HomeMy WebLinkAboutbedford-street_0186 FORM B - BUILDING
Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 10064000068 Boston N. L_J 765, 766
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD Town Lexington
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Place (neighborhood or village)
Address 186 Bedford St.
to
ll Historic Name Ambrose M. Cushing/Kramer House
i II
is -Uses: Present Community Service Center
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Original Residential
VIII Date of Construction 1874
Source Lexington Valuation lists
IIII �
Style/Form Second Empire
Architect/Builder
Exterior Material:
. Foundation Brick
o Wall/Trim Vinyl Siding
aRoof Asphalt Shingle
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures Barn
-.'.-..
Major Alterations(with dates)
Enclosed porch, rear and side additions (dates unknown)
Condition Fair
Moved ® no ❑ yes Date
Acreage 1.4 A.
Setting In a commercial district; set back on a circular
driveway from a street with constant traffic
Recorded by Nancy S. Seasholes
Organization Lexington Historical Commission
Date(month/year) April 1998
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ❑see continuation sheet
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
186 Bedford St. (MHC#765) is one of the few large Second Empire houses is Lexington but has lost some of its architectural
integrity. The house is square with a rear ell, 2'/z stories,three-by-three bays, and has a mansard roof with three pilastered side
chimneys. The rear ell is three-by-one bays,two stories, and hip-roofed with a chimney. The house is set on a brick foundation,
clad with vinyl siding, and roofed with asphalt shingles. In the reentrant angle is a second-story addition that forms an overhang
supported by posts over a rear porch. On the north elevation is a long one-story addition on a cement foundation. The center
entrance has its original double front door with panels that echo the design of the dormers fascias;there is a secondary entry on the
south elevation; and windows are 2/2 double hung sash. The wraparound porch is now enclosed. There are three gabled dormers
on the facade and two on each side;the one in the projecting center bay has a clipped gable. All the dormers have decorative
fascia boards and brackets at the eaves. Under the flared eaves of the roof are curved exposed rafter ends and, in the projecting
center bay, curved braces. On the south elevation are a small paired window over the secondary entry and a small oval stained-
glass window under the cornice. On the north elevation is a two-story three-sided bay. The front-gabled barn (MHC#766) is 1'/:
stories and three-by-three bays. It has a cupola vent with a steep hip roof clad with slates, picket-fence siding and a hay door in
the gable, an exterior chimney,windows and doors on the first floor, and a shed-roofed addition at the rear.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ❑ see continuation sheet
Discuss 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.
Lexington assessors' records indicate that this house was built in 1874 by an Ambrose M. Cushing, who had acquired the land
that same year. Cushing did not own the house very long,however, and it was acquired in 1888 by a Sebastian Kramer,who
moved to Lexington from Newton and worked in Boston.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ❑ see continuation sheet
Lexington Directory. 1894, 1899, 1906.
Lexington Valuation Lists. 1873-1875.
Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Deeds. Cambridge, MA. 1296: 212.
❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National
Register Criteria Statement form.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
Lexington 186 Bedford St.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 765, 766
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
a (
9
Roll#17,Negative 44