HomeMy WebLinkAboutmassachusetts-avenue_0782 FORM E - BUILDING In Area no. Form no.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION E 218
Office of t ne Secretarv. State House. Boston
GCT 75
wn Lexington
dress 782 Mass. Ave.
esent use Private residence
esent owner
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4. Map. Draw sketch of building location Architect
in relation to nearest cross streets and
other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric Shingle
Outbuildings (describe)
Other features bay wide, 1 deep, center
entrance, granite foundation, projecting
enclosed entrance porch.
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C"t f�, S /4AJ E - Moved Date
5. Lot size:
One acre or less x Over one acre
Approximate frontage 100'
Approximate distance of building from street
101-15'
O NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE 6, Recorded by E. W. Reinhardt
USGS Quadrant
Organization Lex. Hist. Com.
MHC Photo no.
Date 7/75
(over)
2n MA- LA74 Md
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 Political Transportation
9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above)
Sidelights - Door elaborately paneled.
Door with fluted pilasters, Ionic capitols, dentil course of\ architrave,( reek key
frieze & fine detail at cornice. Roof of porch projects, }as metopes
under. (Compare Brown-Butterfield 4V $tone bldg. . E ) Ell on left (S.) side joins
main block (compare Munroe Tavern. D-1)3 windows deep; two story high. Flatter
pitched roof extension to ell has bracketed hood over door. Garage attached to ell
extension.
This house is identified by E.B. Worthen as "A. Augusta Smith;" also,
"Windsor Smith" (no date) .
Photo from Burr Church collection, Lexington Historical Society.
S. Lawrence Whipple, 1984
10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records,
early maps, etc.)
__ 3/73
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 782 MASS. AVENUE
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 218
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The door surround on this house appears to combine various details from the architectural pattern books of Asher
Benjamin. The carpenter has used Benjamin's designs but simplified and combined them to fit his skills and his own
sense of design. In addition to Roman Ionic pilasters,the door surround displays diamond-shaped decoration, a fret frieze
and a decorative band alternating diamonds and circles(Reinhardt: 32-33). This is one of a number of Asher Benjamin-
inspired doorways which survive in East Lexington(see also 627, 715, 870, 884, and 1106 Massachusetts Avenue).
The entrance portico is a c.1920 alteration;the original frontispiece survives virtually intact and was re-installed on the
new, extended entrance at that time.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Elizabeth Reinhardt refers to this as the"John Beal House"(Reinhardt 1977: 32).
According to E.B. Worthen,this house(located next to the old Adams School)was occupied by Levi Smith, his sister
Augusta("Gusty"), and their two nephews, Windsor and Miner Smith(Worthen: 49). Levi Smith(1823-1906)was a
farmer.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington.
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Piper, Fred Smith. "Architectural Yesterdays in Lexington,"Proceedings of the Lexington Historical Society,vol. IV,
1912, p. 117.
Reinhardt, Elizabeth and Anne A. Grady. "Asher Benjamin in East Lexington,Massachusetts", Old-Time New England,
vol.LXVII, nos. 3-4, Winter-Spring 1977, pp. 31-33.
Worthen,Edwin B. Tracing the Past in Lexington, Massachusetts. New York: Vantage Press, 1998.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
June 2009
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Commt pity: Form No:
MASSACHUSETTS HI STORI CAL CCHAI SS ION Lexington 218
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Property Name:782 Massachusetts Ave.
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Staple to Inventory form at bottom
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 782 MASS. AVENUE
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 218
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
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Source: Fred Smith Piper, "Architectural Yesterdays in Lexington,"
Proceedings of the Lexington Historical Society,vol. IV, 1912, p. 122.