HomeMy WebLinkAboutmassachusetts-avenue_1822 FORM B — BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
49/73A Boston
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION North
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town: Lexington
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Photograph Central Business District
Address: 1822 Massachusetts Avenue (at Muzzey St.)
- - --.��" Historic Name: Lexington Trust Company
Uses: Present: bank
Original: bank
r Date of Construction: 1930
=1 Source: Minute-man, November 1, 1929
- Style/Form: Colonial Revival
-" Architect/Builder: Thomas M. James Co.
Exterior Material:
Foundation:
Wall/Trim: brick
Topographic or Assessor's Map Roof: slate
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
none
Major Alterations(with dates):
"" date?- porch over main entrance, one-story addition to
west, drive-through at rear
fes•
Condition: good
ILM
{ Moved: no x yes Date
.,' Acreage: 0.35 acre
" 8 Setting: mixed downtown area
$'
Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date (month/year): January 2010
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 1822 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.
Constructed in 1930,the former Lexington Trust Company building is a Colonial Revival structure modeled after a Federal-style
dwelling. The two-story, 5 x 2-bay, side-gabled structure displays a Flemish bond brick pattern, slate roof with parapet end
chimneys and a modillion cornice. The double-hung windows contain 6/6 sash and are capped by flat arch brick lintels and
flanked by paneled wooden shutters with cutout"Minute-man"motifs. The center entrance is set within a paneled recess and
capped by a wooden fan with keystone. It is sheltered by a broken pediment porch/portico supported by Doric columns and
decorated by other classically-inspired ornament including rosettes. To the west of the main block is a single-story, flat-roofed
section which is two bays wide. Behind the main block is a single-story ell with arched window openings and a second portico
which now contains an ATM. At the south end is another single-story section set at right angles, culminating in a single-story
drive-through with roof balustrade.
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 1930 for the Lexington Trust Company which was incorporated on January 8, 1914. The bank
stands on the site of the old Monument House hotel which was demolished in 1929 to make way for the new building. A
rendering of the proposed bank appeared in the Minute-man on November 1, 1929,with credit given to Thomas M. James Co.
architects. The Lexington Trust Company was acquired by Shawmut Bank in 1974. Several banks have operated in this
location since that time.
The firm of Thomas M. James & Company, architects and engineers, specialized in the design of bank buildings. It was founded
in 1909 by Thomas M. James (1875-1942)who was educated in Boston and received architectural training under Samuel J.
Brown. The firm's important works included the Phenix National Bank in New York,the National Bank of Commerce in New
London, Conn., and the First National Bank at Fort Wayne, Indiana. Massachusetts works' include the National Bank at
Springfield(1920),the Commonwealth Atlantic National Bank in Boston(1924),the Union Trust Building,the office building
at 75 Federal Street in Boston and the Shubert Theater in Boston. The MACRIS data base of the Massachusetts Historical
Commission includes numerous banks designed by the firm including the Arlington Co-Operative Bank(ARL.602; 1935);
Brookline Trust Company(BKL.1436; 1919); East Cambridge Savings Bank(CAM.93; 1931); Everett Savings Bank(EVR.15;
1930); Framingham National Bank(FRM.411; 1933);Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank(NWB.2182; 1928); Winchendon
Savings Bank(WIN.127; 1929); and the Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank(WOB.149; 1931).
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Boston Herald, July 9, 1942,p. 19 [Obituary Thomas James].
Lexington Minute-man,November 1, 1929
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System,Massachusetts Historical Commission,Boston,Mass.
Massachusetts State Archives,Boston, Mass.
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: 1946.
Continuation sheet 1
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 1822 Mass. Ave.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
FRIDAYi NOVE.MIEH 1. 1929
Futuraj Horne of Lexington Trust Company
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{'eert'ak VJ 2J4� $03LPT �ix�ibG Trxxx*iPf RThnL,uN M.Jotrnnk Co-,Amlilwu)
Building to 4a "rr m, MAurtlhu6eti6 Arsmar 84 Wan S[rert, t1rRIg1w lfi ke pi,gjj mills uthr4 lhouera
Cllr C"rl. 1W YQ[lWnl0rlW3ljr ■ll 41WLkrn twi�kiliR fatllis;nw
Source: Lexington Minute-man,November 1, 1929
Continuation sheet 2
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 1822 Mass. Ave.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
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Continuation sheet 3