, but development was slow, at least along the leg of the road perpendicular to Meriam Street. The area bordered by Meriam Street, Hayes Avenue, Castle Road, and Franklin Road was the location of Francis B. Hayes's Victorian mansion, "Oakmount", which was demolished in 1941. The assessors' records for this house show a construction date of 1956, which is consistent with research done to date; the current resident reports that Royal Barry Wills was the architect. The first known occupants of the house were Frederick Johnson, in real estate, his wife Marjorie, and Bruce K. Johnson (likely their son), who was in the insurance business (1960). The Johnson family resided here at least through 1965. Continuation sheet I