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ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.) A house of simple exterior design with rectangular oriel window lighting the staircase and doorway with plain bracketed hood, the building's chief interest lies in the architectural elements from well-known buildings which were incorporated into the interior finishes. These include the following. 1. From the old Springfield Tavern where Washington had his headquarters: the wood panelling, the window trim and the rosettes (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 house was built in 1902 for Albin Rufus Reed, a vocal music teacher in Boston who had resided at 45 Percy Road since 1894. Reed's son, Edward G. Reed, designed the house at a remarkably young age. Edward's sister (b. 1893) recently communicated the circumstances of its design and construction: When Edward was young, he spent his free hours at a desk designing houses and house plans. At age 14 he designed the original Wildacre. The beauty of the interior was planned around years of collecting. Our father, Albin Rufus Reed, bought the woodwork of old Boston homes when they were torn down by wreckers to make room for new buildings. [The house was written up in Boston Sunday papers in the magazine section at least twice 5. 1910-191,. Edward Reed graduated from Harvard in 1908 with a degree in architecture, having already designed another house in Lexington by that date (1 Bennington Road . He turned down a Rhodes scholarship to accept a scholarship to the Ecole r desBeaux Arts in Paris. Upon return to Boston he was employed by Charles Greco, architect. He later went to Cleveland to open a branch office for Greco. After serving in World War I, Reed opened his own office in Cleveland and remained in practice there until World War II. Thereafter he practiced in Santa Maria, Cali- formia. Buildings he designed include many homes in the Cleveland area; the Har- vey Firestone house in Akron; the house for George Humphrey, Secretary of the (see Continuation Sheet) BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher) Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) correspondence file. Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts 1620-1946. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Savings Bank, 1946. Twitchell, Rosamond Reed, Letter to Marcia Dane, May 9, 1984. !' Benjamin, Asher, The Practice of Architecture. Boston: Published by the Author and Carter, Hendo and Co. , 1833. r` 10M - 7/82