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BUILDING FORM (7 School Street) ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the community. The house at 7 School Street is a 1 3/4-story, wood-shingled dwelling resting on a rubble foundation. The most distinctive feature of the building is its roof which displays a steeply pitched gable slope on the north side and a gambrel profile to the rear. Screened by pine trees on the front, north side of the house,the gable roof slope extends to shelter a recessed porch, supported by four Roman Doric columns resting on a rubble wall. Sheltered by the porch, the front door contains a varnished glass-and-panel door with two 8/1 windows and a diamond-paned window adjacent. Two gable dormers and a shed dormer rise from the front slope of the asphalt-shingled roof, and one gabled dormer on the rear. On the side elevations,the shingles are flared above the first floor openings which include a five-side oriel with single paned windows topped by 4 x 3-light transoms. Remaining windows consist primarily of 8/1 sash with smaller 6/1 lighting the attic. Extending to the south of the main house block is a 1 1/2-story gambrel-roofed ell which is fronted by an open deck of recent construction. On the east wall the glass-and-panel door is flanked by 6/1 windows. Gabled, shingled dormers also contain 6/1 sash. The overhang of the lateral eaves on the ell is marked at the corner by a flared, shingled bracket. To the south of the ell is a small hip-roofed shed displaying exposed rafters. Vertical boards have replaced the original side walls. The shingled front elevation has vertical beadboard hinged doors. The east side of the house is fronted by a circular paved driveway. The facade is largely obscured by vegetation and a house has recently been constructed between the facade and Mass. Ave. r HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Describe 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 for Frank Reynolds about 1907. A brief mention in the Lexington Minute-man on August 31, 1907 indicated that Frank Reynolds had just purchased the large property on Concord Hill, known as the Crosby estate. (The Crosby Farm, formerly known as the Hartley Farm,burned to the ground in October 1893 -see Minute-man, October 13, 1893.) Reynolds and his family had occupied a farm and home place on Cedar Street for about thirty-five years. The new property,totaling between thirty-five and forty acres was described as being located at the corner of School Street and Mass. Ave. The 1908 Town Valuation list indicates that Reynolds was assessed for a house valued at$3000, a barn valued at$1000 as well as 35 acres of land. Reynolds (b.1863) farmed the land and ran a teaming business. Later directories describe him as a market gardener. The Reynolds continued to own the property until about 1930 when it was conveyed to Frank Thompson. Members of the Thompson family continued to own the property until 1986. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1913. Lexington Assessors Records. Lexington Directories, various dates. Jexington Minute-man, 8/31/1907. 1 exington 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.