HomeMy WebLinkAboutadams-street_0025 FORM B -BUILDING
Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
63/32 Boston N. 1019, 1020
Massachusetts Historical Commission
-— — Town Lexington
gton
Place (neighborhood or village)
Address 25 Adams Street
Historic Name George &Anna Russell House
Uses: Present Residential
1 = Original Residential
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- _ Date of Construction 1905
Source Lexington Valuation Lists
Style/Form Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder unknown
Exterior Material:
Foundation fieldstone
Wall/Trim wood shingles
r, �� / •� ; Roof asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
c. 1920 jerkinhead-roofed garage (MHC #1020)
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Major Alterations (with dates) date? -glazed vestibule
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Condition good
Moved E no ❑ yes Date
Acreage 13,290 SF
Recorded by Lisa Mausolf Setting corner lot, mixed 20th century residential
Organization Lexington Historical Commission neighborhood
Date (monthlyear) June 2000
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM (25 Adams Street)
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the
community.
Located at the northeast corner of Adams and Meriam Streets, 25 Adams Street(MHC #1019) is a good example of the
Colonial Revival style of the early 20th century. The two-story,hip-roofed dwelling is set above a rubble foundation and
sheathed in wood shingles. The three-bay facade is spanned by a single-story porch supported by clusters of three Roman
Doric columns that are echoed by single pilasters mounted on the facade. The columns are spanned by a turned balustrade.
A center pediment decorated by modillions marks the entrance. Both the pediment and adjacent porch display a plain frieze.
The entrance is sheltered by a glazed projecting vestibule and is flanked by large 2/2 windows with blinds. Above the
entrance, on the second floor of the facade, a three-sided bay window rests on the porch roof and is lit by 2/1 windows with
the adjacent windows identical to those on the first floor. A bold modilion cornice wraps around the building and a pair of
hip-roofed dormers rise from the front and rear roof slopes. The asphalt-shingled hip roof is crowmed by a balustrade of
simple square posts arranged in an intersecting, star-like pattern.
On the remaining elevations,the shingles are flared between the first and second stories. There is an exterior brick chimney
on the north elevation and a single-story,three-sided bay window.
The yard is enclosed by a simple wooden picket fence and there is a mature maple tree adjacent to the concrete front walk
rwith large pine trees near Meriam Street. A stone wall marks the northern property line. To the north of the house is a side-
gabled, wood-shingled garage (MHC #1020)which is capped by a jerkinhead roof There are two sets of double doors on
Ae broad facade. Each leaf displays 4 x 2 lights over four vertical panels. Other fenestration on the garage includes a 6/1
window and a vertical board door in the attic.
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.
This house is located on Lot 49 of the Oakmount Park subdivision. The earliest valuation record found for the property
indicates that in 1906 Anna Russell was assessed for a house on the 13,290 square foot lot. Directories indicate that her
husband was employed as a bookkeeper at 141 Milk Street in Boston. The Russells continued to live here into the late 1910s.
By 1920 the house was occupied by Nathan and Mary Bidwell. He was a lawyer. The house was known as 13 Adams Street
until about 1927, and as 15 Adams Street until the mid 1930s. In addition to this property, the Bidwells also owned two
other houses on Adams Street, which were identified as 10 and 12 Adams Street in 1920. The Bidwells continued to own 25
Adams Street until the 1940s. Donald and Allegra Fifield owned and occupied the house from the late 1940s until 1990.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Lexington Assessors Records.
JLexington 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.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
Lexington 25 Adams Street
Massachusetts Historical Commission Area(s) Form No.
Massachusetts Archives Building
220 Morrissey Boulevard 1019, 1020
Boston, Massachusetts 02125
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