HomeMy WebLinkAboutberwick-road_0001 FORM B -BUILDING
Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
63/52 Boston N. 1031
Town Lexington
f Place (neighborhood or village) Upper Meriam Hill
-- —� f, r��%� Address 1 Berwick Road
Historic Name Percy Irvine House
Uses: Present Residential
ttr Original Residential
' 7
7T Date of Construction 1908
l 1
Source Lexington Minute-man, 5/30/1908
Style/Form Shingle Style/Dutch Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder unknown
Exterior Material:
t
Foundation rubble
Wall/Trim wood shingle/vinyl siding
Roof asphalt shingle
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
garage
:0°
Major Alterations (with dates) c.1980 -vinyl siding
a
` on all but facade
Condition good
" Moved ® no ❑ yes Date
Acreage 16,081 SF
Recorded by Lisa Mausolf Setting early 20th c. residential neighborhood
Organization Lexington Historical Commission
Date (month/year) April-May 2000
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM (1 Berwick Road)
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 Berwick Road and Hayes Avenue, 1 Berwick Road is an early 20th century residence that
combines elements of the Shingle Style and the Dutch Colonial styles. The two-story dwelling rests on a rubble foundation
and is capped by an asphalt-shingled gambrel roof with a two-story, gambrel-roofed wing to the east. The house was
originally sheathed in wood shingles; all but the principal facade have been covered in vinyl sidimg. On the north, three-bay
wide facade of the main house the gambrel roof displays a pronounced overhang which is embellished by exposed braces with
end knobs. The center entrance is fronted by a projecting entrance porch supported by two pairs of bulbous Doric columns.
The original door has been replaced by a modern four-panel door with built-in upper lights. On either side of the entrance is
a set of three doublehung windows displaying diamond-paned upper sashes over a single pane lower sash. The entire facade,
including the wing is fronted by a wooden deck with a stick balustrade, knobbed newel posts and a latticed airspace. The
front roof slope of the main block is spanned by a shed dormer;the wing has a one-bay, shed-roofed dormer. Centered over
the entrance, a hip-roofed projection emerges with a diamond-paned window flanked by leaded geometric doublehung sash.
The predominant window on the house is the doublehung window with diamond-paned upper sash. Multi-light hinged
windows are visible on the rear porch projection at the west end.
The 16,081 square foot lot is level and includes large pine trees at the corner and additional pine trees screening the west end
with maples along the street. A brick walk leads to the front door. A driveway along the east end of the house terminates at a
hipAoofed garage with two individual overhead doors. The garage is sheathed in wood shingles and displays exposed rafters.
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 ownersioccupants played within the community.
The land on which this ho ise sits (Lot 60 of the Oakmount Park subdivision)was sold by the Oakmount Park Trustees to
Caroline A. Harrington in 1907. According to a brief mention appearing in the Lexington Minute man on May 30, 1908,
Harrington sold the lot to Percy Irvine who planned to build an attractive house with a gambrel roof and shingled sides. In
1909 Irvine was assessed for a house valued at$5,400 situated on Lot 60 of the Oakmount Park subdivision. Irvine was an
insurance agent who worked in Boston and apparently lived in the house for only a short time.
By 1913 the house was occupied by Edward Sawyer, who was in the lumber business in Cambridge. His widow, Dora
continued to own the house into the 1930s. Later owners include Elton McCausland(c.1940-1950) and Roswell &Julia
Farnham(c.1960+).
Prior to the mid 1930s this house was known as 2 Berwick Road.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Lexington Assessors Records.
&-mington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Minute-man, 7/6/1907; 5/30/1908.
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.
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