HomeMy WebLinkAboutmassachusetts-avenue_2180 FORM B BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
0 0 2251
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 50/51 A
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD Town/City: Lexington
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Place: (neighborhood or village):
Photograph
Address: 2180 Massachusetts Avenue
Historic Name:
Uses: Present: residential
Original: residential
. .. Date of Construction: post-1950
Source: historic maps
Style/Form: Neo-Colonial Revival
.; Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: poured concrete
Front fagade and right side (Mass. Ave.)elevations
assessor's photograph) Wall/Trim: wood shingles and trim
Locus Map Roof- asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
54199
Major Alterations (with dates):
9A� 154 5 \� Front additions (?; L 201h century)
_
5U
"227 �2�5zts-
�i'&10�2196r f2,ad�� r�45p
` Condition: excellent
Moved: no ❑ yes ❑ Date:
50-54 ve,
II Acreage: 0.67
5453 �1
Setting: Located on busy arterial thoroughfare of
Massachusetts Avenue in a heterogeneous residential
\. streetscape. Surrounding buildings are mainly L 191h—M
20th c construction.
Recorded by: Wendy Frontiero
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date (month/year): September 2015
12/12 Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 2180 MASSACHUSETTS AVE.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
0 2251
❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
2180 Massachusetts Avenue is set on a hillside well above and back from Massachusetts Avenue and shares a driveway with
2160-2170 Massachusetts Avenue, which occupies a separate parcel. A paved driveway begins at the front left corner of
#2160-2170 and crosses the site diagonally to the center of the lot at#2180. The house at 2180 Massachusetts Avenue is set
at the back right corner of its long, narrow lot, with a very deep setback from the road and a minimal setback on the right side.
Because of its distance from the street and a thick border of trees and shrubs along the roadway, visibility of the building was
extremely limited during this study. Site observations were substantially augmented with Bing bird's eye views and assessor's
records.
The building is a long, rambling assemblage with multiple appendages and additions of varied sizes, shapes, and ages. The
main block, which faces the left side of the property, appears to be a rectangular structure with a side gambrel roof(the right side
elevation of which faces Mass. Avenue)and a cross-gambrel wing at the far left side. A square, 2-story tower element with a hip
roof projects from the middle of this block and contains the main entrance. The main block rises 1 '/2 stories, with a fully
exposed basement level, containing a garage, at the right side elevation. A brick paved walkway leads from the driveway and
parking area to the front door; the yard is otherwise maintained chiefly in lawn with plantings of large shrubs and trees scattered
throughout.
Walls are clad with wood shingles and trimmed with a pronounced fascia with crown molding. Windows are typically double-
hung with wood trim. The building appears to rise 1 '/2 stories to the right of the entrance tower and 2 '/2 stories to the left of the
tower.
The right side gambrel end contains one wide garage door at the base, a shallow rectangular bay with three conjoined 1/1
windows centered on the first floor, and a decorative window composition centered in the half story, which is composed of a
large horizontal window flanked by two lower vertical windows, all with geometrically gridded sash. On the front fagade of the
building, the central tower has arched openings supported by square Tuscan posts on its first floor. The second floor flares
slightly at its base and holds three contiguous windows on its front face and a single window facing the street, all with
geometrically gridded sash.
The gambrel to the right of the tower has a shed-roofed dormer with paired double hung windows. On the segment of the main
block to the left of the entrance tower, a variety of single and paired windows and shed-roofed dormers are evident. A 1 '/2 story,
cross-gambrel wing at the back of the main block contains a large bay window at the first floor, with tall paired windows on the
visible faces. Smaller windows are paired in the half story above.
Assessor's records indicate a construction date of 1910 for this building. The present house is a handsome building in an
historically-inspired design, but only the back portion (not visible from the public way) is possible to date that early. The larger,
front portion of the building appears to be completely modern (post-1950) construction.
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.
Continuation sheet I
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 2180 MASSACHUSETTS AVE.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
0 2251
Massachusetts Avenue was established in the 17 1h century as part of an early highway from Cambridge to Concord.
Development of this section of the road, west of Lincoln Street and the town center, was sparse, however, until the beginning of
the 201h century.
As late as 1950, the property at 2180 Massachusetts Avenue was part of a large parcel belonging to the current house at 2160
Massachusetts Avenue. Located in the back right (southwest) corner of that lot was a substantial, two-story accessory building.
Based on its location, shape, and size, that accessory building may form part of the back section of today's house at#2180. The
current building appears otherwise to be new construction. Further examination and/or research are necessary to confirm the
history of the present building.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Historic maps and atlases: Walling 1853; Beers 1875; Walker 1889; Stadly 1898; Walker 1906; Sanborn 1908, 1918, 1927,
1935, 1935/1950.
Lexington Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey, Period and Area Summaries.
http://historicsurvey.Iexingtonma.gov/index.htm Accessed Jul 23, 2015.
Lexington Directories: 1899, 1908-09, 1922, 1934, 1936.
Lexington List of Persons: 1935, 1945, 1955, 1965.
Massachusetts Historical Commission. "MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Lexington." 1980.
Continuation sheet 2