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ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.) The design of this handsome addition to Lexington's architecture successfully overcomes several difficulties of site, location and pros?ram. The primary concern of the architects was to fit what is actually a veru large and complex building harmoniously into a residential neighborhood. In order to minimize the sense of the building's size it was broken un into small, interconnected units. In this way the residential scale could be` maintained without jeopardizing the requirements of the museum. Essentially, the (see Continuation Sheet) HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state history and how the building relates to the development of the community.) The museum was built by the Masonic Order as a gift to the nation at the time of the Bicentennial. The property combines the land of the former Charles Nunn estate adjacent to ':assachusetts Avenue and the Richard G. Tower estate along !•Iarrett Road. The substantial Italianate house of Charles :Nunn, a wool broker, occupied until the early 1970s a prominent site on the rise of land between 1:assachusetts Avenue and :Iarrett Road. The house of Richard Tower, partner in his father's brokerage firm, is now used as a :-:asonic headquarters. The estate of the father, 'villiam A. Tower, was inmediatell� north of the museum site. The Richard Tower house was designed by Fehmer and Page of Boston. The carriage house was moved by horses from the estate of William Augustus Tower, the site of which is now occupied by the Grey Nuns. 21Lrs. Dailey at 114 Marrett Road who was employed by the Towers, is the source of information. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher) riudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington. Historical Society, Volume II, p. 703. Boston: Houghton =Mifflin Company, 1913. 1689 atlas 1906 atlas 1867 Directory 1694 Directory 1899 Directory 1906 Directory Personal conmm ,unication from Larry P;hiyple. Plans in the possession of the owners. 10NI - 7/82