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HomeMy WebLinkAboutberwick-road_0012 FORM B -BUILDING Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 63/65 Boston N. 1036 Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building _ = Town Lexington Place (neighborhood or village) Upper Meriam Hill — Address 12 Berwick Road - Historic Name Ernest&Charlotte Rowe House Uses: Present Residential —" - Original Residential <' Date of Construction 1921 Source Lexington Valuation Lists t Style/Form Colonial Revival Architect/Builder unknown ' Exterior Material: Foundation stone .. Wall/Trim vinyl siding/wood Roof asphalt shingle Sk.tc a Outbuildings/Secondary Structures , garage facing Meriam Street .rte JIuN1rc� td • Major Alterations (with dates) c.1980 -vinyl siding d r F ` h Condition good pl \ Moved ® no ❑ yes Date rna - Acreage 16,000 SF Recorded by Lisa Mausolf Setting early 20th century residential neighborhood Organization Lexington Historical Commission Date (month/year) May 2000 Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. BUILDING FORM(12 Berwick Road) ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the community. Located at the northwest corner of Berwick Road and Meriam Street, 12 Berwick Road is a 2 1/2-story, 3 x 2-bay, side- gabled dwelling which rests on a mortared stone foundation. With the exception of the wooden watertable, molded window surrounds and projecting eaves with returns,the building has been sheathed in vinyl siding. The center entrance contains a six-panel door flanked by partial sidelights. The gabled entrance porch displays a"distyle in antis"arrangement of two columns set between wooden posts. The underside of the gable is arched. Resting on the roof of the entrance porch is a three-sided bay window with a 1/1 window on each face. Remaining windows on the house consist primarily of 6/1 sash and are flanked by louvered shutters. The west end of the house is fronted by a single-story open porch;the hip roof is supported by square posts which are spanned by a low vinyl-sided wall. The east end is spanned by a single-story, enclosed sunporch with continuous 2 x 2-light windows. The 16,000 square foot lot displays extensive ornamental plantings. A wooden picket fence marks the streetline. To the east of t7iie house, facing Meriam Street is a gablefront garage resting on a concrete foundation and sheathed in vinyl siding. There a is wide overhead door. I 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 was constructed in 1921 for Ernest and Charlotte Rowe. The 1920 Lexington Valuation List indicates that Ernest H. Rowe was assessed for lot 53 in the Oakmount Park subdivision(initially laid out in 1903, Middlesex County South Plan Book 154, Plan 3). The following year, Ernest Rowe of Arlington was assessed for an unfinished house with a value of $5000 on the same lot. Ir. 1922 the value of the house was set at$6000. Directories indicate that the house was initially known as 17 Berwick Road,was renumbered 21 Berwick Road in the late 1920s and remained that number until about 1935 when it became 12 Berwick Road. Directories indicate that Ernest Rowe was employed as a treasurer; he died prior to 1926 although Mrs. Rowe continued to live here for several years. Later owners of the house included Alfred Adler in the 1930s and Charles and Martha Norris in the 1950s and 1960s. Stephen and Edeltraud Bradley purchased the house in 1970. BIPLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Le)dngton Assessors Records. Lexington 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.