HomeMy WebLinkAboutmarrett-road_0080 FORM B -BUILDING
Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
31/77 Boston N. 1085,1086
Town Lexington
Place (neighborhood or village)
L=-� Address 80 Marrett Road
Historic Name Fred and May Moulton House
Uses: Present Residential
Original Residential
` Date of Construction 1909
Source Lexington Valuation Lists
h Style/Form Colonial Revival/Craftsman
Architect/Builder unknown
{ Exterior Material:
q.
' Foundation rubble
Wall/Trim novel
tY sidmi g
Roof asphalt shingle
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
/ historic carriage house/garage
�\ Major Alterations (with dates) 2000 -addition
\O
Condition good
V
Moved ® no ❑ yes Date
Acreage 42,016 SF
Recorded by Lisa Mausolf Setting mixed residential neighborhood along heavily
Organization Lexington Historical Commission trafficked road
Date (month/year) June 2000
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Surveytllanual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM (80 Marrett Road)
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the
community.
Freely combining elements of the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles, 80 Marrett Road (MHC #1085) is a large 2 1/2-
story dwelling sheathed in novelty siding and capped by a hip roof with overhanging eaves decorated by brackets. A brick
chimney with inset stucco panels and a stucco cap rises from the east end of the roof. The main house facade is five bays in
width with 12/1 windows on the first floor and 6/1 sash above, with the exception of a tripartite window above the center
entrance. A wide horizontal band wraps around the house between the first and second stories. Three hipped dormers rise
from the front roof slope, clad in novelty siding with brackets and containing 6/1 sash.
The center entrance contains a wooden door punctuated by 5 x 2-lights above a projecting panel containing three square
panels above three vertical panels. The entrance is sheltered by a single-bay, single-story porch supported at each front
corner by a set of three square posts. The posts are recent replacements and take the place of paired Doric columns. Against
the house,the supports are echoed by single pilasters. The flat-roofed porch has a plain frieze and a band of tapered drops
with sets of three balls at the base of each. The original balustrade crowning the porch is no longer extant although the newel
post pilaster is still visible against the wall.
Spanning the west end of the house is a two-story porch supported on the first floor by square posts with incised border. The
upp�r level is supported by thinner columns resting on bases with raised panels. The railing consists of geometric stickwork
outlpining vertical rectangles. The porch frieze is decorated by the same frieze as the main entrance porch. Under the porch,
the lexterior chimney displays a stone lower level but is constructed of brick above the level of the roof. Multi-light doors
access the porch.
Adjacent to the east end of the main house block is a narrow wing, recessed slightly and two bays wide with a multi-light
picture window on the first floor. A new, single-story, hip-roofed addition is currently under construction on the east end.
A paved driveway extends to the west of the house,terminating at a 1 1/2-story carriage house (MHC #1086), also clad in
novelty siding and apparently contemporary with the main house. The building is capped by a hip roof with a bracketed
cornice. There is a hip dormer on the front slope and shed dormers on the side elevations. The two overhead garage doors
are topped by a shallow hip roof hood supported by three brackets with a 4/1 window to the side. Additional fenestration
includes 4/1 and 8/1 sash as well as a door displaying 2 x 2-lights over three horizontal panels.
An additional driveway extends in front of the house and there is a rough stone wall along the street.
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 for Fred and May Moulton in 1909. According to a brief mention appearing in the Minute-man
on April 3, 1909, Willard Pierce had just sold land on Middle Street(now Marrett Road)to Fred Moulton of Somerville. The
June 12, 1909 newspaper reported that construction had begun on two new houses on the land recently sold by Willard
Piece. (Part of the Pierce land was also used for the construction of 64 Marrett Road (MHC #1084)). Directories
4cate that Fred Moulton sold ladders in East Cambridge. After Fred's death in the early 1930s, Mrs. Moulton continued to
occupy the house until 1962.
The house was known as 48 Middle Street into the 1930s.
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attached a completed
National Register Criteria Statement form.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
Lexington 80 Marrett Road
Massachusetts Historical Commission Area(s) Form No.
Massachusetts Archives Building
220 Morrissey Boulevard 1085,1086
Boston, Massachusetts 02125
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Lexington Assessors Records.
Lexington Directories, various dates.
Lexington Minute-man, 4/3/1909; 6/12/1909.
Lexington Valuation Lists, various dates.
ii ■
r.•
Massachusetts Historical Commission Community Property Address
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Lexington 80 Marrett Road
Area(s) Form No.
1085,1086
National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form
Check all that apply:
❑x Individually eligible ❑ Eligible only in a historic district
❑ Contributing to a potential historic district ❑ Potential historic district
Criteria: ❑ A ❑ B ❑x C ❑ D
Criteria Considerations: ❑ A ❑ B ❑ C ❑ D ❑ E ❑ F ❑ G
Statement of Significance by: Lisa Mausolf
Justify criteria that are checked in the above sections:
TheFred&May Moulton House at 80 Marrett Road meets criterion C for individual listing on the National Register as an
excellent example of an early 20th century Colonial Revival residence which also shows the influence of the Craftsman style.
The house is also notable as the design of Willard Brown, a prominent Lexington architect. The house and associated
carriage house display a high level of integrity of location, design, setting,materials, workmanship, feeling and association