The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink Aboutmassachusetts-avenue_1557 FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no. ILASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION A 4 Office of the Secretary, State House, Boston Lexington :y► 3s 1557 Mass. Avenue NORM ("Dr. Barnes property") ZZL _ e nt use Ern e School Admin. Building P: �; T€e Tjrm "mrsilt ` - nt owner Town of Lexington Vs - = - -iption: r C. 1845 arce Ed Worthen's notes (LHS ) Greek Revival 4. Map. tjraw 5ncwu .,� ti ._ _._o ____.__ itect _ in relation to nearest cross streets and other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric Clapboard �. / 1Z Outbuildings (describe) )6057rP�, Other features Ridge roof - two chimneys f, (one, also on addition in rear, making three) ` 4 _; Three additions - one rear; one an ell to (over) Altered Date A-c - .Moved Date \t, 5. Lot size. n One acre or less Over one acre x Approximate frontage 163' Approximate distance of building from street 60' O NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE 6. Recorded by Ruth Beebe USGS Quadrant Organization Lexington Historical Commission. HC Photo no. Date Oct. 14, 1975 (over) FM-9-75-R061465 (20M-2476) 7. Original owner (if known) Original use Subsequent uses (if any) and dates 1937 - Bought by Town for School Administration Bldg. 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) Other features (cont.) that & attached garage -closed pediment gables either end- heavy cornice - heavy paneled pilasters at corners - front door on gable end, to the right - side lights - posts & lintel doorway - granite & brick foundation. According to the reminiscences of Mrs. Chas. C. Goodwin, William Hosmer built this house (no date given, no information on Hosmer's background) . On the 1889 map, a "Dr. Livermore" is living here (no background informa- tion on him) . At one time, the Putnam family lived here, and, of course, in the 1930s, 1940s, it was the homes of Dr. William S. Barnes, who first came to Lexington in 1906, but not to this location. (Source: Lexington Historical Society) S. Lawrence Whipple, 1984 10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records, early maps, etc.) LHS - Lexington Historical Society Archives. FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION r 4.1— co,, of r- ctnta THnuse. Roston Cown Lexington 1{ address 1557 Massachusetts Ave. Vame Public School Administration 01 Bldg. Present use school dept. offices illi !a1_ IryNNW- mill 91 W i, ' '=n.n. - �� Present owner Town of Lexington cDescr ion. ipt' - = Date mid-19th c. -- Source conjecture Style Greek Revival 4. Map. Draw sketch of building location Architect in relation to nearest cross streets and other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric clapboard Outbuildin-s (describe) small attached carriag�tiouae P-Y, i Other features 2' house with rear L. 4-bay side L connects to carriage - T li,Aj house. j ; f i,. set �h13hr Altered by verandah Dateaee photos .- Moved Date 5. Lot size.. One acre or less Over one acre X Approximate frontage 200' Approximate distance of building from street 100, 6. Recorded by Harriet Whit* Organization MAPC Date 8/1/78 (over), 37M-7-77 7. Original owner (if known) possibly Putney family Original use dwelling Subsequent uses (if any) and dates doctor' s office, medical clinic, school offices S. Themes (check as many as applicable) Aboriginal Conservation Recreation Agricultural Education _X Religion Architectural Exploration/ Science/ The Arts settlement invention Commerce Industry Social/ Communication Military humanitarian X Community development Political Transportation 9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above) May have been Putney Homestead. Was formerly a doctor' s office, known as the Barnes Property, During WW I served a s a hospital for victims of the flu epidemic. k. 10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records, early maps, etc.) Y INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Commmity: Form No: MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL CCK1ISSION Lexington 4- Office of the Secretary, Boston Property Name: School Adminis. Big. Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. Other features : Wide corner boards. Fieldstone foundation clad with brick. 2-panel entrance door offset to right with sidelights. Interior--Shaped, plain window lintels, 2-panel doors, beautiful stair with squat, typically Greek Revival newel post. Parquet floors. Marble fireplace mantels, one is an unusual deep, purple-red marble. Arched hallway openings with Doric columns. High baseboards with echinus moldings. In attic are several layers of print and stencilled wallpaper. g r _ _ t -- � ill so Q 490W V—T7rnm Staple to Inventory form at bottom INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 1557 MASS. AVE. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 4 BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 s 'w a — kTM b v. � wb Undated photograph of 1575 Mass. Ave. Dr. Barnes owned this house and used the wing as his office. The property was purchased by the Town of Lexington in 1937 and used as an office building. It was also housed the headquarters for the Sachem Council of the Boy Scouts. The School Department has used the building as its headquarters since 1958. Source: Kelly,Beverly Allison. Lexington: A Century of Photographs. Lexington Historical Society, 1980,p. 65. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf March 2009 a .�� LLQ, �� •`{ � �� IN j JOE MAKI N SRI- _ —_ME _ - Y �a r t C FF�� sir I IRS s� Imo ' } +r. -— , r e P • a.;, - 1j, t Zi t �°I 1 � i t a i ti.'.�.. .. ,_ - - � - ,per• _�� _• Y.JY _ L 3] v - _ IQ I a : INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 1557 MASS. AVE. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 4 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: In the late 171h and 181h century this land, including this building(known as the Barnes Building) and the present Cary Memorial Building was owned by the Estabrook family. In April 1827,the "front lands" of the Estabrook estate was sold to Hammond A. Hosmer, an"innholder" from Boston. Worthen believes he might have been related to the Estabrook family. On May 25, 1847, Hosmer sold to Abijah W. Farrar the site of the Cary Memorial Building. (Later called the Plumer place.) Hosmer apparently built/retained the house that is now 1557 Massachusetts Avenue and lived here. Not much is known of Hammond Hosmer. Deed records indicate that he bought up several small farms in the area, and would combine them into large homesteads and sell them off. He also owned one or two nearby houses (Fogg House at the end of Hayes Lane, for example -- now demolished),where his hired hands supposedly lived. Hosmer died in 1854 and his wife, Susan, in 1865. Ownership then passed to their daughter, Susan D. Kenney. In 1866 the property was sold by Susan Kenney to Isaac Wetherell,who sold it in 1871 for $5,500 to Nancy E. Wentworth, wife of Otis Wentworth. Dr. Aaron H. Livermore purchased the property on February 20, 1889 and died in 1896. After his death, his widow Lydia married Bradley Putney. In 1916 the house was sold by Mrs. Putney's estate to Dr. William L. Barnes for$6,300. William Lester Barnes was born at Providence, Rhode Island in 1878 and graduated from Harvard in 1900 and from Harvard Medical School in 1904. He became a resident of Lexington in 1906. Dr. Barnes owned this house and used the wing as his office for approximately twenty years. At some point the carriage house was moved to the rear of 5 Winthrop Road. Dr. Barnes died in September 1936. The following March, the Town appropriated $25,000 to purchase the property and it was used for overflow Town offices. In 1950 the house was restored to some degree of historical accuracy by the Town. Custance Brothers were the contractors. The front porch which had been added was removed and new windows with small lights were installed on the front of the first floor. Over the years, the Barnes Building also housed the headquarters for the Sachem Council of the Boy Scouts. The School Department has used the building as its headquarters since 1958. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Doran, Sam. Information provided to Marilyn Fenollosa,November 2009. Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Cambridge: The Riverside Press Co., 1913. Kelly,Beverly Allison. Lexington: A Century of Photographs. Lexington Historical Society, 1980, p. 65. Lexington Minute-man, July 27, 1950. Worthen, Edwin B. Tracing the Past in Lexington, Massachusetts. New York: Vantage Press, Inc., 1998. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf November 2009