HomeMy WebLinkAbouthancock-street_0027 FORM B -BUILDING
Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
56/49 Boston N. 1057
Town Lexington
Place (neighborhood or village)
Address 27 Hancock Street
�, .. Historic Name Arthur Gilman House
Uses: Present Residential
xa. sssssa►, Original Residential
Date of Construction 1931
Source Lexington Valuation Lists
ss Style/Form Dutch Colonial
Architect/Builder unknown
Exterior Material:
Foundation concrete
_ Wall/Trim brick/wood
Roof asphalt shingle
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
r
garage
\ �" ( � / �>�� `;��•,. ' ,
Yo
\ ` Major Alterations (with dates) 1999 -rear addition
Condition good
A, Moved ® no ❑ yes Date
Acreage 11,210 SF
Recorded by Lisa Mausolf Setting mixed 18th to 20th century residential
Organization Lexington Historical Commission neighborhood
Date (monthlyear) June 2000
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM (27 Hancock Street)
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the
community.
A good example of the Dutch Colonial style conceived in brick, 27 Hancock Street is a 1 1/2-story dwelling sheathed in brick
and capped by a steeply-pitched gambrel roof. A brick soldier course wraps around the building above the concrete
foundation and just under the eaves. Centered on the three-bay facade is a wooden door with four panels and an integral
divided semicircular fanlight. Set above a brick stoop,the door is flanked by partial sidelights. The broken bed pediment
entrance porch is supported by Roman Doric columns and has a curved underside. On either side of the entrance porch is a
tripartite window consisting of a central 6/1 window flanked by 4/1 sash with a brick sill. Spanning the front roof slope is a
shed dormer sheathed in wide wood clapboards. The three individual 6/1 windows are flanked by wood panel shutters with
cutouts. An exterior brick chimney rises on the north elevation, hidden from view by an enclosed brick sunporch with stick
balustrade and 6/1 windows. The south side of the building is spanned by a glazed sunporch with matching balustrade and
Roman Doric columns alternating with segmentally arched openings. A lunette window is located at the top of the gambrel
end.
A second shed dormer spans the rear roof slope. Extending behind is a two-story ell designed in the late 1990s to be
compatible with the original house displaying a pedimented enclosed porch on the north side.
The house occupies a corner lot at the northeast corner of Hancock Street and Edgewood Road. Facing Edgewood is a two-
car.,,gablefront garage sheathed in wide clapboards and resting on a concrete foundations. There are two overhead garage
dols on the gablefront,which displays cornice returns. The remaining openings consist of 6/1 sash with shutters.
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. - tv�er�� f t-e 4X,� eS F&� e
i
(see bo Me &m�,Yf-_, M NC} 3 S P
This house was constructed on land which was subdivided in 1929 from the Hallie BlakeroPerty.. The Blake House
p
(formerly 23 Hancock Street) is shown on the 1927 Sanborn Insurance map but was removed shortly thereafter and the land
was subdivided into what became 23, 25, and 27 Hancock Street as well as 11 Blake Avenue.
It appears that 27 Hancock Street was constructed in 1931. The Lexington Valuation List indicates that Arthur Gilman was
first assessed in 1932 for a house valued at$8,000, set on a 11,200 square foot lot. Just a few years later the house was
being occupied by Charles and Ruth Davis;he was employed as an engineer. Later occupants included Roscoe and Birdella
Wade in the late 1930s and Ralph and Audrey Hardy from about 1940 until 1961. Walter and Evelyn Phenix purchased the
house in 1961 and Evelyn Phenix sold it to the present owners in 1977.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Lexington Assessors Records.
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Le,y,,r,ington Valuation Lists,various dates.
Salbom maps, 1927 and 1935.
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attached a completed
National Register Criteria Statement form.