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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 19 HANCOCK STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 0 2133 ❑ 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. 19 Hancock Street occupies a large lot that slopes up gradually to the rear. Maintained chiefly in lawn, the property includes an evergreen hedge at the front and foundation plantings. A straight brick walkway extends between the house and the street and is lined with shrubbery. The building consists of a 2 story main block and a wing at the back right corner, which contains a carport accessed from Goodwin Circle. The rectangular main block rises two stories to a side gable roof(no gable returns)with a saltbox form on the right side. The roof of the main block is clad with terra cotta tile. A two-story cross-gabled wing on the left side of the house projects slightly; at the interface of the two volumes is a wide entrance pavilion with a steep gable roof, large recessed entryway, and a thin rectangular window centered in the peak. Walls are clad in brick veneer in an English cross bond pattern of alternating course of headers and stretchers. "Live edge"wood siding sheathes the gable peaks of the main block and the visible elevations of the rear wing. Windows typically have multi-light, steel casement sash with brick sills and wood or metal-faced lintels. An exterior chimney rises from the right side elevation of the main block, and an end wall chimney on the right rear wing is flush with but exposed on the exterior sheathing; both chimneys have terra cotta chimney pots. The fagade has a variety of asymmetrically set single, double, and triple window sash. The right side elevation contains an exterior chimney in the center, flanked by two windows of various sizes on the first floor and one window on the second floor. The left side elevation has brick buttress elements extending from the front and rear wall planes, asymmetrical windows of various sizes, and a single-leaf doorway offset towards the front. The right rear wing has a gable roof parallel to the portion of the main block to which it is attached. Its saltbox roof accommodates a change of level between the front and back elevations, a large pair of 12-light windows at the front fagade, and an open upper level at the back. Well preserved and generally well maintained, 19 Hancock Street is an idiosyncratic version of the locally distinctive Tudor Revival style, executed on a relatively large scale. Although it suffers from inappropriate re-pointing, the house is notable for its picturesque massing, unusual brick coursing pattern and side buttresses, tile roof and chimney pots, use of steel sash and live edge siding, and formal setting. 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. Established by the early 18th century, Hancock Street is one of the radial roads leading outward from the meeting house in the town center. Numerous houses were already in place along the street by 1853, and by 1875 fashionable residences occupied most of the western side of the street. The eastern side of Hancock Street borders Merriam Hill and was more sparsely developed. By 1898, this property was part of a small, planned development known as Colonial Park, which consisted of 10 lots laid out around the loop road now called Goodwin Drive on what had been the estate of M. H. Merriam. Merriam moved to Oakland Street and left his house standing in the center of the loop road. Assessors' records for 19 Hancock Street show a construction date of 1921, which is generally supported by the historical records. The house appears on the historic maps between 1918 and 1927. The house was built for a prominent naval architect, Norman Skene (1878-1932), who graduated from MIT's School of Naval Architecture in 1901 and became pre-eminent as a Continuation sheet I