HomeMy WebLinkAboutaudubon-road_0002 FORM B -BUILDING
Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
50/41 Boston N. 1023
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Massachusetts Archives Building
1
Town Lexington
�� (( Place (neighborhood or village)
Address 2 Audubon Road
Historic Name Fred&Ida Newhall House
Uses: Present Residential
rr
y Original Residential
Date of Construction 1911
. Source Lexington Valuation Lists
,ILII f .
Style/Form Shingle/Craftsman Style
r Architect/Builder Willard Brown
Exterior Material:
��- Foundation stone
$ Wall/Trim wood shingles
Roof asphalt shingle
500 E 670,000
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
13�9 i
N90 attached garage
26J L
N:
Q s os
/ VEN JE \ Major Alterations (with dates) 2000 -rear addition
Condition good
\ Moved ® no El yes Date
/ r Acreage 12,775 SF
Recorded by Lisa Mausolf Setting early 20th century residential area at corner
Organization Lexington Historical Commission of Mass. Ave.
Date (month/year) April 2000
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM (2 Audubon Road)
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the
community.
(see also ZoMe(jxr✓t S'�'� MgC�3of'2,
An eclectic early 20th century dwelling designed by local architect Willard BrownA2 Audubon Road is a 2 1/2-story, side-
gabled dwelling which is sheathed in wood shingles above a rubble stone foundation. The house is oriented with its broad
facade facing Audubon and its north gable end facing Mass. Ave. The curving up of the eave line into a flattened ellipse is a
feature which is seen on several other known Brown designs including 28 Merriam Street(MHC#385).
At the north end of the west facade, the sidehall entry is fronted by wooden steps with a stick balustrade. It is sheltered by a
gable with a curved raking and is supported by two large brackets. The front door has 3 x 3-panes over two recessed panels.
The door surround is earred at the bottom. Adjacent to the entrance, a single-story, shed roofed section projects about a foot
from the front wall, with the wood shingles extending nearly to the ground. The projection displays exposed rafters and is
punctuated by a set of three 6/1 windows. To the south of the projection,the front wall of the house is punctuated by an
individual 6/1 window. The second floor of the facade is punctuated by three 6/1 windows. Above the windows, the edge of
the gable roof bulges, displaying exposed rafters. On the gable ends the projecting eaves display a raking which curves at the
ends, supported by brackets at the ends.
The south end of the house is two bays wide with 6/1 windows. Spanning the west half of the elevation is a wide wooden
porch displaying Craftsman-inspired porch posts consisting of clusters of thin square sticks with intersecting horizontals
)acting like a capital at the top. The porch posts are spanned by a porch railing consisting of sets of three stick balusters
alternating with a single wider baluster. The porch is set above a wooden base with inset latticed panels. The roofline
incorporates exposed rafters.
On the north end facing Mass. Ave. the placement of the windows is more random with 6/1 sash of several sizes and 3 x 2-
light fixed units. On the rear elevation the bulging roofline is repeated. At the northeast corner of the house is an addition
with lower level garage. Capped by a hip roof and nearly square in plan, each face of the building is punctuated by four 2 x
2-light windows placed high on the wall. The hip-roofed clerestory monitor top is lit by transom lights. Two arched lower
level entrances face Mass Avenue with vertical board doors. Between the house and the addition there is an angled corner
projection lit on each side by a 3 x 4-light window.
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. (See 2?7 t)O-1*aM SF� MA I1
The house at 2 Audubon Street was constructed in 1911 for Fred and Ida Newhall. In 1911 Fred Newh 1 of Saugus was
assessed for just the lot(part of Lot 20 on the 1903 Plan of land in Lexington owned by Augustus Scott). The following
year, Ida Newhall's assessment includes a house valued at$4,500. The house was designed by local architect Willard
Brown.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s the house was occupied by Harry and Ida Ripley. By 1942 Fred and Ingrid Newhall were
occupying the house. He was a bank officer of the Lexington Trust Company. The property was sold by the Newhalls to
Elinor and Henriette Oberteuffer in 1954.
L1 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 2 Audubon Road
Massachusetts Historical Commission Area(s) Form No.
Massachusetts Archives Building
220 Morrissey Boulevard 1023
Boston, Massachusetts 02125
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Grady, Anne. "The Architecture of Willard D. Brown." Paper submitted to AM 785, Boston University, 1986. On file at
the Lexington Historical Society, Lexington, MA.
Lexington Assessors Records.
Lexington Directories, various dates.
Lexington Valuation Lists, various dates.
Massachusetts Historical Commission, Lexington Survey.
Schoenhut, Sarah Emily Brown to Anne A. Grady. Correspondence in possession of Anne A. Grady, Lexington, Mass.
(Schoenhut list#13).
r a
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Massachusetts Historical Commission Community Property Address
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Lexington 2 Audubon Road
Area(s) Form No.
1023
National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form
Check all that apply:
❑x Individually eligible ❑ Eligible only in a historic district
❑ Contributing to a potential historic district ❑ Potential historic district
Criteria: ❑ A ❑ B ❑x C ❑ D
Criteria Considerations: ❑ A ❑ B ❑ C ❑ D ❑ E ❑ F ❑ G
Statement of Significance by: Lisa Mausolf
Justify criteria that are checked in the above sections:
The Fred and Ida Newhall House at 2 Audubon Road meets Criterion C for individual listing on the National Register as an
excellent and relatively unaltered example of the work of Willard Dalrymple Brown, a prominent Lexington architect. The
house possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials,workmanship, feeling and association.