HomeMy WebLinkAboutmassachusetts-avenue_1780-1788 FORM B — BUILDING
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 49/37A&B I Boston
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD North
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Photograph Town: Lexington
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Central Business District
Address: 1780-1788 Massachusetts Avenue
Historic Name: Ribock Block
Uses: Present: commercial
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Original: commercial
-J Date of Construction: 1922
- Source: Worthen, Calendar History, p. 117
Style/Form: Commercial
Architect/Builder: unknown
Exterior Material:
Topographic or Assessor's Map Foundation:
Wall/Trim: brick, wood
Roof: tar and gravel
17451731
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
,tee none
Major Alterations(with dates):
Date?—storefront alterations
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Condition: good
Moved: no x yes Date
` Acreage: 0.12 acre
Setting: mixed downtown area
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Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date(month/year): January2010
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 1780 Mass. Ave.
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.
The Ribock Block is a single-story, simple, commercial building constructed of brick with a flat roof. Originally divided into
five stores,the building now contains two remodeled storefronts. That to the east(#1780)has been Colonialized and features
three wooden posts set on masonry bases with multi-pane windows resting on brick bases. The western storefront(#1786)
retains three piers which appear to be original, constructed of multi-colored brick. The single-pane display windows are set into
aluminum frames and set on later,red brick bases. Above the two signboards is the same multi-hued brick visible in the piers.
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.
Originally known as the Ribock Block, 1780-1788 Massachusetts Avenue was built in 1922 on the site of the Meserve House
which was torn down. It originally consisted of five narrow stores(numbered 446 to 454 Mass. Ave.). Michelson's Shoes,the
town's oldest family-owned business,has been located in the block since 1941.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Hinkle,Alice and Andrea Cleghorn. Life in Lexington 1946-1995.
Middlesex South Register of Deeds, Cambridge, MA
Sanborn Insurance Maps
Town Directories
Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts, 1620-1946. Lexington: 1946.
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