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BUILDING FORM (36 North Hancock Street) ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the community. The house at 36 North Hancock Street is a 2 1/2-story,gablefront dwelling which is set above a rubble foundation. The building is sheathed in wood clapboards with decorative shingles laid in staggered butt and diamond patterns filling the top of the gable. Dentil trim extends along the tops of the attic windows, down the sides of the gable and wrapping around the building at the cornice level. Capped by a gable pent,the facade is two-bays wide. The sidehall entrance is sheltered by a single-story wide porch constructed c.1998 and incorporating typical Queen Anne-style features including turned posts, stick balusters, simple newels and dentil trim. Above the entrance is a single 1/1 sash. Adjacent to the entrance is a two-story, three-sided bay window. Window openings contain a mix of 2/1 and 1/1 sash with a three-sided, single-story bay window at the rear of the west elevation. A 2 1/2-story cross gable with cornice returns projects slightly from the east elevation. Extending behind the main house block is a modem, single-story wing which steps back in two sections,terminating in a deck. The house is setback from the road on a level 20,500 square foot lot. A paved driveway extends to the west of the house, terminating at a modern two-car garage (1968)sheathed in clapboards with two overhead doors on the gable front. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Des�ribe 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. It appears that this house was constructed about 1898 for Charles and Aleph Bertwell. The earliest assessment found for the property indicates that in 1899 Charles F. Bertwell was assessed for a house valued at$2300 and 4 1/2 acres of land. (There is no entry for Bertwell in the 1897 Val. List and the 1898 List was not available.) According to the town history, Charles Bertwell was born in 1855 and came to Lexington in 1897. Early directories indicate that Bertwell was employed as a wood turner;after 1918 his occupation is listed as that an officer at the House of Correction. In 1942 the directory lists Mrs. Aleph Robbins in residence. From c.1950 to c.1960 the house was occupied by Russell and Eleanor Bailey. Later owners include Leonard and Elizabeth Colwell, Don and Lynne Yansen and Fred and Nancy Knickerbocker. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913. Lexington Assessors Records. Lexington Directories,various dates. Lexington Valuation Lists,various dates. Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attached a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.