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Home My WebLink Aboutconcord-avenue_0346 FORM B BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 10/24 2210 MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town/City: Lexington Place: (neighborhood or village): Photograph Address: 346 Concord Avenue Historic Name: Uses: Present: residential Original: residential Date of Construction: ca. 1920-26 Source: town directories; style _I Style/Form: Bungalow Architect/Builder: Exterior Material: Foundation: fieldstone North (facade) and west elevations Wall/Trim: artificial siding and trim Locus Map Roof: asphalt shingles W, Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: as Detached garage ------- Major Alterations(with dates): Artificial siding and enclosed front porch (L 201h c) y 3 Condition: fair Moved: no ❑ yes ❑ Date: Acreage: 0.85 _ Setting: Located on busy thoroughfare through south °J " Lexington, surrounded by widely spaced, mostly L 20tH century residential buildings. Low-rise, late 20th c apartment complex stands directly across street. Small commercial node nearby at the intersection of Concord Avenue and Waltham Street. Recorded by: Wendy Frontiero Organization: Lexington Historical Commission Date (month/year): September 2015 12/12 Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 346 CONCORD AVE. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 2210 ❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. 346 Concord Avenue occupies a large lot on the south side of a busy thoroughfare through south Lexington. The vicinity includes mostly late 20th century residential buildings, widely spaced, and a late 20th century apartment complex across the street. A small commercial node is located nearby to the west, at the intersection of Waltham Street. Maintained chiefly in lawn, the property slopes up gently to the rear(south). The building is set well back from the street. A circular, asphalt-paved driveway is centered in the front setback, and a row of three equally-spaced, nearly mature trees grows to the west of the driveway and house. The rectangular volume of the house rises 1 '/2 stories (plus an attic) above a fieldstone foundation and raised basement. The asymmetrical side-gabled roof has gable returns at the front corners; the front slope extends over what was originally a full- length front porch. Walls are presently clad with artificial siding and trim. Visible sash is typically double-hung; fenestration on the front and sides of the enclosed front porch may be fixed. One chimney is centered at the ridgeline. The fagade (north) elevation comprises two bays on the first floor, with modern windows in the west bay and an offset entrance in the east bay. A wood stairway with a simple, modern metal railing accesses the doorway; the door itself is not visible from the street. A wide shed dormer above contains three 2/1 windows. The asymmetrical west elevation has grouped windows on the first and half- stories, a shallow rectangular bay window with a shed roof projecting from the first floor, a small attic window centered in the gable peak, and two large basement windows. On the asymmetrical east elevation, a small side entrance is accented by a shed-roofed porch with square posts set on low walls, and what appear to be stone steps. The irregular fenestration on this elevation again culminates in a small attic window centered in the gable peak. A painted concrete block garage stands at the northwest corner of the lot, close to the street. The rectangular structure features a hip roof with exposed rafter ends; a nearly full-length, wood and glass paneled door on the street fagade; and a pair of horizontal, three-light windows set high on each of its side (east and west) elevations. The modest buildings at 346 Concord Avenue are in fair condition, and the house has lost historic integrity by the application of artificial siding, the removal of original wall and window trim, and the unsympathetic enclosure of the front porch. The property is notable, however, for its survival in an area of much later development, with its large lot, characteristic Bungalow form, and early garage intact. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE 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. Concord Avenue was established in 1806 as the Concord Turnpike, one of the radial highways connecting Boston with outlying communities. Waltham Street, located not far to the west of this property, was laid out by the early 18th century, providing access between Lexington's village center and more remote parts of the town, as well as to the adjacent town of Waltham. The sparse development that occurred along Concord Avenue in the 19th century tended to cluster near the intersection of these two important roads. Commercial dairy and produce farms became important in this part of Lexington during the mid 19th century. Between 1900 and 1906, a streetcar line was extended down Waltham Street, encouraging new residential development along its route. Continuation sheet 2 INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 346 CONCORD AVE. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 2210 346 Concord Avenue demonstrates Lexington's transition from an agricultural economy to a residential suburb in the early 20 th century. Land at the southeast quadrant of Concord Avenue and Waltham Street is identified as belonging to M. O'Brien as early as 1898, and several houses are standing in the vicinity by 1906, but they appear not to include what is now#346. The 1899 directory and 1900 U.S. census show Martin O'Brien, a farmer born in Ireland, living in a house on Waltham Street, near Concord Avenue, with his wife Julia, two daughters, two sons (both farm laborers), and three young German men also working as farm laborers. Between 1920 and 1926, William and Ruth Greer purchased and moved into the house at this address, and are identified here with their three young children in 1930. Both William and Ruth were born in Ireland; William worked as a chauffeur for a private family. The Greer family occupied the house at least through 1945. The house was subsequently occupied by Robert McCarthy, who worked in the post office, and his wife Betty, who lived here at least between 1955 and 1965. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Historic maps and atlases: Walling 1853; Beers 1875; Walker 1889; Stadly 1898; Walker 1906; Sanborn 1908, 1918, 1927, 1935, 1935/1950. Lexington Directories: 1899, 1906, 1908-09, 1913, 1922, 1926, 1934, 1936 Lexington List of Persons: 1935, 1945, 1955, 1965. Massachusetts Historical Commission. "MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Lexington." 1980. U.S. Census: 1900, 1920, 1930, 1940. SUPPLEMENTARY IMAGES F lop North ■■■■■■■■ North (facade) elevations of house and garage Garage: East and north (facade)elevation Continuation sheet 3