HomeMy WebLinkAboutforest-street_0028 FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no.
K 438
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
Office of the Secretary, State House, Boston
m Lexington
y P
cess 28 Forest Street
r _ ne 1 Mr. Wood 2 Mr. Jackson
sent use 2 family dwelling
!sent owner p
r
eter Kelley
i cription:
`_ _ e 1873
M'nJk Al4,0 7 )L FT3
- - iource Mrs. Olson, 30 Forest St.
L
-e Italianate
4. 141ap. Draw sketch of building location Architect Built by Mr. Wood
in relation to nearest cross streets and
other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric Cream clapboard,white trim
Outbuildings (describe) Matching barn
.'' Bracketted overhang.
Vii° Other features nn„h l P ctonr (glass top panel)
to right, bay window left. Brick foundation
J, Small porch extending from door to walk
Bay window left side of house,small open
porch left rear, by back door.
Altered Date
Moved Date
5. Lot size:
One acre or less 191'1 f6'ver one acre
Approximate frontage 87
Approximate distance of building from street
25'
Anne Grady, Nancy S. Seasholes
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE 6. Recorded by Barbara C. Stewart;
USGS Quadrant
Organization Lexington, Historical Commission
MHC Photo no. April, 1984
Date April 29, 1976;
(over)
5M-2-75-R061465
7. Original owner (if known)
Original use
Subsequent uses (if any) and dates
8. Themes (check as many as applicable)
Aboriginal Conservation Recreation
Agricultural Education Religion
Architectural Exploration/ Science/
The Arts settlement invention
Commerce Industry Social/
Communication Military humanitarian
Community development x Political Transportation
9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above)
This house was built on speculation in 1873 by Richard D. Blinn, the
owner of most of the land along the proposed Forest Street extension and Parker
Street. Blinn was associated with the Lexington railroad, rising from a job as
brakeman to president, and was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in
1869 and 1874. He had bought the Parker-Forest Street extension land in 1870-
1872 , hoping to make a large profit by the sale of house lots, but went bankrupt
in the Panic of 1873 and left Lexington.
By 1889 this house was apparently a rental property owned by George H.
Jackson, a Le xii ton provision merchant who owned a great deal of property in
this area, ammntinued to be rented through the turn of the century. The barn
at the rear of the property is a replacement of the original one, which burned.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
This is a well-preserved example of the side hall plan Italianate house.
It possesses the standard features of the house type: bracket door hood, facade
bay window, and paired brackets at the eaves. There are relatively few of these
houses in Lexington and most are in this immediate area.
Gabled roof, end toward street. Pigeon roost returns, El( on rear (from time of
construction.) Chimney middle of roof ridge, brick.
10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records,
early maps, etc.)
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, revised and continued to
1912 by the Lexington Historical Society, Volume II, p. 321. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Mulliken, Everett. "Some of My Recollections of the Houses in the Vicinity
of the Common and the People Who Lived in Them. " Typescript, Worthen
Collection, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, Massachusetts.
(see Continuation Sheet)
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community: Form No:
MASSACHUSETTS HI STORI CAL CCNtff SSION Lexington W38
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Property Name: 28 Forest Street
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Worthen, Edwin B. "Notes made in 1941-42. " Worthen Collection, Cary Memorial
Library, Lexington, Massachusetts.
1876 map
1889 map
1898 map
1906 map
1887 Directory
Staple to Inventory form at bottom
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 28 FOREST STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 438
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
On July 12, 1873 the Lexington Minute-man reported that"Mr. R.D. Blinn has raised the frame of one building on Forest
Street and will follow it with another in the fall". This would appear to refer to the two houses at 28 &30 Forest Street.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Minute-Man,July 12, 1873.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
March 2009