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ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and evaluate in terms of other buildings Within the community.) The left hand (east) half of the house is the original, 1884 portion of the house. The right hand half was added c. 1906. The original house, designed by the same architects at the same date as 17 Oakland Street, was Queen Anne in style and decorative features included brackets at the eaves, patterned shingles in the small gable which extended above the hip roof, and an oriel window with a heavily molded base. Francis Allen, of the architectural firm which designed the house, later designed Riverside Church in New York in partnership with (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.) Edward Penniman Bliss, an importer of carriage goods in Boston, built the house. Bliss and George S. Jackson of 17 Oakland Street had been summer guests at the Massachusetts House for several summers. They decided to buy adjoining lots on the newly created Oakland Street and build houses. Jackson's was a summer residence at first; presumably, Bliss' was too. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher) Album of works by Willard Brown. Lexington Historical Society archives. Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society, Volume II, p. 34. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913. Lexington Minute Man, May 11, 1883, July 13, 1883. Plans of addition by Willard Brown in possession of owner. 1889 atlas 1906 atlas 1887 Directory '1894 Directory 1899 Directory 1906 Directory 10M - 7/82