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Home My WebLink Aboutdover-lane_0006 FORM B — BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 8/170 Boston 1048 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION North MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town: Lexington Place: (neighborhood or village) Photograph East Lexington Address: 6 Dover Lane (was 103 Pleasant St.) Historic Name: Hugh and Diana Stubbins House -� Uses: Present: residential Original: residential 7,1 Date of Construction: 1946 Source: Lexington valuation lists Style/Form: International Style - _ Architect/Builder: Hugh Stubbins, Jr. : .:f+r•i ' t Exterior Material: Foundation: concrete block Wall/Trim: vertical boards Topographic or Assessor's Map Roof: tar and gravel Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: none Major Alterations(with dates): 4. x Condition: good Moved: no x yes Date 2s r Acreage: 0.76 acre t� $ Setting: mixed 20�" century neighborhood Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf Organization: Lexington Historical Commission Date(month/year): January 2010 Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 6 Dover lane MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. This house was constructed in 1946 by architect Hugh Stubbins,Jr. for his own use,just a short distance from the Moon Hill development which was created by The Architects Collaborative(TAC). Like the nearby Moon Hill houses,the Stubbins House exhibits the influence of the International Style and was sited to blend in with the rural character of the property. The house is capped by a flat roof displaying a considerable overhang on the long, south elevation. The main house block is rectangular in plan with a covered walkway leading from the front door to the carport. The house is surrounded by several terraces outlined by low stone walls. The structure rests on a cinder block foundation. Exterior walls are constructed of two by four studs and four by four posts which are sheathed with vertical tongue and groove boarding. Windows include casements and large fixed glass windows which are without trim. The house was designed so that the central entrance opened directly past the dining alcove with living areas placed toward the back of the site with a view to the lawn and woods. With its own separate terrace, Stubbins' studio was located on the lower level as was a workshop, dark room, and private office. Heating was by radiant panels imbedded in the concrete floor slabs. The fireplace in the living room was constructed of local stone. The house originally contained furniture designed by the architect. Shortly after its construction,the house was featured in the April 1948 issue of Architectural Review. The design was lauded for its flexible, indoor-outdoor spaces which embodied an informal living style and reflected the architect's personality. The setting of the house has been altered by the reduction of the original 3.4 acres to 32,713 square feet. The wooded buffer which originally existed between the house and Pleasant Street has been lost due to the construction of a new house on this portion of the original lot. The house is now accessed from Dover Lane,which is lined by c.1985 houses. 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. This house was the first which architect Hugh Stubbins,Jr. (1912-2006) designed for himself,his wife and three children. It was completed in March 1947 and was published in Architectural Review in April 1948. The house was built at the base of Moon Hill,the planned community of architect-designed contemporary homes which was being constructed at about the same time by The Architects Collaboarative(TAC) [see Moon Hill area form,Area R]. It was originally known as 103 Pleasant Street. Hugh Stubbins subsequently moved to another house of his own design,this time in Cambridge, constructed in 1965. The Pleasant Street house was occupied by architect George Cunningham and his wife Martha from 1961 to 1966. Later owners included Toby Schneider(by 1972) and Gerald Cowperthwaite(1980-1991). The present owners purchased the property in 1991. Hugh Stubbins graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1931 and was awarded the MArch by the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1935. In the late 1930s he worked briefly with Royal Barry Wills. At the invitation of Walter Gropius, Stubbins taught for more than a decade during the 1940's and 1950's at the GSD; in 1954 he left teaching to devote himself to his architectural firm,which was to become a highly successful international practice. Stubbins is perhaps best-known as the architect of large-scale structures which have become recognizable landmarks in urban skylines: the Berlin Kongresshalle, Manhattan's Citicorp Building and Boston's Federal Reserve Bank. Stubbins is also widely recognized for his education-related designs,which range from a number of suburban school's to Harvard's Countway Library, Pusey Library and Loeb Drama Center(Harvard University, Stubbins Collection). Continuation sheet 1 INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 6 Dover lane MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES "House at Lexington,Massachusetts—Hugh Stubbins,Jr., architect",Architectural Review,vol. CIII,April 1948. Hugh Stubbins Archive: The Early Years Collection, Special Collections Department,Frances Loeb Library,Harvard Design School,Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. • Folder: 13120.01 Photostats and Other Small Scale Drawings : Stubbins House(Lexington)/Date(s): 1947/Quantity: 1 item, 7 leaves/Dimensions: 12-1/2" x 19" /Medium: print/Support: paper Note: File contains progressive proofs of interior view of Stubbins House (Lexington) for publication. • Folder: B 120.02 Photostats and Other Small Scale Drawings : Stubbins House (Lexington)/Date(s): 1947/Quantity: 4 items/Dimensions: < 16" x 20"/Medium: stat;b&w/Support: paper;photographic paper Note: File includes stats and photographic print of Stubbins House (Lexington) floor plans. Lexington Assessors Records. Ludman,Dianne M.,Hugh Stubbins and his Associates: The First Fifty Years, 1986. Middlesex County Registry of Deeds. i •.l? r I illi;, lily I � fir. uF ��Sr.�, ►..ekl, Hugh Stubbins Rendering of 6 Dover Lane Source: Hugh Stubbins Archive: The Early Years Collection Harvard University,Cambridge,Mass. Continuation sheet 2 u I i 1 j ti �f 1 1, the house from the north-east. The covered way leads from the garage to the front door, - --- ------------------------- HUGH STUBB/NS Jr. : ARCH/TELT This house. designed by the architect for himself, and com- pleted in March, 1947, is on a sloping site, thickly wooded with native oak and pine trees. Accommodation is provided on the ,,w°°. ground floor for the architect, his wife and their three children. Large terraces have been levelled for outdoor living, and a r - ��'•`° children's room, with separate entrance, is for play, hobbies and r study. On a lower level below the bedroom wing is a workshop, ® dark-room, boiler room, private office and draughting studio, which opens on to a separate studio terrace. Foundations are of twelve-inch cinder blocks ; exterior walls are of two by four studs, four by four posts, faced externally with wood sheathing and t. and g. vertical boarding, and internally with plaster on rock laths, and one by four t. and g. sugar pine; ceilings are J - --_- �- L4 acoustic plaster : Hoors, asphalt tile, slate, and carpet over concrete. Heating is by radiant panels in concrete floor slabs. The roof is four-ply built-up asphalt and gravel, with copper edging and copper gutters. Roof insulation is provided by four i inches of rock-«•ool, and galls by two inches of balsa wool. The fireplace in the living room is of local stone, with common brick backing. The furniture was designed by the architect. Fabrics are of burlap, real fish net and natural cotton. Cost was $3.50 per square foot. = - , 2 2, a detail of one of the posts supporting the covered way, which joins the garage to the rest of the house. 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