HomeMy WebLinkAboutmassachusetts-avenue_0739 FORM B — BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
22/51 Boston
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION North
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town: Lexington
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Photograph East Lexington
Address: 739 Massachusetts Avenue
4
Historic Name: Adams School
Uses: Present: School
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'3� +6' Original: School
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411
�r. s�� - Date of Construction: 1912
-� pp Source: Hudson,vol.1, p. 402
Style/Form: Twentieth Century Revival
'F1' Architect/Builder: Brainerd & Leeds (1912);
Kilham, Hopkins, & Greeley (1931 & 1950)
Exterior Material:
Foundation: concrete
Wall/Trim: brick, concrete
Topographic or Assessor's Map
Roof: tar/rubber
'
eOutbuildings/Secondary Structures:
r y„
none
Major Alterations(with dates):
1931 & 1950—alterations and additions
5
Condition: good
rc: fes- Moved: no x I yes Date
6 ` 8 Acreage: 10.0 acres
Setting: setback from main thoroughfare in 19th
r o„ti =l a¢x ,;'; century village center
Mar
Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date(month/year): October 2009
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 739 MASS. AVENUE
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.
Setback from Massachusetts Avenue in East Village,the former Adams School dates to 1912. The building is two stories in
height above a raised basement. It is constructed of red brick laid in a stretcher bond with buff brick trimmings including a
watertable,molded cornice above the second story windows, decorative rectangular panels with diamond motifs on the facade
and outline frames on the narrow end elevations. The recessed center entrance consists of transommed double doors with an
arched surround decorated by quoins. Above the entrance is a rectangular concrete panel with raised letters reading"Adams
School—MCMXII". The arch of the entrance is repeated in a molding above the second floor windows above which are also
set into a quoined surround and the arched parapet above. There are bands of four 6/6 windows on either side of the central bay,
linked by a continuous concrete sill. The trim is continued on the rear ell and later additions.
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 building was constructed in 1912 replacing the wood-frame, four-room Adams School which was built on a different site in
the village in 1859. Extensive building construction in East Lexington during the early 20ffi century period had resulted in a
large increase in the school population and significant overcrowding required the use of the Stone Building for several years.
In 1911 the town voted to build a new brick school on a level piece of land behind the Stone Building. The sum of$55,000 was
appropriated to erect the new school the following year. A building committee consisting of J.O. Richards,A.C. Washburn, F.G.
Jones,Frank D. Peirce and Dwight F. Kilgour was assisted by architect R. Clipston Sturgis of Boston who acted as an advisor in
the selection of an architect and examination of specifications and plans. Six architects competed for the design contract and
Brainerd&Leeds of Boston were chosen. The firm designed a building which was as nearly fireproof as possible. The
contractors were E.A. Peabody& Son Co. of Lawrence and the foundations and grading were subcontracted to Bartlett J.
Harrington of East Lexington. Excavation for the foundation began on July 22, 1912. An article appearing in the Minute-man
on August 24, 1912 described the plans:
The building will have the effect of being three stories high in front, as the basement in this section of the building is
almost entirely above ground. The exterior is to be of red brick,with a trim of sandstone colored brick,with foundations
and other parts of cement. The plans show an imposing fagade of simple lines,broken with ornate shields either side of
the entrance, on which are shown the national and state seals.
The school was completed in time for classes in September 1913. A photograph of the completed building appeared in the
architectural journal American Architect in 1917. In 1931 the town appropriated$85,000 for an addition to the school, designed
by Kilham,Hopkins&Greeley. Additional alterations and additions were made in 1950. Kilham,Hopkins, Greeley&Brodie
were the architects. Adams School closed in 1980 due to declining school population. Soon thereafter it was sold to the
Waldorf School who continue to use it today.
Continuation sheet 1
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 739 MASS. AVENUE
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE (continued)
The firm of Brainerd&Leeds who designed the original 1912 building was engaged in practice in Boston for approximately
twenty five years. William H. Brainerd graduated from MIT in 1887 and worked in the offices of Edmund Wheelwright,
Shepley,Rutan& Coolidge and Francis R. Allen until 1898 when he opened an office with Edmund Leeds. The firm designed
various public buildings including the Little Wanderers' Home in Boston,the West Medford Congregational Church,the
Christian Endeavor Society Building in Boston,Athol Town Hall and schools in Ashland,Belmont,Billerica,Boston,Franklin,
Grafton, Malden,Newton and Swampscott.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
American Architect and Building News,vol. 111,no. 2143, January 17, 1917.
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington from its first settlement to 1868(Revised and Continued to 1912 by the
Lexington Historical Society). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913,vol. 1,p. 486-7.
Kollen,Richard et al. Images ofAmerica: Lexington. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co.,2001,p. 48.
Lexington Minute-man,August 24, 1912.
Massachusetts Building Inspector Records, Massachusetts State Archives,Boston,MA
Massachusetts Historical Commission,MACRIS data base.
Withey,Henry F. and Elsie Rathburn Withey. Biographical Dictionary ofAmerican Architects (Deceased). Los Angeles:
Hennessey& Ingalls,Inc., 1970.
Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts 1620-1946. Lexington: Lexington Savings Bank, 1946.
Continuation sheet 2